Chapter 13 notes

Manifest Destiny

John L. O'Sullivan, 1845
The idea that it is God's will for the United States to expand its borders
Religious connotations
Room for the exploding population
Ethnocentrism
Would the US take all of North America?
“Frontier Thesis,” Frederick Jackson Turner, 1893
The success and character of the US depended on its westward expansion
Expansion made Americans individualistic, democratic, and hard-working by taming land and inferior peoples
Borders
54-40'' or fight

Northern borders

Several times, the US nearly came to war with Britain over the Northern border
Oregon Territory was “joint occupation” from 1818 to 1846 as the countries argued over the Colombia River
Maine's border was not defined until 1842
Fenians attacked Canada from Buffalo in 1866. It failed horribly
Southwest
Mexico needed workers in Texas and allowed Americans in. Soon Americans outnumbered Mexicans in Texas
Mexico tried to end slavery and collect taxes in Texas, but Americans resisted
General Sam Houston captured Santa Anna and forced him to accept independence
Though a country from 1836-1845, Houston always wanted Texas as a state. The Tex-Mex border remained disputed

Reasons against Texas annexation

Slavery
Texas would be a pro-slavery state
Many voters were against the spread of slavery
War
Annexation would hurt US-Mexico relations
North-South rivalries could start civil war

Politics

Politicians did not want to touch the slavery issue
Especially in 1844, an election year
Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren agreed on delayed annexation. James K. Polk got Southern support for immediate annexation

Mexican War

US led by General Zachary Taylor, but he would not go into Mexico City
Polk picked Winfield Scott to invade the capital while Taylor defeated Mexicans farther north
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo:
US pays $15 million for New Mexico and California
Rio Grande is Tex-Mex border

Gadsen Purchase 1853:
More of Mexico was purchased for a railroad for $15 million
Much smaller, the purchase was perceived as an act of goodwill for the harsh terms of the Treaty

Mormons

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Founded by Joseph Smith of Palmyra, New York about 1820
Smith said he had visions of Jesus, who told him that churches were corrupt
1830: published the Book of Mormon, a translation of golden plates given to him by an angel
Followers moved to Utah in search of a new Zion, just like in The Matrix
The society was a mix of Burned-Over religion and utopian socialism
Statehood was delayed because of the Mormon practice of polygamy

Internal Expansionism

Most Americans still lived on the Atlantic coast by the 1840s
1848: Gold discovered in California. San Francisco becomes a boom town in 1849
Later discoveries of silver and gold in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and others lead to more settlers
Reapers (Cyrus McCormick) and steel-tipped plows (John Deere) allow farmers to clear land faster and expand