A Nation on the Move_ Westward Expansion, 1800–1860
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A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , FIGURE In the half ofthe nineteenth century , settlers began to move west of the Mississippi River in large numbers . In John Gast American Progress ( ca . 1872 ) the of Columbia , representing the United States and the spirit of democracy , makes her way westward , literally bringing light to the darkness as she advances . CHAPTER OUTLINE Lewis and Clark The Missouri Crisis Independence forTe as The Me War , Free or Slave Soil ?
The Dilemma of the West INTRODUCTION After 1800 , the United States militantly expanded westward across North America , of its right and duty to gain co trol of the continent and spread the of its superior culture . In John Gast American , the White , blonde of historical of the United triumphantly westward with the Star of Empire on her head . She brings education , symbolized by the schoolbook , and modern technology , represented by the telegraph wire . White settlers follow her lead , driving the Native peoples away and bringing successive waves of technological progress in their wake . In the half of the nineteenth century , the quest for control of the West led to the Louisiana Purchase , the annexation of Texas , and the War . Efforts to seize western territories Native peoples and expand the republic by warring with Mexico succeeded beyond expectations . Few nat ever expanded so quickly . Yet , this expansion led to debates about the fate of slavery in the West , creating
270 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , tensions between North and South that ultimately led to the collapse of American democracy and a brutal civil . Lewis and Clark LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section , you will be able to Describe the terms of Explain the of the Louisiana Purchase the Treaty Describe the role played by the filibuster in American expansion . A . Mexican , Cession Henry adds vast Clay Lewis and Clark Missouri Compromise divides new brokers expedition reaches Louisiana Purchase into United States territory Compromise the Ocean slave and free states annexes Texas to of 1850 1805 1820 1845 1848 1850 I 1803 1819 1846 1849 Thomas US . acquires declares California Jefferson Florida under war on Gold Rush brokers the Mexico begins Louisiana Treaty Great Britain Purchase cedes Oregon For centuries Europeans existed . This Northwest . territory to FIGURE iad mistakenly believed an route across the North American continent Passage would afford the country that controlled it not only access to the interior of North America but relatively quick route to the Ocean and to trade with Asia . The Spanish , French , anc it . Indeed , shortly Alexander Mackenzie , an discover the route . headwaters of the Colum River , but he could not an easy water route with a minimum of dif , that is , spots where boats must be carried overland . Many Americans also dre and , including Thomas Jefferson . In April 1803 , Jefferson achieved his goal of the Louisiana Territory possible due to events ou enslaved people against French Empire in British searched for years before American explorers took up the challenge of before Lewis and Clark set out on their expedition for the government , of the British North West Company , a fur trading , had to made it to the and even believed ( erroneously ) he had discovered the of a Northwest Passage and opening the to American commerce om France , effectively doubling the size of the United States . The purchase was made side the nation control . With the success of the Haitian Revolution , an uprising of ie French , France Napoleon abandoned his quest to an extensive a . As a result , he was amenable to selling off the vast Louisiana territory . Jefferson quickly set out learn precisely what he had bought and to assess its potential for commercial exploitation . Above all else , Jefferson wanted to exert control over the territory , an area already well known to French and British exp . It was therefore vital for the United States to explore and map the and to pave the way for future White settlement . Access for free at .
Lewis and Clark 271 JEFFERSON CORPS OF DISCOVERY HEADS WEST To head the expedition into the Louisiana territory , Jefferson appointed his friend and personal secretary , army captain Meriwether Lewis , who was instructed to form a Corps of Discovery . Lewis in turn selected William Clark , who had once been his commanding , to help him lead the group ( Figure . 13 ) FIGURE Charles , celebrated portraitist of the American Revolution , both William Clark ( a ) and Meriwether Lewis ( in 1810 and 1807 , respectively , after they returned from their expedition west . Jefferson wanted to improve the ability of American merchants to access the ports of China . Establishing a river route from Louis to the Ocean was crucial to capturing a portion of fur trade that had proven so to Great Britain . He also wanted to legitimize American claims the land against rivals , such as Great Britain and Spain . Lewis and Clark were thus instructed to map the territory through which they would pass and to explore all tributaries of the Missouri River . This part of the expec struck fear into Spanish , who believed that Lewis and Clark would encroach on New Mexico , the northern part of New Spain . Spain dispatched four unsuccessful expeditions from Santa Fe to intercept the explorers . Jefferson also tasked Lewis and Clark with paving the way for American trade among the western . Establishing an overland route to the would bolster claims to the Northwest , established in 1792 when Captain Robert Gray sailed his ship Columbia into the mouth of the river that now bears his vessel name and forms the border between Oregon and Washington . Finally , Jefferson , who had a keen interest in science and nature , ordered Lewis and Clark to take extensive notes on the , plant life , animals , and natural resources of the region into which they would journey . After spending the winter of encamped at the mouth of the Missouri River while the men prepared for their expedition , the corps set off in May 1804 . Although the frontiersmen , boatmen , and hunters took with them Alexander Mackenzie account of his explorations and the best maps they could , they did not have any real understanding of the they would face . Fierce storms left them drenched and freezing . Enormous clouds of gnats and mosquitos swarmed about their heads as they made their way up the Missouri River . Along the way they encountered ( and killed ) a variety of animals including elk , buffalo , and grizzly bears . One member of the expedition survived a rattlesnake bite . As the men collected minerals and specimens of plants and animals , the overly curious Lewis sampled minerals by tasting them and became seriously ill at one point . What they did not collect , they sketched and documented in the journals they kept . They also noted the customs of the tribes who controlled the land and attempted to establish peaceful relationships with them in order to ensure that future White settlement would not be impeded .
272 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , CLICK AND EXPLORE Read the journals of Lewis and Clark on the University of Virginia ( website or on the University ( website , which also has footnotes , maps , and commentary . According to their writings , what challenges did the explorers confront ?
The corps spent their winter in the wilderness , in a village in what is now North Dakota . There they encountered a reminder of France former vast North American empire when they met a French fur trapper named Toussaint . When the corps left in the spring of 1805 , accompanied them as a guide and interpreter , bringing had been kidnapped and sold to , who made her his their newborn son . knew the land better than the Americans , and proved invaluable as an interpreter and diplomat to the Shoshone people . The presence of a young woman and her infant convinced many groups that the expedition was not a war party and meant no harm Figure ) FIGURE In this idealized image , leads Lewis and Clark through the Montana wilderness . In reality , she was still a teenager at the time . Although she served important roles as an interpreter and diplomat , she did not actually guide the party . Kidnapped as a child , she would not likely have retained detailed memories about the place where she grew up . The corps set about making friends with Native tribes while simultaneously attempting to assert American power over the territory . Hoping to overawe the people of the land , Lewis would let out a blast of his air , a relatively new piece of technology the Native Americans had never seen . The corps also followed native custom by distributing gifts , including shirts , ribbons , and kettles , as a sign of goodwill . The explorers presented native leaders with medallions , many of which bore Jefferson image , and invited them to visit their new ruler in the East . These medallions or peace medals were meant to allow future explorers to identify friendly native groups . Not all efforts to assert control went peacefully some Indians rejected the explorers intrusion onto their land . Lewis unintentionally created tension with the by discussing trade deals made with their traditional enemies . The encounter turned hostile , and members of the corps killed two men . After spending eighteen long months on the trail and nearly starving to death in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana , the Corps of Discovery reached the Ocean in 1805 and spent the winter of in Oregon . They returned to Louis later in 1806 having lost only one man , who had died of appendicitis . Upon their return , Meriwether Lewis was named governor of the Louisiana Territory . Unfortunately , he died only three years later in circumstances that are still disputed , before he could write a complete account of what the expedition had discovered . Although the Corps of Discovery failed to an route to the Ocean ( for none existed ) it Access for free at .
