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Home , James Bowie, William Becknell

Manifest Destiny

Chapter 13 Mountain Men

• Rough and tough men who braved the wilderness to trap and capture furs, animals, etc • First Americans to move beyond the Rocky Mountains Western Land

• Americans believed it was their right to take the land from the Native Americans Land Speculators

• Bought huge pieces of land in the hope it would increase in value and make them rich • If land went up in value they sold some to people moving west and made huge profits

• Trail from Missouri to Santa Fe, New • 800 miles long • Founded by William Becknell and he continues to find safer routes along the trail

Oregon Trail

• From Missouri to Oregon • Missionaries were the first to use this trail • 2000 miles long Mormon Trail

• Mormons moved west for religious freedom • Founded by Joseph Smith • Made enemies among non Mormons b/c of their policy of polygamy or having more than one wife • 1844, after Joseph Smith was murdered, Brigham Young moved his people west to Utah • Built Salt Lake City, Utah Settlement

• 1821 Mexico gets independence from Spain • Texas is allowed to have Americans move there and create a colony if they agree to become Mexican citizens and Catholic • Stephen F. Austin negotiates this

• Between 1821 and 1830, population of Texas grew from 300-25,000 • By 1830, Americans outnumbered Tejanos (people of Spanish heritage) 6 to 1 Problems grow in Texas

• Americans in Texas grew angry that laws were written in Spanish and didn’t like some Mexican laws • Mexico outlawed in 1829, which angered more Americans in Texas (Austin negotiated for Americans to keep slavery) • Mexicans cracked down on the Americans out of fear of a revolution • More Mexican soldiers in TX, taxes for first time, no more Americans can move to TX

• 1833, Austin goes to negotiate with Mexicans for more freedoms for Texas • President Santa Anna finds out that Austin wrote a letter saying if demands weren’t met, Texas would break away from Mexico (Austin was put in jail for a year) • 1835, Mexican soldiers fight Texans in Gonzales for the first time • Tried to capture a Texas cannon that had sign on it, “!”

The Alamo (Feb 1836)

• March 1836, Texas declares its independence • is put in charge of the Texas Army (about 600 men) • 183 men were stationed at the Alamo • Led by William Travis and James Bowie and Davey Crocket • Mexican army had 6000 men at the Alamo led by Santa Anna • Battle for the Alamo took 13 days • 1000 Mexicans were killed and 176 of the Texans (the survivors were executed) • Juan Seguin, a Tejano member of the Texas Army was lone survivor of the Alamo • He was sent with a letter from Travis to Sam Houston during the battle and by the time he returned, the Alamo was in flames and everyone dead Battle of Goliad

• 300-400 Texan soldiers based her • Santa Anna and the Mexican army kill 300 Texans who were captured • Helped anger Texans and more joined the army (April 1836)

• Houston and Texas army surprise and surround Santa Anna and Mexican Army • Soldiers yell, “Remember the Alamo” “Remember Goliad” • Lasted only 18 minutes • Half the Mexican army was killed • Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign a treaty ending the war and giving Texas its independence

• Sam Houston was its first president • Nicknamed the “Lone Star Republic” • 1836, they asked to become part of US but Congress said no • Didn’t want war with Mexico and didn’t want fight over if it’s a slave state James Polk

• James Polk elected president in 1844 and he wanted to add Texas and Oregon to USA • Slogan was “54 40 or fight!”-map designates for borders of Oregon • 1846, he negotiates a split of the Oregon territory with British at 49th parallel (todays border with Canada) • Offered Mexico $30 million for Texas, New Mexico, and California (Mexico said no) Manifest Destiny

• Belief by Americans that it was our destiny to expand the US across the continent from ocean to ocean Texas becomes a state

• 1845, Texas became a state (slavery legal there) • Mexico still viewed Texas as their property • Texas and Mexico could not agree of what the border between them was War with Mexico

• President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to station his 3500 men on the disputed border with Mexico at the Rio Grand River • April 1846, Mexico crosses border and kills an American patrol • May 1846, US army invades Mexico • US easily captures and controls New Mexico and California • Battle of Buena Vista, Santa Anna’s Mexican army (15,000) vs American Army (4800)- US wins and controls Northern Mexico • General Winfield Scott (US) captures Mexico City in Sept 1847 and the war ends Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

• Officially ends the war with Mexico • Set Rio Grande River as border with Mexico, set Texas as a part of the USA, gave up land that was ½ size of Mexico California Gold Rush

• 49ers-went to CA looking for gold, starting in 1849 • Gold discovered by James Marshall • Thousands (250,000) moved to CA in search of fortune (gold rush) • 10% of those coming to CA were Chinese in 1851 • Very dangerous routes to get to CA for the gold seekers CA becomes a state

• CA admitted as a state in 1850 • No slavery in CA • Passed tax for anyone not American who wanted to mine gold • Forced many into cities and out of mining • Chinese owned so many businesses in San Francisco at the time that it became known as Chinatown • 1845-1850, San Francisco population grew from 400-35,000 b/c of its use as a port city • CA admission as a free state tipped balance to more free states than slave states which causes a lot of fear and conflict Gadsden Purchase (1854)

• Last major addition to USA (lower 48 states) • Bought land from Mexico