Chapter 14: The Territorial Expansion of the United States

Mr. Logan GreeneAP United States History

West Blocton High School

Chapter Objectives

• How did economic and demographic pressures in the East spur Western migration?

• How did Westward expansion affect the life of Plains Indians?

• How was the United States able to annex Texas from Mexico?

• Which peoples lived in the Southwest?

Manifest Destiny

• As the United States continued to expand westward a new idea prevailed across society

• The idea of Manifest Destiny was created which stated that it was God’s will for the United States to expand to the Pacific Ocean

• This idea also helped the taking over of non-Christian native peoples land

• Closely tied to Democrats

The East and the Frontier

• The US population exploded after 1815• This created a true land shortage for

growing families in the East• The East could simply not support the

growing population so as more land was gained in the West populations migrated

The Old Northwest

• The Old Northwest was the area of the Northwest Territory (Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois)

• This area was the primary overflow for young men migrating from the East

• The heavily wooded areas did not bode well for plantations so this area was mainly communities and subsistence farming (although wheat was successful)

• As well the area slowly grew some industry

The Old Southwest

• The states of the old Southwest such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee saw a huge spike in settlement as cotton became the new cash crop

• Both large landowners and small farmers moved to the area in the hopes of making a profit on the new crop

• The Old Southwest remained completely agricultural with few railroads and a much smaller population

The Plains Indians Frontier

• The Natives to the west were separated into two groups– Those directly to the West where there was

still arable land were mostly farmers– Those further west on the open plains were

mostly hunter gatherers

• As well many of the Eastern tribes had been resettled to the area of modern day Oklahoma by the Indian Removal Act

The Plains Indians

• Tribes like the Sioux underwent drastic change due to the influx of settlers

• The Sioux were accustomed to roaming their territory free of interference

• However, as more settlers come in their territory is tightened and the Sioux are forced to trade for necessities slowly destroying their self-sufficiency

Fur Trading• For centuries the British had dominated the

Mississippi fur trade• However, by the 1830’s American

businessmen had built up a relationship with the Natives based on traditional principles

• Trappers married Indian women and built up lasting relations

• However, the trappers mapped out the frontier and actually quickened settlement and hurried the end of their business

The Oregon Trail

• Trail from Missouri to the Oregon territory• Trail was designed to help the flow of

settlers to Oregon spurred on by stories of land and gold creating “Oregon Fever”

• The journey took around 3 months in a covered wagon and led to much death due to disease and privation

• Eventually the Natives in the area were removed as the Sioux and Platte tribes were more compressed

Mexico and the Southwest

• The old Spanish empire area of the Southwest was in the 1800’s a disjointed mix of peoples

• There were numerous tribes surrounding areas once dominated by the Spanish and by Spanish missions

• Warrior tribes like the Commanche roamed the area so the Mexicans invited Americans to come to Texas to act as a buffer

Texas• The Mexicans, now independent of Spain,

faced serious problems governing the huge expansive but sparsely populated land of Texas

• The Mexicans began encouraging Americans to settle by granting empresarios, or large land grants in return for bringing settlers

• Despite rules for governing the settlement of land many settlers simply arrived and claimed land

Texas• Unlike the empresarios who intermingled into

Mexican society the new settlers were apart and rejected Mexican authority

• In 1835 battles began between the settlers and Mexican president General Santa Anna

• Two battles change the settlers from looking to stay with Mexico to wanting independence– The massacre at the Alamo in March 1836 (187)– The massacre at Goliad 3 weeks later (300)

• By 1836 the settlers won independence as a separate republic

California and the West• The Mexican rule in California was historically

weak so they tried to stimulate the economy to increase control

• However this program only strengthened ties to outside countries

• The Santa Fe Trail to the west led to increased trade and immigrants into New Mexico as well

• At the extreme north Americans also began adding to the Utah territory with members of the new Mormon faith led by Joseph Smith choosing this area

Politics, Expansion, and War

• In 1844 James K. Polk, a Democratic, became President under a policy of expansion

• In the spring of 1846 Polk declares war on Mexico over “atrocities” in Texas

• Zachary Taylor leads the US Army to a triumphant victory over an under supplied Mexico that adds California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the war

Chapter Objectives

• How did economic and demographic pressures in the East spur Western migration?

• How did Westward expansion affect the life of Plains Indians?

• How was the United States able to annex Texas from Mexico?

• Which peoples lived in the Southwest?