Lewis and Clark 273 nevertheless accomplished many of the goals Jefferson had set . The men traveled across the North American continent and established relationships with many Native American tribes , paving the way for fur traders like John Jacob Astor who later established trading posts solidifying claims to Oregon . Delegates of several tribes did go to Washington to meet the president . Hundreds of plant and animal specimens were collected , several of which were named for Lewis and Clark in recognition of their efforts . And the territory was now more accurately mapped and legally claimed by the United States . Nonetheless , most of the vast territory , home to a variety of native peoples , remained unknown to Americans ( Figure FIGURE This 1814 map of Lewis and Clark path across North America from the Missouri the Ocean was based on maps and notes made by William Clark . Although most of the West still remained unknown , the expedition added greatly to knowledge of what lay west of the Mississippi . Most important , it allowed the United States to solidify its claim to the immense territory . AMERICANA A Selection of Hats for the Fashionable Gentleman Beaver hats ( Figure were popular apparel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in both Europe and the United States because they were naturally waterproof and bore a glossy sheen . Demand for beaver pelts ( and for the pelts of sea otters , foxes , and martens ) by hat makers , dressmakers , and tailors led many fur trappers into the wilderness in pursuit of riches and encouraged trade and relationships with Native American nations . Beaver hats fell out of fashion in the when silk hats became the rage and beaver became harder to . In some parts of the West , the animals had been hunted nearly to extinction .
274 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , FIGURE This illustration from , Or , The History and Traditions of the Canadian a variety of beaver hat styles . Beaver pelts were also used to trim women bonnets . Are there any contemporary fashions or fads that likewise promise to alter he natural world ?
SPANISH FLORIDA AND THE TREATY Despite the Lewis and Clark expedition , the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase remained contested . chose to believe the purchase included vast stretches of land , including all of Spanish Texas . The Spanish government disagreed , however . The attempt to resolve this issue took place in February 1819 with the signing of the Treaty , which was actually intended to settle the problem of Florida . Spanish Florida had presented for its neighbors since the settlement of the original North American colonies , for England and then for the United States . By 1819 , American settlers no longer feared attack by Spanish troops garrisoned in Florida , but militant groups within the Creek and Seminole Nations raided Georgia and then retreated to the relative safety of the Florida wilderness . These tribes also sheltered enslaved people , often intermarrying with them and making them members of their tribes . Sparsely populated by Spanish colonists and far from both Mexico City and Madrid , the frontier in Florida proved next to impossible for the Spanish government to control . In March 1818 , General Andrew Jackson , frustrated by his inability to punish Creek and Seminole raiders , pursued them across the international border into Spanish Florida . Under Jackson command , troops aided by Cherokees and Creeks defeated the Creek and Seminole militants , occupied several Florida settlements , and executed two British citizens accused of acting against the United States . Outraged by the invasion of its territory , the Spanish government demanded that Jackson and his troops withdraw . In agreeing to the withdrawal , however , Secretary of State John Quincy Adams also offered to purchase the colony . Realizing that between the United States and the Creek and Seminole would continue , Spain opted to cede the Spanish colony to its northern neighbor . The Treaty , named for Adams and the Spanish ambassador , Luis de , made the cession of Florida while also setting the boundary between the United States and Mexico at the Sabine River ( Figure . In exchange , Adams gave up claims to lands west of the Sabine and forgave Spain million debt to the United States . Access for free at .
Lewis and Clark 275 The Treaty . mmy El ' Siam FIGURE The red line indicates the border between and Spanish territory established by the Treaty of 1819 . The Treaty upset many American , who criticized Adams for not laying claim to all of Texas , which they believed had been included in the Louisiana Purchase . In the summer of 1819 , James Long , a planter from , Mississippi , became a , or a private , unauthorized military adventurer , when he led three hundred men on an expedition across the Sabine River to take control of Texas . Long men succeeded in capturing , writing a Declaration of Independence ( see below ) and setting up a republican government . Spanish troops drove them out a month later . Returning in 1820 with a much smaller force , Long was arrested by the Spanish authorities , imprisoned , and killed . Long was but one of many American who aimed at seizing territory in the Caribbean and Central America . DEFINING AMERICAN The Long Expedition Declaration of Independence The Long Expedition Republic of Texas was announced with the drafting of a Declaration of Independence in 1819 . The declaration named settlers grievances against the limits put on expansion by the treaty and expressed their fears of Spain The citizens of Texas have long indulged the hope , that in the adjustment of the boundaries of the Spanish possessions in America , and of the territories of the United States , that they should be included within the limits of the latter . The claims of the United States , long and strenuously urged , encouraged the hope . The recent treaty between Spain and the United States of America has dissipated an illusion too long fondly cherished , and has roused the citizens of Texas . They have seen themselves . literally abandoned to the dominion of the crown of Spain and left a prey . to all those exactions which Spanish rapacity is fertile in devising . The citizens of Texas would have proved themselves unworthy of the age . unworthy of their ancestry , of the kindred of the republics of the American continent , could they have hesitated in this emergency . Spurning the fetters of colonial vassalage , disdaining to submit to the most atrocious despotism that ever disgraced the annals of Europe , they have resolved under the blessing of God to be How did the view Spain ?
What do their actions say about the nature of American society and of expansion ?
276 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , The Missouri Crisis LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end ofthis section , you will be able to Explain why the North and South differed over the admission of Missouri as a state Explain how the admission of new states to the Union threatened to upset the balance between free and slave states in Congress Another stage of expansion took place when inhabitants of Missouri began petitioning for statehood beginning in 1817 . The Missouri territory had been part of the Louisiana Purchase and was the first part of that vast acquisition to apply for statehood . By 1818 , tens of thousands of settlers had to Missouri , including slaveholders who brought with them some ten thousand enslaved people . When the status of the Missouri territory was taken up in earnest in the House of Representatives in early 1819 , its admission to the Union proved to be no easy matter , since it brought to the surface a violent debate over whether slavery would be allowed in the new state . Politicians had sought to avoid the issue of slavery ever since the 1787 Constitutional Convention arrived at an uneasy compromise in the form of the This provision stated that the entirety of a state free population and 60 percent of its enslaved population would be counted in establishing the number of that state members in the House of Representatives and the size of its federal tax bill . Although slavery existed in several northern states at the time , tie compromise had angered many northern politicians because , they argued , the extra population of enslaved people would give southern states more votes than they deserved in both the House and the Electoral Col . Admitting Missouri as a slave state also threatened the tenuous balance between free and slave states in the Senate by giving slave states a advantage . The debate about representation shi ted to the morality of slavery itself when New York representative James , an opponent of slavery , a tempted to amend the statehood bill in the House of Representatives . proposed that Missouri be admitted as a free state , that no more enslaved people be allowed to enter Missouri after it achieved statehood , and that all enslaved children born there after its admission be freed at age . The amendment shi ted the terms of debate by presenting slavery as an evil to be stopped . Northern representatives supported the Amendment , denouncing slavery as immoral and opposed to the nation founding principles of equality and liberty . Southerners in Congress rejected the amendment as an attempt to ly abolish just in Missouri but throughout the violating the property rights of slaveholders and their freedom to take their property wherever they wished . Slavery apologists , who had long argued that slavery was a necessary evil , now began to perpetuate the idea that slavery was a positive good for tie United States . They asserted that it generated wealth and left White men free to exercise their true talen instead of toiling in the soil , as the descendants of Africans were better suited to do . Enslaved people were cared for , supporters argued , and were better off exposed to the teachings of Christianity as enslaved than living as free heathens in uncivilized Africa . Above all , the United States had a destiny , they argued , to create an empire of slavery throughout the Americas . These proslavery arguments were to be made repeatedly and forcefully as expansion to the West proceeded . Most disturbing for the unity of the young nation , however , was that debaters divided along sectional lines , not party lines . With only a few exceptions , northerners supported the Amendment regardless of party , and Southerners opposed it despite having party differences on other matters . It did not pass , and the crisis over Missouri led to strident calls of disunion and threats of civil war . Congress came to an agreement , called the Missouri Compromise , in 1820 . Missouri and Maine ( which had been part of Massachusetts ) would enter the Union at the same time , Maine as a free state , Missouri as a slave state . The Amendment was narrowly rejected , the balance between free and slave states was maintained in the Senate , and Southerners did not have to fear that Missouri slaveholders would be deprived of their human property . To prevent similar each time a territory applied for statehood , a line coinciding Access for free at .
