Manifest Destiny in the 1840S
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AP U.S. History: Unit 7 HistorySage.com Manifest Destiny in the 1840s Note: Unless your teacher requires you to know about Tyler’s presidency Use space below for and some international incidents regarding Britain and the U.S., skip to notes the section on “Manifest Destiny” below. The AP exam never covers the aforementioned material. I. President John Tyler A. 1840 Election: Harrison (Whig) defeated Van Buren (Democrat) 1. Slogan: "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" (Harrison & Tyler for President) 2. Prominent Whigs (Webster and Clay) sought to control Harrison 3. Harrison died of pneumonia after 4 weeks in office 4. Vice President Tyler became president; blocked plans of Webster & Clay B. Tyler was a Jacksonian in philosophy but did not like Jackson personally. 1. Opposed Whig Party's support for Clay’s "American System" 2. Vetoed more bills than any single-term president in U.S. history. C. End of Independent treasury system (Van Buren’s "Divorce Bill") -- Tyler signed the bill; Whigs sought a 3rd national bank. D. Tyler vetoed bill for creation of a 3rd national bank E. Tyler expelled from his party by congressional caucus of Whigs F. Whig attempt to impeach him led to resignation of entire cabinet G. 1842, Tyler signed bill to raise protective tariff to 32%. II. U.S. Conflict with England in late 1830s & early 1840s A. Caroline Incident (1837 -- during Van Buren’s presidency) 1. U.S ship set on fire on NY shore and sunk by British; one American dead 2. 1840, a Canadian man arrested for alleged role in the attack. -- British stated his execution would mean war as man was part of a military force 3. U.S. released the Canadian prisoner and tensions subsided B. Creole incident,1841: British in Bahamas offered asylum to 130 Virginia slaves who had rebelled and captured the U.S. ship Creole -- US-British relations soured as Southerners wanted compensation C. Maine boundary dispute 1. British desired to build a road connecting Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Quebec -- Road ran through disputed territory in northern Maine. © HistorySage.com 2012 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 2 Unit 7: Manifest Destiny 2. "Aroostook War" (1838) Use space below for a. Canadian lumberjacks entered Aroostook River Valley to claim notes: land; were confronted by Maine Militia; conflict was bloodless. b. Conflict threatened to widen into a real war. c. British diplomat, Lord Ashburton negotiated with U.S. secretary of state Daniel Webster. 3. Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842) a. U.S. retained over half of the territory while British got the Halifax-Quebec route b. Britain expressed regret for the destruction of the Caroline c. Britain promised to avoid interference in freeing slaves (as in the Creole incident) d. Both agreed to cooperate in patrolling the African coast to prevent smuggling e. U.S. gained land in Minnesota (later, valuable iron ore was discovered there) f. Significance: improved U.S.-British relations III. Manifest Destiny A. Millions of Americans in the 1840s & 50s believed that God chose Americans to control the Western Hemisphere. 1. Felt their mission was to spread democratic institutions from "sea to shining sea." 2. Land greed and idealism joined into a potent mix for expansion 3. Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton was a leading proponent of expansionism, free land, and internal improvements. 4. "Manifest destiny" phrase coined in 1844 by John L. Sullivan 5. Movement really began in the 1830s with Jackson & Van Buren removing the Indians from the southeast to Oklahoma. B. Election of 1844 was an expression of Manifest Destiny 1. Expansionist Democrats supported "Young Hickory," James K. Polk a. Historians often extend "Jacksonian Democracy" through Polk's presidency (1828-1840) b. Sought to annex Texas & gain Oregon up to the 54˚40’parallel. 2. Whigs nominated Henry Clay (his third run for president) -- Clay’s attempt to straddle the Texas issue cost him the presidency 3. Liberty Party: 1st party created for the anti-extension of slavery a. Candidate: James G. Birney, founder of the Kentucky Anti-Slavery Society b. Party ran in both the 1840 and 1844 elections 4. Polk defeated Clay 170-105 a. The Liberty Party took enough votes away from Clay that he lost New York by only 5,000 votes and it cost him the election. © HistorySage.com 2012 All Rights Reserved HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 3 Unit 7: Manifest Destiny b. Democrats claimed mandate for annexation; moot when Use space below for Tyler annexed Texas notes: Memory Aid for Manifest Destiny: “TOM” -- Texas, Oregon, Mexican War IV. Texas joins the Union