President James K. Polk: Manifest Destiny The 1840's were marked by a desire to expand west and obtain more and more land for America. Americans began to believe that God wanted the U.S. to expand to the Pacific Ocean, and that nothing could get in the way of this dream. This sense of greed became known as “manifest destiny” (manifest obvious & destiny = future). Of course, manifest destiny ignored the fact that millions of Native Americans and Spanish people had been living in the west for centuries. Americans saw these groups as inferior speed bumps on their road to the Pacific Ocean to make the U.S. larger and more powerful. In the 1844 Presidential election, James K. Polk won the Presidency based almost solely on a platform of supporting manifest destiny and acquiring more land (not surprisingly, former President Andrew Jackson supported Polk and helped his campaign). Polk quickly convinced Texas to join the United States in 1845. Texas had tried to operate as its own nation for nine years after breaking away from Mexico, but decided there were too many advantages to joining America as its 28th state. Thousands of Americans streamed into Texas after it officially became a state. Mexico was furious with the United States for “stealing" Texas from them, and cut off all relations with America. Polk used this sour relationship to launch one of the most dishonest wars in our history. Polk had his eyes set on California, and was determined to get it at almost any cost. The only problem was that California was part of Mexico, and had been under Spanish control for centuries. Polk realized that Texas could be the spark he needed to obtain California. The Nueces River had always been the southern border of Texas. However, Polk suddenly insisted the Rio Grande ('Big River in Spanish), miles farther south, was the actual border. The Mexican government gave no credibility to the unsupported claim. Knowing that Mexico had cut off relations with the U.S., Polk sent American diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to negotiate. Not surprisingly, the Mexican government refused to speak with Slidell. Polk used this to portray Mexico as the stubborn bad guys, refusing to peacefully compromise about the border. He then ordered American troops south of the Nueces River, to the Rio Grande, to protect the "American border" from a possible "Mexican invasion". In April, 1846, Mexican troops warned they would be forced to fight if Polk did not remove his troops from their soil. President Polk ordered his troops to stay put. Later that month, Mexican troops attacked a group of American soldiers, killing 11 and capturing 52. When news of the attack reached Polk, he demanded Congress declare war, announcing: "Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory, and shed American blood upon the American soil... The two nations are now at war." Congress declared war two days later. President James K. Polk: The Mexican American War While America was officially at war with Mexico, not all Americans supported the war. Many felt Polk's actions were unjustified and wrong. A young congressman by the name of Abraham Lincoln questioned Polk, stating, "If I should claim your land by word of mouth alone, that certainly would not make it mine." Some people refused to pay their taxes, not wanting to financially support the war. Northern states did not want to fight for more southern land, which would add more slave states to America. Regardless of their opinions, America’s army was destroying the Mexican army with their superior weapons and equipment. Not surprisingly, the war did not stop when America's armies pushed Mexican troops back across the Rio Grande, the border Polk was supposedly fighting for. Our troops pushed west and took over New Mexico and southern California, while others pushed south, deep into Mexico. In September, 1847, U.S. soldiers captured the Mexican capitol, Mexico City. With their capitol city taken, Mexico was ready to negotiate. They signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Signed in February, 1848, Mexico handed over the present-day states of California, Nevada, and Utah; most of Arizona and New Mexico; parts of Colorado and Wyoming; and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas. The United States agreed to pay Mexico $15 million dollars in return. Polk had achieved his plan. America’s “Manifest Destiny” brought them to the Pacific Ocean. In 1853, the U.S. government approached Mexico about more land. Not wanting to fight again, Mexico negotiated. America agreed to pay Mexico $10 million more for a southern strip of land that today is southern Arizona and New Mexico. This is known as the Gadsden Purchase, and finalized America’s stealings and dealings with our southern neighbor.
President James K. Polk: "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" During the same time period as the Mexican War, thousands of Americans followed the Oregon Trail out west. The Oregon Trail followed a similar path to the one first explored by Lewis and Clark. Americans traveled thousands of dangerous miles in covered wagons, going all of 3 miles an hour, in order to start a new life in Oregon Territory. The Oregon Territory was controversial. Both Great Britain and the United States claimed ownership but had not fully settled there. The two sides generally considered the 42nd parallel, or line of latitude on the map, as the border between American and British Canada. As more and more Americans came streaming into the territory, disagreements arouse between the two sides as to where the U.S./British Canadian border should be drawn. Britain felt the border was at the 42 parallel. Polk wanted the border moved higher north, around the 49 parallel, to give them more land. Polk was greedy for more land, but realized that he was in the middle of the Mexican War, and did not want to fight 2 wars at once. He decided that to get what he wanted without fighting, he needed to bluff. Polk announced that America was fully ready to go to war with Britain if they did not recognize that the 54th parallel was the U.S./Canadian border, more than 5 parallels higher than America had ever expressed before! The slogan "Fifty-four forty or fight!" rang throughout America, meaning that unless Great Britain recognized the line of latitude 54 and 4/10's as the border, America wanted war. Polk let the tension build to a frenzy, and then announced he was willing to negotiate. With both sides wanting to avoid war, they negotiated the Treaty of Oregon. This treaty put the U.S./British Canadian border at the 49 parallel, right where Polk had wanted it! (Let this be a lesson to you . . . always ask for more than you really want!) Once again, America got what it wanted. • The 54th parallel is where Polk bluffed, and claimed we would go → to war unless we got it. • The 49th parallel is where Polk → wanted to move the border and where it stands today. • The 42nd parallel is where Britain → felt the border should be. The 49th parallel is still the border today. In just 1 term, four short years, President Polk had lied, cheated, and stole America’s way to the Pacific Ocean, and essentially established our modern borders. Our Manifest Destiny was complete. Name______President James K. Polk: Assessment 1. What was “Manifest Destiny”?
2. Examine this famous 1872 painting titled “American Progress” by John Gast. It has come to symbolize the term “Manifest Destiny”. Below, identify 3 specific details of the painting and explain how they represent “Manifest Destiny”.
• Detail #1 =
• Detail #2 =
• Detail #3 = 3. What was Polk's platform as he ran for President?
4. Explain how President Polk used Texas to start the Mexican American War.
5. Why did many Americans not support the Mexican War?
6. What were the terms of The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
7. What was the Gadsden Purchase?
8. What was the Oregon Trail?
9. Explain how President Polk was able to secure the 49th parallel as the border with British Canada, without having to fight for it.