The Missouri Crisis 277 with the southern border of Missouri ( at latitude 30 ' was drawn across the remainder of the Louisiana Territory ( Figure . Slavery could exist south of this line but was forbidden north of it , with the obvious exception of Missouri . The Missouri Compromise steam sim Sun Nov . Lina FIGURE The Missouri Compromise resulted in the District of Maine , which had originally been settled in 1607 by the Plymouth Company and was a part of Massachusetts , being admitted to the Union as a free state and Missouri being admitted as a slave state . MY STORY Thomas Jefferson on the Missouri Crisis On April 22 , 1820 , Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Holmes to express his reaction to the Missouri Crisis , especially the open threat of disunion and war I thank you , Dear Sir , forthe copy you have been so kind as to send me of the letterto your constituents on the Missouri question . it is a to them . I had for a longtime ceased to read the newspapers or pay any attention to public affairs , they were in good hands , and content to be a passenger in our bark to the shore from which I am not distant . but this momentous question over slavery in Missouri , like a bell in the night , awakened and me with terror . I considered it at once as the knell ofthe Union . it is hushed indeed for the moment . but this is a reprieve only , not a sentence . a geographical line , coinciding with a marked principle , moral and political , once sic and held up to the angry passions of men , will never be obliterated and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper . I can say with conscious truth that there is not a man on earth who would more than I would , to relieve us from this heavy reproach , in any practicable way . I regret that I am now to die in the beliefthat the useless of themselves , by the generation of to acquire self government and happiness to their country , is to be thrown away by the unwise and unworthy passions of their sons , and that my only consolation is to be that I live not to weep over it . if they would but dispassionately weigh the blessings they will throw away against an abstract principle more likely to be effected by union than by scission , they would pause before they would perpetuate this act of suicide themselves and of treason against the hopes of the world . to yourself as the faithful advocate of union I tender the offering of my high esteem and respect . Th . Jefferson How would you characterize the former president reaction ?
What do you think he means by writing that the Missouri Compromise line is a reprieve only , not a sentence ?
CLICK AND EXPLORE Access a collection of primary documents relating to the Missouri Compromise , including Missouri application for admission into the Union and Jefferson correspondence on the Missouri question , at the Library of Congress ( website .
278 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , Independence for Texas LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end ofthis section , you will be able to Explain why American settlers in Texas sought independence from Mexico Discuss early attempts to make Texas independent of Mexico Describe the relationship between and in Texas before and after independence As the incursions of the earlier into Texas demonstrated , American had desired this area of Spain empire in America for many years . After the 1819 treaty established the boundary between Mexico and the United States , more American began to move into the northern portion of Mexico province of Texas . Following Mexico independence from Spain in 1821 , American settlers immigrated to Texas in even larger numbers , intent on taking the land from the new and vulnerable Mexican nation in order to create a new American slave state . AMERICAN SETTLERS MOVE TO TEXAS After the 1819 Treaty the boundary , the Spanish Mexican government began actively encouraging Americans to settle their northern province . Texas was sparsely settled , and the few Mexican farmers and ranchers who lived there were under constant threat of attack by tribes , especially the Comanche Empire , which supplemented its hunting with raids in pursuit of horses and cattle . To increase the population in Texas , provide a buffer zone between its tribes and the rest of Mexico , and provide a bulwark against potential American expansion , Spain began to recruit . An was someone who brought settlers to the region in exchange for generous grants of land . Moses Austin , a entrepreneur reduced to poverty by the Panic of 1819 , requested permission to settle three hundred American residents in Texas . Spain agreed on the condition that the resettled people convert to Roman Catholicism . On his deathbed in 1821 , Austin asked his son Stephen to carry out his plans , and Mexico , which had won independence from Spain the same year , allowed Stephen to take control of his fathers grant . Like Spain , Mexico also wished to encourage settlement in the state of Texas and passed colonization laws to encourage immigration . Thousands of Americans , primarily from slave states , to Texas and quickly came to outnumber the , the Mexican residents of the region . The soil and climate offered good opportunities to expand slavery and the cotton kingdom . Land was plentiful and offered at generous terms . Unlike the government , Mexico allowed buyers to pay for their land in installments and did not require a minimum purchase . Furthermore , to many White people , it seemed not only their right but also their patriotic duty to populate the lands beyond the Mississippi River , bringing with them American slavery , culture , laws , and political traditions ( Figure . Access for free at .
