Westward Expansion and the Growing Sectional Crisis 1840 to 1860 FRI Nov 21 KEY TERMS Manifest Destiny Wilmot Proviso Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Compromise of 1850 Popular Sovereignty Gadsden Purchase 1853 Kansas Nebraska Act 1854 Bleeding Kansas Jefferson Davis 2 topics going to be intertwined Territory and Slavery Slavery and New Territory are going to be linked and connected Who is going to be a slave state and who is not Causes of the Mexican American War 1846 1848 Decline of the Spanish Empire This happens during much of the 19th century Important because allows a lot of countries in Central America to become independent 1821 Spain is finally going to recognize Mexico s independence New territory formed TX Texas independence came in March of 1836 Still a dispute debate where the southern border is for Mexico and Texas after Mexican Texas their independence Ideologies 3 Manifest Destiny Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Americans think they are entitled of land from Atlantic Pacific They think that it is their destiny Based on the authority of God ordained by Him Once they occupy this land they are supposed to inhabit it Inhabitation signifies power making the land better Spread ideas such as Democracy liberty Christianity A combination of American exceptionalism and American Painting of the flying Angel Going from right to left Atlantic Pacific Improving the land building it Atlantic side dark like the unknown uncivilized dark side Moving the Indians out of the way The right side is already beautiful contrast of light dark The angel is guiding them on their way Angel ordained by God Second Great Awakening Religion This is going to motivate Americans to go west and save those who don t know about Christianity Industrialization Now you can actually go west Can improve the market Improve the number of resources that you have Looking for new opportunities Those who don t industrialization are going to move west as well War is going to be one cause of American s desire to move take land from the west U S Politics John Tyler Long story short pisses off both political parties and becomes an Independent Wants to include Texas into the Union What does he get out of annexing Texas Believes it s the only way that the people will reelect him as an Independent Without help from either political parties He is going to begin the annexing process right before James K Polk becomes president Dec 1845 Texas becomes the 28th state in the Union ANNOUNCEMENTS MON Nov 24 Exam Review Sent out in an email Review WED Dec 3rd 2 00PM Holden Hall 121 optional Nueces River vs Rio Grande River Property border dispute of Texas People in Texas claim that the Rio Grande is the southern border of the state April 1846 An event called the Thornton Affair occurs Mexican cavalry attack an American patrol unit led by Captain Thornton Mexicans attacking because the American soldiers are on your land After this event James K Polk is going to go to Congress and ask for a American Declaration of War They are going to give it May 1846 Mexican American War officially disputes Wilmot Proviso 1846 of WAr It was named after northern Democrat David Wilmot At the beginning of Mex Am War Wilmot wants to attach a proviso to the Declaration Proviso An added on stipulation Says that slavery would not be allowed in any territory gained as a result of the Mexican American War Wilmot does this because he knows that slavery is a hot topic He s trying to solve the problem of slavery in new territory before it even happens How is the proviso accepted in Congress Northerners great Southerners don t like it They are pro slavery people The Wilmot Proviso is controversial not actually adopted for the Mex Amer War not attached to the Declaration of War Offers a glimpse of how entrenched both sides were during the Antebellum Period or Mex AM war It s going to be their way or nothing Not willing to give or concede to the other Mexican American War 1846 48 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848 Official ends the Mexican American War February 1848 Also going to establish the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas to make it When the southern border is established this treaty is also going to give the US what we know of today undisputed control of Texas Mexico agrees to give a huge piece of land almost half to the US This piece is known as the Mexican Cession 18 million dollars given to Mexico At the end of the war the US now has a huge piece of land known as the Mexican Cession 1848 Sutter s Mill and the 49ers Happens in 1848 Gold gets discovered in a place called Sutter s Mill In the territory of California Gold gets discovered the following year a whole bunch of people go to California Collectively these people are known as 49ers Important because population is going to boom Now California can apply for statehood Going to bring up the issue of is California going to be a slave or non state In California most people want it to be a free state in the Union Of course southern representatives in Congress are going to stand against this idea Going to offset the balance Slave states are going to feel outnumbered So free states potentially have more representation power in Congress Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas Henry Clay the Great Compromiser The Missouri Compromise He tries but fails to create a compromise that will satisfy both sides His failure gives us another hint of how entrenched both sides had become Doesn t make the problem go away Stephen Douglas Now he s going to try an find a solution to this problem Motivation young and upcoming politician want to be recognized and make From Illinois where Lincoln came from misc information He takes Clay s compromise and piece that compromise up into individual a name for himself parts Douglas is going to split up his compromise in smaller individual parts Breaking it up will make it easier for it to get through Congress Pretend you like 3 parts of it but not 4 He splits it up because then people don t have to vote for things they don t approve of You don t have to vote for everything as one part Long story short the compromise the individual bills are going to make it through Congress Although they were passed as individual bills Historians still consider what Douglas did as a whole as the Compromise of 1850 Compromise of 1850 claims California was admitted as a free state U S Government assumed Texas debt in exchange for Texas giving up western land Two territories were created out of part of the