Manifest Destiny

1
Manifest Destiny

• James K. Polk
• and
• American Expansion

2
Dark Horse- James Polk

• Election of 1844
• Whig-Henry Clay
• Democrat- James K Polk
• Key Issues
• Should the United States add Texas?
• This would upset the balance of slave/free states
• Polk says yes
• Clay says no
• Further Expansion (Manifest Destiny)
• Polk wants to continue expanded aggressively
• Clay believes in a more cautious approach

3
Oregon Country
Mexican Cession
Texas Annexation
Gadsden Purchase
4
Texas Annexation
5
Texas Annexation

• Annexation of Texas occurred on February 28,
  1845.
• Annex means add on.
• Approve the annexation of Texas (took 10 years)
• Reason
• 1- Mexican dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna
  warned that annexation would be "equivalent to a
  declaration of war.
• 2- Northerners opposed annexation over the
  slavery issue
• Results
• Mexican War

6
Mexican War
7
Mexican War

• Mexican War Timeline
• January 1846 - Zachary Taylor crosses the Nueces
  River into the disputed border between
  Mexico/United States.
• April 1846 Mexican troops cross the Rio Grande
  into the disputed border with Mexico/United
  States.
• April 1846 Mexican and United States troops
  skirmish with losses on both sides
• April 1846 U.S. declares war on Mexico

8
Taylors Forces
Bang
Nueces River
Mexican Forces
Rio Grande River
9
Mexican Cession

• Mexican War Continued
• May 1846 January 1848 - Fighting on many fronts
• January 1848 Mexico City is captured
• Results
• Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ends the Mexican War
• Mexico Cedes all of California and New Mexico to
  the United States.
• Cede means gives
• Created the New Mexico Territory and California

10
Oregon Country
11
Oregon Country

• Oregon Country originally shared by four powers
• 1. United States
• 2. Great Britain
• 3. Spain
• 4. Russia

12
Oregon Country

• Oregon Treaty of 1846
• Divided Oregon at latitude 49 degrees North.
• Great Britain got the land north of the line
• United States got the land south of the line
• The states of Oregon (1859), Washington (1889),
  and Idaho (1890) came out of our portion

13
Gadsden Purchase
14
Gadsden Purchase

• In 1853, the United States paid Mexico 10
  million dollars for a strip of land in Arizona
  and New Mexico
• Purchased this land to complete the building of a
  railroad.

15
Native Americans
16
Native Americans

• Three ways the U.S. dealt with the Native
  American Problem
• 1. War/Force
• 2. Assimilation
• 3. Segregation/Reservations

17
Segregation/Reservations

• Explanation Designate areas for the Native
  Americans to live
• Example The Reservation System
• Reason Native Americans needed to be moved off
  land wanted by the United States
• Positives
• Control Native Americans
• Dont have to fight them again and again
• Negatives
• Resources needed to provide for the Native
  Americans

18
War/Force

• Explanation Fight the Native Americans for their
  land
• Example Battle of Wounded Knee
• Reason Native Americans wouldnt move
• Positives
• Dont have to pay the Native Americans
• Negatives
• U.S. soldiers killed
• Native Americans killed (is this a disadvantage)
• Native Americans may retreat and fight again

19
Assimilation

• Explanation Bring the Native Americans into
  American society and culture
• Example Carlisle Indian School
• Reason Civilizing the natives
• Positives
• Native Americans could help the country
• No loss of life for U.S. soldiers
• Negatives
• Many Native Americans refused to give up their
  culture
• Only a small portion of the Native American
  population was able to have schooling