Independence for Texas FIGURE By the early , all the lands east of the Mississippi River had been settled and admitted to the Union as states . The land west ofthe river , though in this contemporary map united with the settled areas in the body of an eagle symbolizing the territorial ambitions of the United States , remained largely unsettled by White Americans . Texas ( just southwest of the bird tail feathers ) remained outside the US . border . THE TEXAS WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE Many Americans who migrated to Texas at the invitation of the Mexican government did not completely shed their identity or loyalty to the United States . They brought American traditions and expectations with them ( including , for many , the right to enslave individuals ) For instance , the majority of these new settlers were Protestant , and though they were not required to attend the Catholic mass , Mexico prohibition on the public practice of other religions upset them and they routinely ignored it . to representative democracy , jury trials , and the defendant right to appear before a judge , the settlers in Texas also disliked the Mexican legal system , which provided for an initial hearing by an alcalde , an administrator who often combined the duties of mayor , judge , and law enforcement . The alcalde sent a written record of the proceeding to a judge in , the state capital , who decided the outcome . Settlers also resented that at most two Texas representatives were allowed in the state legislature . Their greatest source of discontent , though , was the Mexican government 1829 abolition of slavery . Most American settlers were from southern states , and many had brought enslaved people with them . Mexico tried to accommodate them by maintaining the that the enslaved workers were indentured servants . But American slaveholders in Texas distrusted the Mexican government and wanted Texas to be a new slave state . The dislike of most for Roman Catholicism ( the prevailing religion of Mexico ) and a widely held belief in American racial superiority led them generally to regard Mexicans as dishonest , ignorant , and backward . Belief in their own superiority inspired some Texans to try to undermine the power of the Mexican government . When Edwards attempted to evict people who had settled his land grant before he gained title to it , the Mexican government its agreement with him . Outraged , Edwards and a small party of men took prisoner the alcalde of . The Mexican army marched to the town , and Edwards and his troop then declared the formation of the Republic of between the Sabine and Rio Grande Rivers . To demonstrate loyalty to their adopted country , a force led by Stephen Austin hastened to to support the Mexican army . Edwards revolt collapsed , and the revolutionaries Texas . The growing presence of American settlers in Texas , their reluctance to abide by Mexican law , and their desire for independence caused the Mexican government to grow wary . In 1830 , it forbade future immigration and increased its military presence in Texas . Settlers continued to stream illegally across the long border by 1835 , after immigration resumed , there were twenty thousand in Texas Figure . 279
280 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , FIGURE This 1833 map shows the extent of land grants made by Mexico to American settlers in Texas . Nearly all are in the eastern portion of the state , one led to war with Mexico in 1846 . delegates from the settlements gathered in 1832 to demand the suspension of customs duties , the resumption of immigration from the United States , the granting of promised land titles , and the creation of an independent state of Texas separate from . Ordered to disband , the delegates reconvened in early April 1833 to write a constitution for an independent Texas . Surprisingly , General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna , Mexico new president , agreed to all demands , except the call for statehood ( Figure ) Texas made provisions for jury trials , increased Texas representation in the state legislature , and removed restrictions on commerce . FIGURE This portrait of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna depicts the Mexican president and general in full military regalia . Texans hopes for independence were quashed in 1834 , however , when Santa Anna dismissed the Mexican Congress and abolished all state governments , including that of Texas . In January 1835 , reneging on earlier promises , he dispatched troops to the town of to collect customs duties . Lawyer and soldier William Travis and a small force marched on in June , and the fort surrendered . On October , forces met Mexican troops at the town of Gonzales the Mexican troops and the Americans moved on to take San Antonio . Now more cautious , delegates to the Consultation of 1835 at San Felipe de Austin voted against declaring independence , instead drafting a statement , which became known as the Declaration of Causes , promising continued loyalty if Mexico returned to a constitutional form of Access for free at .
Independence for Texas 281 government . They selected Henry Smith , leader of the Independence Party , as governor of Texas and placed Sam Houston , a former soldier who had been a congressman and governor of Tennessee , in charge of its small military force . The Consultation delegates met again in March 1836 . They declared their independence from Mexico and drafted a constitution calling for an judicial system and an elected president and legislature . they also established that slavery would not be prohibited in Texas . Many wealthy supported the push for independence , hoping for liberal governmental reforms and economic . REMEMBER THE ALAMO ! Mexico had no intention of losing its northern province . Santa Anna and his army of four thousand had besieged San Antonio in February 1836 . Hopelessly outnumbered , its two hundred defenders , under Travis , fought from their refuge in an old mission known as the Alamo ( Figure ) After ten days , however , the mission was taken and all but a few of the defenders were dead , including Travis and James Bowie , the famed frontiersman who was also a land speculator and slave trader . A few male survivors , possibly including the frontier legend and former Tennessee congressman Davy Crockett , were led outside the walls and executed . The few women and children inside the mission were allowed to leave with the only adult male survivor , a person enslaved by Travis , who was then freed by the Mexican Army . they . FIGURE The Fall of the Alamo , painted by Theodore fewer than ten years after this pivotal moment in the Texas Revolution , depicts the 1836 assault on the Alamo complex . Although hungry for revenge , the Texas forces under Sam Houston nevertheless withdrew across Texas , gathering recruits as they went . Coming upon Santa Anna encampment on the banks of San River on April 21 , 1836 , they waited as the Mexican troops settled for an afternoon nap . Assured by Houston that Victory is certain ! and told to Trust in God and fear not ! the seven hundred men descended on a sleeping force nearly twice their number with cries of Remember the Alamo ! Within minutes the Battle of San was over . Approximately half the Mexican troops were killed , and the survivors , including Santa Anna , taken prisoner . Santa Anna grudgingly signed a peace treaty and was sent to Washington , where he met with President Andrew Jackson and , under pressure , agreed to recognize an independent Texas with the Rio Grande River as its southwestern border By the time the agreement had been signed , however , Santa Anna had been removed from power in Mexico . For that reason , the Mexican Congress refused to be bound by Santa Anna promises and continued to insist that the renegade territory still belonged to Mexico . CLICK AND EXPLORE Visit the Alamo website to learn more about the battle of the Alamo and
282 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , take a virtual tour of the old mission . THE LONE STAR REPUBLIC In September 1836 , military hero Sam Houston was elected president of Texas , and , following the relentless logic of expansion , Texans voted in favor of annexation to the United States . This had been the dream of many settlers in Texas all along . They wanted to expand the United States west and saw Texas as the next logical step . Slaveholders there , such as Sam Houston , William Travis and James Bowie ( the latter two of whom died at the Alamo ) believed too in the destiny of slavery . Mindful of the vicious debates over Missouri that had led to talk of disunion and war , American politicians were reluctant to annex Texas or , indeed , even to recognize it as a sovereign nation . Annexation would almost certainly mean war with Mexico , and the admission of a state with a large enslaved population , though permissible under the Missouri Compromise , would bring the issue of slavery once again to the fore . Texas had no choice but to organize itself as the independent Lone Star Republic . To protect itself from Mexican attempts to reclaim it , Texas sought and received recognition from France , Great Britain , Belgium , and the Netherlands . The United States did not recognize Texas as an independent nation until March 1837 , nearly a year after the victory over the Mexican army at San . Uncertainty about its future did not discourage Americans committed to expansion , especially slaveholders , from rushing to settle in the Lone Star Republic , however . Between 1836 and 1846 , its population nearly tripled . By 1840 , nearly twelve thousand enslaved Africans had been brought to Texas by American slaveholders . Many new settlers had suffered losses in the severe depression of 1837 and hoped for a new start in the new nation . According to folklore , across the United States , homes and farms were deserted overnight , and curious neighbors found notes reading only ( Gone to Texas ) Many Europeans , especially Germans , also immigrated to Texas during this period . Americans in Texas generally treated both Tejano and Native American residents with utter contempt , eager to displace and dispossess them . leaders failed to return the support their Tejano neighbors had extended during the rebellion and repaid them by seizing their lands . In 1839 , Lamar , the second president of the Lone Star Republic , instituted a program of ethnic cleansing aimed at pushing all Native American tribes out of Texas . The impulse to expand did not lay dormant , and settlers and leaders in the newly formed Texas republic soon cast their gaze on the Mexican province of New Mexico as well . Repeating the tactics of earlier , a Texas force set out in 1841 intent on taking Santa Fe . Its members encountered an army of New Mexicans and were taken prisoner and sent to Mexico City . On Christmas Day , 1842 , Texans avenged a Mexican assault on San Antonio by attacking the Mexican town of In August , another Texas army was sent to attack Santa Fe , but Mexican troops forced them to retreat . Clearly , hostilities between Texas and Mexico had not ended simply because Texas had declared its independence . The War , LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end ofthis section , you will be able to causes ofthe War Describe the outcomes of the war in 1848 , especially the Mexican Cession Describe the effect of the California Gold Rush on westward expansion Tensions between the United States and Mexico rapidly deteriorated in the as American eagerly eyed Mexican land to the west , including the lush northern Mexican province of California . Indeed , in 1842 , a naval , incorrectly believing war had broken out , seized Monterey , California , a part of Mexico . Monterey was returned the next day , but the episode only added to the uneasiness with which Mexico viewed its northern neighbor . The forces of expansion , however , could not be contained , and American voters elected Access for free at .
