I II Chapter 11 Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny 1841 1849 The Social Fabric in the West A The New Cotton Country 1 Native Americans had prepared the way for white settlers by clearing the land for agriculture 2 Differing land quality allowed some settlers to prosper while others did not a The Southwest replicated the South s hierarchical structure B Westering Yankees 1 Settlers in the former Northwest Territory found that the way had been prepared for them a Native Americans had cleared the land for farming b Surveyors had laid out the land 2 The Old Northwest quickly replicated many features of New England a Traditional institutions were established b Class differences were not as pronounced as in the Southwest because of relatively uniform land quality 3 Conditions in Oregon were favorable for settlers a Open fertile prairies provided good farmland b Relations with Native Americans were at first quite good 4 Religious revivals were a feature of life in all three regions a In the Old Northwest and in Oregon they reinforced town life C The Hispanic Southwest 1 Missions provided the backbone for the Spanish settlement of California a Native Americans provided the labor that made the region prosper agriculturally b Following independence the Mexican government sold off the missions to private individuals who formed a Spanish speaking landed elite 2 Interethnic and interracial harmony prevailed in some sections of the Spanish Southwest a In northern California around John Sutter s settlement b In Santa Fe where an ethnically mixed elite based on commerce developed c In Texas until the U S American population became large D The Mormon Community 1 Climatic conditions in Utah made central management and control desirable a The Mormon Church parceled out land according to need and organized communal work b The Mormons did all they could to exclude non Mormons from Utah c On the other hand they cultivated close relations with the Native Americans The Triumph of Manifest Destiny A he Rise of Manifest Destiny 1 The concept of manifest destiny contributed to westward expansion 1 a b c d III The ideology of manifest destiny drew from religion American possession of all of North America was God s design Christian missionary organizations were advocates of expansion for this reason Politicians followed suit Free movement B Expansion to the North and West 1 Expansion led to tension between the United States and Britain over territorial differences 2 In the Northeast conflict flared over the border between Maine and Canada a truce prevented outright war 3 In the Northwest both England and the United States claimed Oregon a The two agreed to joint occupation after the War of 1812 extending this arrangement in 1827 indefinitely 4 American settlers established a governmental structure in 1843 despite British objections and aimed at union with C The Politics of Manifest Destiny 1 President Tyler favored U S expansion a The Webster Ashburton Treaty settled the border between Maine and Canada the United States retained more than half of the disputed area b Tyler asserted the U S claim to Oregon by appointing a territorial Indian agent c His administration negotiated a treaty to annex Texas which the Senate declined to ratify because of the slavery issue 2 Expansion was the major issue in the presidential election of 1844 a The Whigs candidate Clay opposed the immediate annexation of Texas b Positions on the annexation of Texas led the Democrats to nominate Polk rather than Van Buren Polk runs on an annex Texas agenda c The Democrats called for immediate annexation of Texas and the acquisition of all of Oregon to 54 40 3 Congress approved a joint resolution annexing Texas prior to Tyler s departure from office 4 Polk acquired much of Oregon for the United States a He demanded 54 40 as Oregon s northern border the British wanted it farther south at the Columbia River b The two sides agreed on the 49th parallel Expansion and Sectional Crisis A The Texas Crisis and Sectional Conflict 1 Tension rose with Mexico after Texas s annexation a Texas s boundary provided the focal point for controversy 2 Polk sent Slidell to purchase the Mexican Territory from Mexico for 15 million dollars Paredes refuses to listen to him 3 Polk them immediately declares war on the basis on the halting of American progress 2 4 5 6 Polk ordered the American army to the Rio Grande after Mexico refused to receive his envoy to discuss the issue a The United States declared war after a Mexican attack at the Rio Grande Many in the United States protested against the war a Their concern arose from the connection between expansion and slavery The annexation of Texas focused intense attention on slavery a Southerners saw greater economic and congressional power in the expansion of slavery b Northerners found slavery s expansion into Texas proof that there was a Slave Power conspiracy c Appropriations for the war effort were held up by the debate over the proposed Wilmot Proviso B War with Mexico 1 In California American settlers revolted against Mexico a They established the Bear Flag Republic 2 Polk sent an army to Santa Fe which seized the entire region without opposition 3 In Mexico the Mexicans were defeated on several fronts a Taylor Santa Anna fought to a stalemate at Buena Vista b Scott marched overland and attacked Mexico City suffering heavy casualties along the way 4 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war a The United States obtained Texas s border at the Rio Grande all of New Mexico and California b Mexico received 15 million and U S payment for war damages caused by Mexico in Texas C The Antislavery Crusade and Women s Rights 1 Antislavery sentiment though still unpopular was on the increase the abolitionist movement was growing larger a Moderate abolitionists alienated by Garrison s tactics and by his association with radical black abolitionists formed their own organization b Many staunch abolitionists were women and men like Garrison understood the need to support equal treatment of women 2 Some became prominent in the abolitionist movement notably in the Garrison wing a Rebuffs in the movement led to advocacy of women s own equality 3 At the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention women formulated a program for equality and political rights D Issues in the Election of 1848 1 The two major parties tried to avoid the issue of slavery in the territories 2 The Free Soil party insisted that slavery must be excluded from