Chapter 12

Territorial And Economic Expansion

1830-1860
 Conflicts Over Texas, Maine, and
Oregon
• Texas
– Stephen Austin helped 300 families immigrate to
Texas
– In 1829, the Texas Mexicans outlawed slavery and
made the official religion Roman Catholicism
• Revolt and Independence
– General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became Texas
dictator
– In the Battle of San Jacinto River, Sam Houston
captured Santa Anna
– Santa Anna was forced to give up Texas, but Mexico
voided their treaty
 Boundary Dispute in Maine
• Canada, which was still owned by the Britain's,
was too close to Maine for comfort for many
Americans.
• The Aroostook War was the name given to the
fighting that occurred over this matter
 Boundary Dispute in Oregon
• Spain, Russia, England, and the United States
all claimed Oregon
– British made its claim on the profitable trade
between the Indians
– America made its claim because they discovered
most of the land in Oregon
• People in America called it ‘manifest destiny’,
and that they ‘had’ to expand into Oregon
 The Election of 1844
• Northern were opposed to Texas being added
to the union because slavery was practiced
there
• Martin Van Buren opposed annexation
• Henry Clay tried to take both sides
• James K. Polk was for annexation, and he
eventually won the election
 Annexing Texas and Dividing Oregon
• John Tyler, in his last act as president,
submitted a treaty to the senate for the
annexation of Texas
• British Columbia was removed from the land
in question, and the treaty was accepted
 War With Mexico
• John Slidell was sent to Mexico from Polk to…
– Buy California and New Mexico
– Stop the fighting about Texas
• John Slidell epic-failed
 Immediate Causes of the War
• General Zach Taylor began to mass his troops
on the Rio Grande, on Mexican land. A scout
patrol was taken and 11 killed by the
Mexicans, and Polk used this provoked action
to send his request of war to Congress
• Both houses approved of the war
 Military Campaign
• General Stephen Kearny took over Santa Fe
and southern California
• John Fremont took over northern California
• Zachary Taylor took over Buena Vista
• Polk sent General Winfield Scott to invade
Mexico
• Mexico City was captured in September 1847
 Wartime Consequences
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
– The Rio Grande was the border of Mexico
– The United States would receive California and New Mexico for $15
million
• Whigs believed this was an attempt to benefit slavery, therefore
they denounced it
• The Wilmot Proviso
– Davit Wilmot demanded in the senate that slavery be banned in the
new states. He was shot down. Metaphorically speaking.
• Prelude to Civil War
– Due to the growing problem of pro-slavery vs. anti-slavery, and the
expanding borders of the United States with which to argue over, it
could be said that this ultimately led to the civil war, and that the
Wilmot Proviso was what sparked it.
 Southerly Manifest Destiny
• Ostend Manifesto
– A deal was proposed for Cuba, for 100 million dollars,
but Spain refused
– A few private operations attempted to take over Cuba.
This did not go that well.
• Walker Expedition
– William Walker tried to take over Baja California
– Took over Nicaragua in 1855
– His intent was to make a pro-slavery central America
 Other Treaties and Purchases
• Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850)
– Neither the United States nor Great Britain would
attempt to take singular control over any canal in
Central America
• Gadsden Purchase
– New Mexico and Arizona were sold to the United
States for use of Railroading, by Mexico, for 10
million dollars.
 Expansion After the Civil War
• Even after the civil war, America was still
attempting to expand.
• In the midst of the chaos and trying to put
everything back together again, Alaska was
purchased
Settlement of the Western Territories
 Fur Trader’s Frontier
• The first settlers in the mountains of the west,
these ‘mountain men’ revolved around the
selling and trading of animal skins
• James Beckwourth, Jim Bridger, kit Carson,
and Jedediah Smith
 Overland Trails
• Other pioneers travelled to Oregon and
California in search of settlement
opportunities
• Disease and malnutrition were the biggest
killers
 Mining Frontier
• In 1848, the Gold Rush began
• Colorado, Nevada, and Dakota were swarmed
over with gold-rushers
• California’s population went up 2000% during
these times
• One third of these miners were Chinese
 Farming Frontier
• The Preemption Acts of 1830 and 1840 gave
‘squatters’ the ability to buy and live on land
in the west
 Urban Frontier
• Many western cities came about because of
– Railroads
– Minerals
– Farming
• ‘Instant cities’ were created by the gold rush
• Supplies and food for miners were offered,
which contributed to their growth
The Expanding Economy
 Industrial Technology
• Clothes and other items were being mass-
produced in factories
• Technology was moving forward
• Elias Howe created the sewing machine
• Samuel F. B. Morse created the first
communication device in 1844
 Railroads
• 2.6 million acres was given to build the Illinois
Central Railroad
– Ran from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico
• Railroads put the northeast and the Midwest
closer together
 Foreign Commerce
• Trade was expanding to include other
countries
• Shipping cross-country was encouraged
• A treaty was signed with Japan that convinced
them to open up ports to US trading vessels
 The Panic of 1857
• Prices fell
• Unemployment soared
• However, cotton prices in the south stayed at
the top
• This made southerners feel like they were the
best, and brought on feelings of discord
involving the secession from the Union