The War , 283 James Polk in 1844 because he promised to deliver more lands . President Polk his promise by gaining Oregon and , most spectacularly , provoking a war with Mexico that ultimately the wildest fantasies of . By 1848 , the United States encompassed much of North America , a republic that stretched from the Atlantic to the . JAMES POLK AND THE TRIUMPH OF EXPANSION A fervent belief in expansion gripped the United States in the . In 1845 , a New York newspaper editor , John Sullivan , introduced the concept of manifest destiny to describe the very popular idea of the special role of the United States in the divine right and duty of White Americans to seize and settle the American West , thus spreading Protestant , democratic values . In this climate of opinion , voters in 1844 elected James Polk , a slaveholder from Tennessee , because he vowed to annex Texas as a new slave state and take Oregon . Annexing Oregon was an important objective for foreign policy because it appeared to be an area rich in commercial possibilities . Northerners favored control of Oregon because ports in the Northwest would be gateways for trade with Asia . Southerners hoped that , in exchange for their support of expansion into the northwest , northerners would not oppose plans for expansion into the southwest . President campaign slogan in 1844 had been forty or ! the United States right to gain full control of what was known as Oregon Country , from its southern border at latitude ( the current boundary with California ) to its northern border at 40 ' latitude . According to an 1818 agreement , Great Britain and the United States held joint ownership of this territory , but the 1827 Treaty of Joint Occupation opened the land to settlement by both countries . Realizing that the British were not willing to cede all claims to the territory , Polk proposed the land be divided at latitude ( the current border between Washington and Canada ) The British , however , denied claims to land north of the Columbia River ( Oregon current northern border ) Figure 1113 . Indeed , the British foreign secretary refused even to relay Polk proposal to London . However , reports of the Great Britain would face defending Oregon in the event of a attack , combined with concerns over affairs at home and elsewhere in its empire , quickly changed the minds of the British , and in June 1846 , Queen Victoria government agreed to a division at the parallel . Oregon country . sums Ax FIGURE This map of the Oregon territory during the period of joint occupation by the United States and Great Britain shows the area whose ownership was contested by the two powers . In contrast to the diplomatic solution with Great Britain over Oregon , when it came to Mexico , Polk and the American people proved willing to use force to wrest more land for the United States . In keeping with voters expectations , President Polk set his sights on the Mexican state of California . After the mistaken capture of Monterey , negotiations about purchasing the port of San Francisco from Mexico broke off until September 1845 . Then , following a revolt in California that left it divided in two , Polk attempted to purchase Upper California and New Mexico as well . These efforts went nowhere . The Mexican government , angered by .
284 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , actions , refused to recognize the independence of Texas . Finally , after nearly a decade of public clamoring for the annexation of Texas , in December 1845 Polk agreed to the annexation of the former Mexican state , making the Lone Star Republic an additional slave state . that the United States had annexed Texas , however , the Mexican government refused to discuss the matter of selling land to the United States . Indeed , Mexico refused even to acknowledge Polk emissary , John , who had been sent to Mexico City to negotiate . Not to be deterred , Polk encouraged Thomas Larkin , the consul in Monterey , to assist any American settlers and any , the Mexican residents of the state , who wished to proclaim their independence from Mexico . By the end of 1845 , having broken diplomatic ties with the United States over Texas and having grown alarmed by American actions in California , the Mexican government warily anticipated the next move . It did not have long to wait . WAR WITH MEXICO , fervor propelled the United States to war against Mexico in 1846 . The United States had long argued that the Rio Grande was the border between Mexico and the United States , and at the end of the Texas war for independence Santa Anna had been pressured to agree . Mexico , however , refused to be bound by Santa Anna promises and insisted the border lay farther north , at the River ( Figure 1114 ) To set it at the Rio Grande would , in effect , allow the United States to control land it had never occupied . In Mexico eyes , therefore , President Polk violated its sovereign territory when he ordered troops into the disputed lands in 1846 . From the Mexican perspective , it appeared the United States had invaded their nation . Texas Claims STATES Grande DISPUTED TEXAS Rivet MEXICO FIGURE In 1845 , when Texas joined the United States , Mexico insisted the United States had a right only to the territory northeast ofthe River . The United States argued in turn that it should have title to all land between the and the Rio Grande as well . In January 1846 , the force that was ordered to the banks of the Rio Grande to build a fort on the American side encountered a Mexican cavalry unit on patrol . Shots rang out , and sixteen soldiers were killed or wounded . Angrily declaring that Mexico has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil , President Polk demanded the United States declare war on Mexico . On May 12 , Congress obliged . The small but vocal antislavery faction decried the decision to go to war , arguing that Polk had deliberately provoked hostilities so the United States could annex more slave territory . Illinois representative Abraham Lincoln and other members of Congress issued the Spot Resolutions in which they demanded to know the precise spot on soil where American blood had been spilled . Many also denounced the war . Democrats , however , supported Polk decision , and volunteers for the army came forward in droves from every part of the country except New England , the seat of abolitionist activity . Enthusiasm for the war was aided by the widely held belief that Mexico was a weak , impoverished country and that the Mexican people , perceived as ignorant , lazy , and controlled by a corrupt Roman Catholic clergy , would be easy to defeat . Access for free at .
