Manifest Destiny

The Original Thirteen Colonies

The Original Thirteen Colonies

• Settled by the English –1607 (Jamestown)• Settled for economic and social reasons.• American colonists gain the colonies and

become the United States after the Revolutionary War in 1783.

The Northwest Ordinance (1787)

The Northwest Ordinance

(1787)

• The British forbid settlement by the Proclamation of 1763 – Pre-United States

• Contained provisions for the advancement of education, the maintenance of civil liberties and the exclusion of slavery

• Accelerated the westward expansion of the United States

The Louisiana Purchase (1803)

The Louisiana Purchase

(1803)

• Challenged Jefferson’s strict interpretation of the Constitution… justified with presidential power to make treaties

• More than doubled size of US • Control port of New Orleans = control trade up

and down the Mississippi River • Future controversy: slave state vs. free state

Florida

Florida1803 & 1819

• Spanish Territory • Controversy: West Florida declares

independence from Spain; Seminole attacks and runaway slaves

• John Q. Adams takes advantage of Andrew Jackson’s aggressive military actions to acquire Florida from Spain

The Oregon Territory

The Oregon Territory(1846)

• Originally Spain, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States claimed the territory

• The border of the Oregon Territory unsettled between the US and Great Britain

• 1843 marked increased American immigration on the Oregon Trail to the Territory

• Polk settled the boundary of the Oregon Territory on the 49 degree line

Texas

Texas(1845)

• Texas declares independence from Mexico and requested annexation by the US

• Refused: did not want to start war with Mexico; Texas as a slave state

• Annexed in 1845 thereby increasing tensions with Mexico over the southern border of Texas

Mexican Cession

Mexican Cession(1848)

• Disputes over southern border of Texas resulted in the Mexican-American War

• War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, granting the US approximately 525,000 square miles

• Multi-million dollar question: Slave-state or Free-state?

Gadsden Purchase (1854)

Gadsden Purchase

(1853)

• An agreement between the United States and Mexico ($10 million) – eased tensions

• Provided the land necessary for a southern transcontinental railroad and attempted to resolve conflicts that lingered after the Mexican-American War

• Last piece of mainland USA = transcontinental power!