Thursday, January 10, 2013

AP US History Manifest Destiny Notes

Manifest Destiny
I.               Manifest Destiny
A.             The idea that we should own all the land from coast to coast
B.             The term was not used until the 1840s
C.            Issues
1.             Expansion- do we have the right?
2.             Slavery in the new land
3.             Do we have the right to make laws for territories, and are the people there citizens?
4.             States’ Rights
II.              Oregon
A.             Both the US and Great Britain claimed the Oregon territory
B.             It was settled, and the US got up to the 49 line
III.            Texas
A.             Mexico belonged to Spain, and Texas belonged to Mexico.  Mexico revolted against Spain, and Texas became an independent republic belonging to Mexico
B.             The US tried to buy Texas from Mexico, but Mexico refused.  But, Mexico invited Americans to settle in Texas
1.             Land that’s not used is useless, so they wanted people to occupy and cultivate the land
2.             Hopeful that at some point they would become part of the US
3.             Americans were willing to settle there because they were allowed to bring their slaves, could grow cotton there, and got cheap land grants
4.             By 1835, there were more Americans than Mexicans in Texas, and Mexico wanted the Americans gone
a)             Mexico banned slavery in Texas
b)             Mexico increased taxes
c)             Restricted immigration
d)             1836- short war and Texas gained its independence from Mexico and asked to be admitted to the US, but Jackson was president at the time and he said no, and later Van Buren refused as well
(1)           Wanted to maintain good relations with their neighbor, Mexico
(2)           Afraid that Texas would break up into several slave states
C.            New Mexico was having similar problems, and Americans were beginning to migrate to California (these territories were part of Mexico)
IV.            Tyler Presidency
A.             When Harrison became president, he relied on Henry Clay.  There was a push for Whig legislation, but Harrison died a month into his presidency and Tyler became president
1.             Tyler was not originally a Whig- he was a states’ rights southern Democrat but ran as a Whig to balance the ticket
2.             When Tyler became president after Harrison’s death, he went back to his southern Democrat roots
a)             All of his cabinet members resigned, except Webster
b)             He was thrown out of the Whig party (he was no longer a Whig) and the Democratic party (they didn’t trust him)
B.             Preemption Act
1.             Allowed squatters on unsurveyed land to have first chance to buy at a low price once the land went on the market
C.            Webster-Ashburton Treaty
1.             A new treaty with Britain
2.             Reestablished boundaries
3.             After Webster got this passed he resigned
D.            Tyler is a president with great ambition but without a party.  To resurrect his political career, he needed an issue to work on, and the issue he chose was Texas
1.             Texas was making noise, trying to become part of Great Britain
2.             Calhoun (Secretary of State) tried to negotiate an annexation deal with Texas, but Congress rejected it because it was too pro-Southern
3.             Nevertheless, the issue of Texas was still at the forefront
E.             Election of 1844
1.             It looked like the Democrats were going to nominate Van Buren and the Whigs would nominate Henry Clay
a)             Van Buren and Clay made a secret agreement that neither one of them would discuss Texas during the campaign
b)             Both of them did not want to take a stand on the issue (pro-Texas people were branded as supporters of the South and slavery, and anti-Texas people were branded as northern supporters and anti-slavery)
2.             Democrats decided not to nominate Van Buren, but nominated Polk instead (so the agreement was gone)
3.             Third Party- Anti Slavery Liberty Party- took away support from Clay
4.             Polk was elected, Tyler was now a lame duck and managed to get Texas admitted to the union during his lame duck period
V.             Polk Presidency
A.             Dark Horse- was an unknown when he came into office
B.             Settled Oregon at 49 (earlier in notes) even though he campaigned for 54
C.            Mormons
1.             When they settled in Utah, it was not part of the US
2.             When Utah became part of the US in the 1850s, there was an outrage about polygamy (Mormon War)
3.             If they stopped practicing polygamy, the government would not prosecute the Mormons for treason
D.            Texas
1.             We disputed with Mexico over the boundaries of Texas
2.             Polk sent troops into the disputed lands to make it like they were staying there and not antagonize the enemy
a)             Eventually the Mexicans attacked, which gave us an excuse to go to war
b)             When the war was over, by 1848, the US purchased the Mexican Cession, part of New Mexico that was in dispute, and the bottom edge of Texas that was in dispute
3.             Although our territory increased by 1/3, other problems were created
a)             Americans were divided about the war
(1)           Pro- we were only defending ourselves, manifest destiny
(2)           Con (Whigs)- accused Polk of provoking the conflict, and Northern abolitionists saw it as a conspiracy to increase slave territory
VI.             

No comments:

Post a Comment