The War , 285 FIGURE sentiment played an important role in the War . The American public widely regarded Roman Catholics as cowardly and , like the clergy in this ca . 1846 lithograph who are shown Mexican town of accompanied by pretty women and baskets full of alcohol . credit Library of Congress ) military strategy had three main objectives ) Take control of northern Mexico , including New Mexico ) seize California and ) capture Mexico City . General Zachary Taylor and his Army of the Center were assigned to accomplish the goal , and with superior weapons they soon captured the Mexican city of . Taylor quickly became a hero in the eyes of the American people , and Polk appointed him commander of all forces . General Stephen Watts , commander of the Army of the West , accepted the surrender of Santa Fe , New Mexico , and moved on to take control of California , leaving Colonel Sterling Price in command . Despite assurances that New Mexicans need not fear for their lives or their property , the region residents rose in revolt in January 1847 in an effort to drive the Americans away . Although Price managed to put an end to the rebellion , tensions remained high . meanwhile , arrived in California to it already in American hands through the joint efforts of California settlers , naval commander John , and John Fremont , a former army captain and of Missouri senator Thomas Benton . at anchor off the coast of , learned that war had begun and quickly set sail for California . He seized the town of Monterey in July 1846 , less than a month after a group of American settlers led by William Ide had taken control of Sonoma and declared California a republic . A week after the fall of Monterey , the navy took San Francisco with no resistance . Although some staged a rebellion in September 1846 , many others submitted to the takeover Thus had little to do other than take command of California as its governor . Leading the Army of the South was General Scott . Both Taylor and Scott were potential competitors for the presidency , and whoever seized Mexico City would become a hero , Polk assigned Scott the campaign to avoid elevating the more popular Taylor , who was affectionately known as Old Rough and Ready . Scott captured in March 1847 , and moving in a northwesterly direction from there ( much as Spanish conquistador Hernan had done in 1519 ) he slowly closed in on the capital . Every step of the way was a victory , however , and Mexican soldiers and civilians both fought bravely to save their land from the American invaders . Mexico City defenders , including young military cadets , fought to the end . According to legend , cadet Juan last act was to save the Mexican , and he leapt from the city walls with it wrapped around his body . On September 14 , 1847 , Scott entered Mexico City central plaza the city had fallen Figure . While Polk and other called for all Mexico , the Mexican government and the
286 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , United States negotiated for peace in 1848 , resulting in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . FIGURE In General Scott Entrance into Mexico ( 1851 ) Carl Nebel depicts General Scott on a white horse entering Mexico City Plaza de la as anxious residents of the city watch . One woman peers furtively from behind the curtain of an upstairs window . On the left , a man bends down to pick up a paving stone to throw at the invaders . The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , signed in February 1848 , was a triumph for American expansion under which Mexico ceded nearly half its land to the United States . The Mexican Cession , as the conquest of land west of the Rio Grande was called , included the current states of California , New Mexico , Arizona , Nevada , Utah , and portions of Colorado and Wyoming . Mexico also recognized the Rio Grande as the border with the United States . The United States promised to grant Mexican citizens in the ceded territory citizenship in the future when the territories they were living in became states , and promised to recognize the Spanish land grants to the in New Mexico . In exchange , the United States agreed to assume million worth of Mexican debts owed to citizens , paid Mexico 15 million for the loss of its land , and promised to guard the residents of the Mexican Cession from Native American raids . As extensive as the Mexican Cession was , some argued the United States should not be until it had taken all of Mexico . Many who were opposed to this idea were southerners who , while desiring the annexation of more slave territory , did not want to make Mexico large mestizo ( people of mixed Native American and European ancestry ) population part of the United States . Others did not want to absorb a large group of Roman Catholics . These could not accept the idea of new territory with , Catholic populations . CLICK AND EXPLORE Explore the War ( at to read about life in the Mexican and armies during the war and to learn more about the various battles . CALIFORNIA AND THE GOLD RUSH The United States had no way of knowing that part of the land about to be ceded by Mexico had just become far more valuable than anyone could have imagined . On January 24 , 1848 , James Marshall discovered gold in the millrace of the sawmill he had built with his partner John Sutter on the south fork of California American River . Word quickly spread , and within a few weeks all of Sutter employees had left to search for gold . When the news reached San Francisco , most of its inhabitants abandoned the town and headed for the American River . By the end of the year , thousands of California residents had gone north to the gold with visions of wealth dancing in their heads , and in 1849 thousands of people from around the world followed them Figure ) The Gold Rush had begun . Access for free at .
The War , 287 ' STEAM SHIP ! Meal . git ' FIGURE Word about the discovery of gold in California in 1848 quickly spread and thousands soon made their way to the West Coast in search of quick riches . The fantasy of instant wealth induced a mass exodus to California . Settlers in Oregon and Utah rushed to the American River . Easterners sailed around the southern tip of South America or to Panama Atlantic coast , where they crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the and booked ship passage for San Francisco . As vessels stopped in South American ports to take on food and fresh water , hundreds of Peruvians and Chileans streamed aboard . Easterners who could not afford to sail to California crossed the continent on foot , on horseback , or in wagons . Others journeyed from as far away as Hawaii and Europe . Chinese people came as well , adding to the polyglot population in the California boomtowns ( Figure . FIGURE This Currier Ives lithograph from 1849 imagines the extreme lengths that people might go to in order to be part of the California Gold Rush . In addition to the men with picks and shovels trying to reach the ship from the dock , airships and rocket are shown flying overhead . credit Library of Congress ) Once in California , gathered in camps with names like Drunkard Bar , Angel Camp , Gouge Eye , and , the did not wealth so easy to come by as they had imagined . Although some were able to gold by panning for it or shoveling soil from river bottoms into contraptions called rockers , most did not . The placer gold , the gold that had been washed down the mountains into streams and rivers , was quickly exhausted , and what remained was deep below ground . Independent miners were supplanted by companies that could afford not only to purchase hydraulic mining technology but also to hire
288 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , laborers to work the hills . The frustration of many a miner was expressed in the words of Sullivan Osborne . In 1857 , Osborne wrote that he had arrived in California full of high hopes and bright anticipations of the future only to his dreams have long since perished . Although 550 million worth of gold was found in California between 1849 and 1850 , very little of it went to individuals . Observers in the gold also reported abuse of Native Americans by miners . Some miners forced Native Americans to work their claims for them others drove them off their lands , stole from them , and even murdered them as part of a systemic campaign of extermination . Some scholars view the resulting loss of Native American life as a clear example of genocide in the United States . Foreigners were generally disliked , especially those from South America . The most despised , however , were the thousands of Chinese migrants . Eager to earn money to send to their families in Hong Kong and southern China , they quickly earned a reputation as frugal men and hard workers who routinely took over diggings others had abandoned as worthless and worked them until every scrap of gold had been found . Many American miners , often , resented their presence and discriminated against them , believing the Chinese , who represented about percent of the nearly who arrived , were depriving them of the opportunity to make a living . CLICK AND EXPLORE Visit The Chinese in California ( to learn more about the experience of Chinese migrants who came to California in the Gold Rush era . In 1850 , California imposed a tax on foreign miners , and in 1858 it prohibited all immigration from China . Those Chinese who remained in the face of the growing hostility were often beaten and killed , and some Westerners made a sport of cutting off Chinese men queues , the long braids of hair worn down their backs Figure . In 1882 , Congress took up the power to restrict immigration by banning the further immigration of Chinese . FIGURE Pacific Chivalry Encouragement to Chinese Immigration , which appeared in Harper 1869 , depicts a White man Chinese man with a whip as he holds him by the queue . Americans sometimes forcefully cut off the queues of Chinese immigrants . This could have serious consequences for the victim . Until 1911 , all Chinese men were required by their nation law to wear the queue as a sign of loyalty . Miners China without it could be put to death . credit Library of Congress ) As people to California in 1849 , the population of the new territory swelled from a few thousand to about . The new arrivals quickly organized themselves into communities , and the trappings of civilized , saloons , libraries , stage lines , and fraternal to appear . Newspapers were established , and musicians , singers , and acting companies arrived to entertain the gold seekers . The epitome of these Gold Rush boomtowns was San Francisco , which counted only a few hundred residents in 1846 but by 1850 had reached a population of thousand Figure . So quickly did the territory grow that by Access for free at .
Free or Slave soil ?
The Dilemma of the West 289 1850 California was ready to enter the Union as a state . When it sought admission , however , the issue of slavery expansion and sectional tensions emerged once again . FIGURE This daguerreotype shows the bustling port of San Francisco in January 1851 , just a few months after San Francisco became part of the new US . state of California , credit Library of Congress ) Free or Slave Soil ?