A. Republic of Texas lasted nine years 1. Mexico had refused to recognize Texas independence since 1836. a. Threatened war if U.S. should try annexation b. Texas feared Mexico’s larger and superior military forces 2. Texas signed treaties with England, France, and the Netherlands for protection in 1839-1840. a. Britain was interested in Texas as buffer zone against further U.S. expansion. -- Area could be used for European challenge to the Monroe Doctrine b. France also hoped to divide North America. B. Texas became the leading issue in the 1844 campaign (Polk v. Clay) 1. Opponents feared expansion of slavery into a new region 2. Southerners strongly supported annexation of Texas as it would add another slave state to the Union C. 1845, Tyler got a joint resolution in Congress for annexation (required only majority) 1. Didn't push for a treaty as it required 2/3 vote in the Senate; many Whigs were opposed to Texas’ entry into the Union. 2. Lame-duck Tyler interpreted the (narrow) election as a mandate for annexation. 3. Therefore, Texas became part of the U.S. by the time Polk took the oath of office in March, 1845 D. Mexico claimed the U.S. had unjustly taken Texas and refused to recognize the annexation V. President James K. Polk A. One of the most successful one-term presidents in U.S. history 1. Strong proponent of Jacksonian ideals (his supporters called him “Young Hickory”) 2. Polk was a slave-owner his entire life and owned plantations in Tennessee and Mississippi. © HistorySage.com 2012 All Rights Reserved HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 4 Unit 7: Manifest Destiny B. Polk’s 4-point program (achieved in less than four years) Use space below for 1. Lowered tariff of 1842 from 32% to 25% (Walker Tariff, 1846) notes -- Proved to be excellent revenue producer as it was followed by boom times. 2. Restoration of the Independent Treasury System (1846) 3. Acquisition of California 4. Settlement of the Oregon dispute Memory Aid for Polk's Presidency: COIL -- California, Oregon, Independent Treasury System, and Lower tariff C. Oregon 1. Region had been disputed in certain sections by Spain, Russia, Britain, and the U.S. a. John Jacob Astor: Developed the American Fur Company into a huge enterprise organizing the fur trade from the Great Lakes to Oregon. -- When Astor died in 1848, he was the richest man in America b. Spain gave away claims to Oregon in Florida Purchase Treaty in 1819 c. Conflict with Russia i. Fort Ross established by Russia in 1812 just north of San Francisco ii. Monroe Doctrine was intended by John Quincy Adams partly to reject Russian claims. iii. Russia retreated to the 54˚40’line due to 1824-25 treaties with the U.S. and Britain -- U.S. and Britain became sole possessors of the territory 2. American migration flowed into the Oregon region (south of the Columbia River) a. Oregon Trail: 1840’s: flood of pioneers with came to Oregon on a trail blazed by Jedediah Smith. i. 2,000 mile trail; average of 17 deaths per mile for pioneers -- Trail began at Independence, Missouri or Council Bluffs, Iowa ii. By 1846, 5,000 U.S. settlers lived south of Columbia River; British had only 700 people living north of river b. Britain was concerned about large U.S. migration into the region i. A disputed area existed between the Columbia River and the 49th parallel. -- A proposed compromise of the 49th parallel was initially refused by Britain © HistorySage.com 2012 All Rights Reserved HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 5 Unit 7: Manifest Destiny c. Polk abandoned the campaign pledge of a 54˚40’ boundary Use space below for i. Some Democrats had advocated "54˚40’or fight!" notes: ii. Didn't want to tip north-south political balance with new additional northern states. iii. Southerners, happy with Texas annexation and the election, accepted the 49th parallel. iv. Early in 1846, Britain agreed to the 49th parallel as the new Oregon border between the U.S. and Canada 3. Oregon Treaty (1846): U.S. received Oregon territory south of the 49th parallel a. War with Mexico influenced many senators to seek a quick end to the dispute b. Northwestern states were angry that southerners got all of Texas but the U.S. did not get all of Oregon. D Mexican War (1846-1848) 1. Polk sought to buy California from Mexico; Mexico not interested as they were still angry concerning Texas’ annexation a. California was seen as gateway to the Pacific b. Texas’ annexation issue caused Mexico to sever diplomatic relations with U.S. c. Boundary dispute: Original boundary was the northerly Nueces River; Texans claimed the Rio Grande to the South i. Polk honored the Rio Grande as Texas’ boundary ii. Mexico less concerned over boundary, wanted Texas back d. U.S. claimed against Mexico $3 million in damages to U.S.