The Dilemma of the West LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end ofthis section , you will be able to Describe the terms of the Proviso Discuss why the Party objected to the westward expansion of slavery Explain why sectional and political divisions in the United States grew Describe the terms of the Compromise of 1850 The 1848 treaty with Mexico did not bring the United States domestic peace . Instead , the acquisition of new territory revived and the debate over the future of slavery in the western territories , widening the growing division between North and South and leading to the creation of new parties . Increasingly , the South came to regard itself as under attack by radical northern abolitionists , and many northerners began to speak ominously of a southern drive to dominate American politics for the purpose of protecting slaveholders human property . As tensions mounted and both sides hurled accusations , national unity frayed . Compromise became nearly impossible and antagonistic sectional rivalries replaced the idea of a , democratic republic . THE LIBERTY PARTY , THE PROVISO , AND THE ANTISLAVERY MOVEMENT Committed to protecting White workers by keeping slavery out of the lands taken from Mexico , Pennsylvania congressman David attached to an 1846 revenue bill an amendment that would prohibit slavery in the new territory . The Proviso was not entirely new . Other congressmen had drafted similar legislation , and language was largely copied from the 1787 Northwest Ordinance that had banned slavery in that territory . His ideas were very controversial in the , however , because his proposals would prevent American slaveholders from bringing what they viewed as their lawful property , enslaved people , into the western lands . The measure passed the House but was defeated in the Senate . When Polk tried again to raise revenue the following year ( to pay for lands taken from Mexico ) the Proviso was reintroduced , this time calling for the prohibition of slavery not only in the Mexican Cession but in all territories . The revenue bill passed , but without the proviso . That , a loyal Democrat , should attempt to counter the actions of a Democratic president hinted at the party divisions that were to come . The 18403 were a particularly active time in the creation and reorganization of political parties and constituencies , mainly because of discontent with the positions of the mainstream Whig and Democratic Parties in regard to slavery and its extension into the territories . The new party , the
290 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , small and politically weak Liberty Party founded in 1840 , was a party , as were many of those that followed it . I members were abolitionists who fervently believed slavery was evil and should be ended , and that this was best accomplished by political means . The captured the antislavery sentiments during and after the Mexican War . Antislavery advocates differed from the abolitionists . While abolitionists called for the end of slavery everywhere , antislavery advocates , for various reasons , did not challenge the presence of slavery in the states where it already ed . Those who supported antislavery fervently opposed its expansion westward because , they argued , slavery would degrade White labor and reduce its value , cast a stigma upon White people , and deprive them of a chance to advance economically . The western lands , they argued , should be open to Whi men farmers and urban workers for whom the West held the promise of economic advancement . Where slavery was entrenched , according to antislavery advocates , there was little land left for small farmers to purchase , and such men could not compete fairly with slaveholders who held large farms and gangs of ens people . Ordinary laborers suffered also no one would pay a White man a decent wage when an enslaved worked for nothing . When labor was associated with loss of freedom , antislavery supporters argued , all White workers carried a stigma that marked them as little better than the enslaved . opposed the extension of slavery into the Mexican Cession not because of his concern for African Americans , but because of his belief that slavery hurt White workers , and that lands acquired by the government should be used to better the position of White small farmers and laborers . Work was not simply something that people did it gave them dignity , but in a slave society , labor had no dignity . In response to these arguments , southerners maintained that laborers in northern factories were treated worse than enslaved people . Their work was tedious and low paid . Their meager income was spent on inadequate food , clothing , and shelter . There was no dignity in such a life . In contrast , they argued , southern enslaved people were provided with a home , the necessities of life , and the protection of their slaveholders . Factory owners did not care for or protect their employees in the same way . THE THE ELECTION OF 1848 The Proviso was an issue of great importance to the Democrats . Would they pledge to support it ?
At the party New York State convention in Buffalo , Martin Van antislavery because they were likened to farmers who were willing to burn down their own barn to get rid of a rat in favor of the proviso . Their opponents , known as Hunkers , refused to support it . Angered , the organized their own convention , where they chose antislavery , Proviso delegates to send to the Democrats national convention in Baltimore . In this way , the controversy over the expansion of slavery divided the Democratic Party . At the national convention , both sets of delegates were ones chosen by the and the ones chosen by the Hunkers . When it came time to vote for the party presidential nominee , the majority of votes were for Lewis Cass , an advocate of popular sovereignty . Popular sovereignty was the belief that citizens should be able to decide issues based on the principle of majority rule in this case , residents of a territory should have the right to decide whether slavery would be allowed in it . Theoretically , this doctrine would allow slavery to become established in any territory , including those from which it had been banned by earlier laws . Disgusted by the result , the united with antislavery and former members of the Liberty Party to form a new political Party , which took as its slogan Free Soil , Free Speech , Free Labor , and Free Men . The party had one real oppose the extension of slavery into the territories Figure . In the minds of its members and many other northerners of the time , southern slaveholders had marshaled their wealth and power to control national politics for the purpose of protecting the institution of slavery and extending it into the territories . Many in the Party believed in this conspiracy of the slaveholding elite to control both foreign affairs and domestic policies for their own ends , a cabal that came to be known as the Slave Power . Access for free at .
Free or Slave Soil ?
The Dilemma of the West 291 ?
HIM our FIGURE This political cartoon depicts Martin Van and his son John , both , slavery issue within the Democratic Party by smoking out fellow Democrat Lewis Cass on the roof . Their support of the Proviso and the new Party is demonstrated by John declaration , That you Dad ! more We rat em out yet . Long life to Davy . credit Library of Congress ) In the wake of the Mexican War , antislavery sentiment entered mainstream American politics when the new party promptly selected Martin Van as its presidential candidate . For the time , a national political party committed itself to the goal of stopping the expansion of slavery . The Democrats chose Lewis Cass , and the nominated General Zachary Taylor , as Polk had assumed they would . On Election Day , Democrats split their votes between Van and Cass . With the strength of the Democratic vote diluted , Taylor won . His popularity with the American people served him well , and his status as a slaveholder helped him win the South . CLICK AND EXPLORE Visit the archives of the Gilder Institute ( to read an August 1848 letter from Smith , a staunch abolitionist , regarding the candidate , Martin Van . Smith played a major role in the Liberty Party and was their presidential candidate in 1848 . THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 The election of 1848 did nothing to quell the controversy over whether slavery would advance into the Mexican Cession . Some slaveholders , like President Taylor , considered the question a moot point because the lands acquired from Mexico were far too dry for growing cotton and therefore , they thought , no slaveholder would want to move there . Other southerners , however , argued that the question was not whether slaveholders would want to move to the lands of the Mexican Cession , but whether they could and still retain control of their enslaved property . Denying them the right to freely relocate with their lawful property was , they maintained , unfair and unconstitutional . Northerners argued , just as fervidly , that because Mexico had abolished slavery , no enslaved people currently lived in the Mexican Cession , and to introduce slavery there would extend it to a new territory , thus furthering the institution and giving the Slave Power more control over the United States . The strong current of antislavery is , the desire to protect White increased the opposition to the expansion of slavery into the West . Most northerners , except members of the Party , favored popular sovereignty for California and the New Mexico territory . Many southerners opposed this position , however , for they feared residents of these regions might choose to outlaw slavery . Some southern politicians spoke ominously of secession from the United States . rejected popular sovereignty and demanded that slavery be permanently excluded from the territories . Beginning in January 1850 , Congress worked for eight months on a compromise that might quiet the growing
292 11 A Nation on the Move Westward Expansion , sectional conflict . Led by the aged Henry Clay , members agreed to the following . California , which was ready to enter the Union , was admitted as a free state in accordance with its state constitution . Popular sovereignty was to determine the status of slavery in New Mexico and Utah , even though Utah and part of New Mexico were north of the Missouri Compromise line . The slave trade was banned in the nation capital . Slavery , however , was allowed to remain . Under a new fugitive slave law , those who helped escaped enslaved individuals or refused to assist in their return would be and possibly imprisoned . The border between Texas and New Mexico was The Compromise of 1850 brought temporary relief . It resolved the issue of slavery in the territories for the moment and prevented secession . The peace would not last , however . Instead of relieving tensions between North and South , it had actually made them worse . Access for free at .
11 Key Terms 293 Key Terms alcalde a Mexican who of en served as combined civil administrator , judge , and law enforcement northern loyal to Martin Van who opposed the extension of slavery into the territories and broke away from the main party when it nominated a sovereignty candidate Mexican residents of California Compromise of 1850 laws passed by Congress in September 1850 to resolve issues stemming from the Mexican Cession and 18 sectional crisis Corps of Discovery the group by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the expedition to explore and map the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase a person who broug It new settlers to Texas in exchange for a grant of land a person who engages in an military operation intended to seize land from foreign countries or foment revolution here the nickname for those who traveled to California in 1849 in hopes of gold Party a political party hat sought to exclude slavery from the western territories , leaving these areas open for settlement by farmers and ensuring that White laborers would not have to compete with enslaved labor Liberty Party a political party formed in 1840 by those who believed political measures were the best means by which abolition be accomplished Mexican Cession the lands west of the Rio Grande ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 , including California , Arizona , New Mexico , Nevada , Utah , and parts of Wyoming and Colorado Missouri Compromise an agreement reached in Congress in 1820 that allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state , brought Maine into the Union as a free state , and prohibited slavery north of 30 latitude Northwest Passage the nonexistent route across the North American continent sought by European and American explorers Slave Power a term northerners used to describe the disproportionate influence that they felt elite southern slaveholders wielded in both domestic and international affairs Amendment an amendment ( which did not pass ) proposed by representative James in 1819 that called for Missouri to be admitted as a free state and for all enslaved people there to be gradually emancipated Mexican residents of Texas Proviso an amendment to a revenue bill that would have barred slavery from all the territory acquired from Mexico Summary Lewis and Clark In 1803 , Thomas Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis to organize an expedition into the Louisiana Territory to explore and map the area but also to an route from the Missouri River to the Coast . The Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery captured the imagination of many , who dedicated themselves to the economic exploitation of the western lands and the expansion of American influence and power In the South , the treaty legally secured Florida for the United States , though it did nothing to end the resistance of the Seminoles against American . At the same time , the treaty frustrated those Americans who considered Texas a part of the Louisiana Purchase . Taking matters into their own hands , some American settlers tried to take Texas by force . The Missouri Crisis The Missouri Crisis created a division over slavery that profoundly and ominously shaped sectional identities
294 11 Review Questions and rivalries as never before . over the uneasy balance between slave and free states in Congress came to a head when Missouri petitioned to join the Union as a slave state in 1819 , and the debate broadened from simple issues of representation to a critique of the morality of slavery . The debates also raised the specter of disunion and civil war , leading many , including Thomas Jefferson , to fear for the future of the republic . Under the Missouri Compromise , Missouri and Maine entered the Union at the same time , Maine as a free state , Missouri as a slave state , and a line was drawn across the remainder of the Louisiana territory north of which slavery was forbidden . Independence for Texas The establishment of the Lone Star Republic formed a new chapter in the history of westward expansion . In contrast to the addition of the Louisiana Territory through diplomacy with France , Americans in Texas employed violence against Mexico to achieve their goals . Orchestrated largely by slaveholders , the acquisition of Texas appeared the next logical step in creating an American empire that included slavery . Nonetheless , with the Missouri Crisis in mind , the United States refused the Texans request to enter the United States as a slave state in 1836 . Instead , Texas formed an independent republic where slavery was legal . But American settlers there continued to press for more land . The strained relationship between in Texas and Mexico in the early hinted of things to come . The War , President James Polk administration was a period of intensive expansion for the United States . After overseeing the details regarding the annexation of Texas from Mexico , Polk negotiated a peaceful settlement with Great Britain regarding ownership of the Oregon Country , which brought the United States what are now the states of Washington and Oregon . The acquisition of additional lands from Mexico , a country many in the United States perceived as weak and inferior , was not so bloodless . The Mexican Cession added nearly half of Mexico territory to the United States , including New Mexico and California , and established the border at the Rio Grande . The California Gold Rush rapidly expanded the population of the new territory , but also prompted concerns over immigration , especially from China , and led to a massive loss of Native American life in the state . Free or Slave Soil ?
The Dilemma of the West The acquisition of lands from Mexico in 1848 reawakened debates regarding slavery . The suggestion that slavery be barred from the Mexican Cession caused rancorous debate between North and South and split the Democratic Party when many northern members left to create the Party . Although the Compromise of 1850 resolved the question of whether slavery would be allowed in the new territories , the solution pleased no one . The peace brought by the compromise was , and the debate over slavery continued . Review Questions . As a result of the Treaty , the United States gained which territory from Spain ?
Florida . New Mexico California Nevada . The Long Expedition established a republic in Texas known as the Lone Star Republic the Republic of Texas the Republic of Access for free at .
11 Review Questions 295 . For what purposes did Thomas Jefferson send Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory ?
What did he want them to accomplish ?
A proposal to prohibit the importation of enslaved people to Missouri following its admission to the United States was made by . John Calhoun Henry Clay James John Quincy Adams . To balance votes in the Senate , was admitted to the Union as a free state at the same time that Missouri was admitted as a slave state . Florida Maine New York Arkansas . Why did the Missouri Crisis trigger threats of disunion and war ?
Identify the positions of both southern slaveholders and northern opponents of the spread of slavery . Texas won its independence from Mexico in . A . 1821 . 1830 1836 1845 . Texans defeated the army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the battle of . the Alamo San Austin . How did Texas settlers view of Mexico and its people contribute to the history of Texas in the 18305 ?
10 . Which of the following was nota reason the United States was reluctant to annex Texas ?
A . The United States did not want to a war with Mexico . Annexing Texas would add more slave territory to the United States and anger abolitionists . Texans considered citizens inferior and did not want to be part of their country . Adding Texas would upset the balance between free and slave states in Congress . 11 . According to treaties signed in 1818 and 1827 , with which country did the United States jointly occupy Oregon ?
A . Great Britain Spain Mexico France 296 11 Critical Thinking Questions 12 . During the war between the United States and Mexico , revolts against control broke out in Florida and Texas . New Mexico and California California and Texas Florida and California 13 . Why did White people in California dislike the Chinese so much ?
14 . The practice of allowing residents of territories to decide whether their land should be slave or free was the democratic process the Proviso ar sovereignty the Free Soil solution 15 . Which of he following was not a provision of the Compromise of 1850 ?
California was admitted as a free state . Slavery was abolished in Washington , A stronger fugitive slave law was passed . ents of New Mexico and Utah were to decide for themselves whether their territories would be slave or free . 16 . Describe he events leading up to the formation of the Party . Critical Thinking Questions 17 . Consider he role of in American expansion . What are some arguments in favor of ?
What are some arguments against it ?
18 . What are he economic and political issues raised by having an imbalance between free and slave states ?
Why did tie balance of free and slave states matter ?
19 . How did settlers in Texas see themselves ?
Did they adopt a Mexican identity because they were living in Mexican territory ?
Why or why not ?
20 . Consider the annexation of Texas and the War from a Mexican perspective . What would you objectionable about American actions , foreign policy , and attitudes in the ?
21 . Describe the place of Texas in the history of American westward expansion by comparing Texas early history to the Missouri Crisis in . What are the similarities and what are the differences ?
22 . Consider the arguments over the expansion of slavery made by both northerners and southerners in the aftermath of the victory over Mexico . Who had the more compelling case ?
Or did each side make equally arguments ?
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