Chapter 17 Notes: Manifest Destiny and its

Legacy
The Accession of Tyler Too
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Henry Clay and Daniel Webster leaders of Whig Party

o Wanted to control President William H. Harrison
Newly elected into office
o Harrison got pneumonia and died four weeks after being in the White
House
John Tyler was the new president
o Virginian who was a lone wolf
o Did not agree with the Whig party (pro-bank, pro-protective tariff and
pro-internal improvements
He was more of a democrat and was from the South

John Tyler: A President Without a Party

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The Whigs showed their platform to America

o They wanted to end the independent treasury system
Tyler agreed and signed it
o Clay and the Whigs also had a bill to make a new Bank of the U.S.
Tyler did not like it and vetoed it
Made Whigs very angry but Tyler stood his ground
Whigs called him his accidency
His entire cabinet resigned from office
o The Whigs also put forth a revised tariff (32%)
Tyler vetoed it at first but later realized it was needed

A War of Words with England

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Anti-British sentiments were high in America

o Federalists had died out and there had been two wars with America
o Magazines and writings from both countries ripped each other
o British was lending a lot of money to America
For canals and railroads
Panic of 1837 made it so the English lost money & became mad
at Americas
o Small conflicts arouse around the country
1837 small rebellion in Canada which Americans supported
1837 an American steamer (Caroline) was attacked & set on
fire by a British force
1841 British in Bahamas offered safety to 130 revolting slaves
The slaves had captured the ship Creole

Manipulating the Maine Maps

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English and Maine had claimed territory on its northern and eastern border
o Small conflicts such as Aroostook War

o English wanted to build a road to Quebec

1842 Lord Ashburon and Daniel Webster come together to negociate
o Agreed to the Webster-Ashburon Treaty
Britain got Halifax-Quebec route and America got a bit more
land of Maine
The U.S. also got Mesabi Range of iron ore in Minnesota
Later would help the industry boom

The Lone Star of Texas Shines Alone

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Texas had declared independence in 1836

o Mexico claimed it was only in a state of rebellion and would take it
back
Texas made treaties with France, Holland and Belgium
These treaties made the United States anxious
o The Monroe Doctrine could be undermined if England had a loophole
with Texas
o Southern cotton economy would no longer be a staple thing to England
United States at a stand still about what to do about Texas and if it should
annex
o They didnt want war with Mexico
o The North thought the South wanted it just to get more land for slavery
o Britain wanted and independent Texas to keep Americas expansion in
check
o But Texas would be a great boost for cotton production and more land

The Belated Texas Nuptials

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James K. Polk won in the election of 1844

o Seen as a mandate for manifest destiny
So a year later, Texas was formally invited to become the 28 th state
o Mexico was angry that America had taken Texas from them
Mexico wouldnt really have been able to reconquer the lost
province

Oregon Fever Populates Oregon

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Oregon stretched from northern tip of California to the 54 40 line

o It was once claimed by Russia, Spain, England and the U.S.
Now only Britain and the U.S. had claims there
England had claims north of Columbia River with population
Americas had claims south of Columbia River with population
Explored it thanks to Lewis and Clark
The Oregon Trail was over 2000 mile trail
o Common route to Oregon in the 1840s

A Mandate (?) for Manifest Destiny

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1844 there were two candidates for presidency

o Henry Clay
Popular Whig having being twice before

Lost election after saying two different things about the issue of
Texas
James K. Polk
A dark-horse candidate
Picked because the Democrats couldnt decide on anyone else
Was Speaker of the House and governor of Tennessee
Was called Young Hickory and sponsored by Andrew Jackson
He and Democrats advocated Manifest Destiny
U.S. destined by God to expand across the continent

Polk the Purposeful

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Polk laid out a four point mission for the nation (achieved in 4 years)
o Lower the tariff
Secretary of treasury, Robert J. Walker lowered tariff to 25%
Industrialists complained but it ended up being a good thing
o Restore the independent treasury (1846)
o Clear Up the Oregon Border issue
Democrats wanted all of Oregon but Southern Democrats had
lost interest
England and U.S. had been bargaining for the border of Oregon
England first said the Columbia River since it was
important for trade
U.S. first said 54 40 but they changed it to 49 latitude
o At first Britain said no, but they realized U.S. had
more people in Oregon so they had little leverage
Britain agreed to the 49th parallel
America more of the land
Some Americas wanted all of Oregon, just like Texas
o But Mexico weak, Britain powerful

Misunderstandings with Mexico

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Polk wanted California but Mexico-U.S. relations were tense

o Also heard rumors that Britain was after it
o Mexico forced to default on its payment of $3 million to the U.S.
o Texas claimed its southern boundary to be the Rio Grande
Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River
Polk felt he had to defend Texas
U.S. sent John Sidell to Mexico City as an envoy
o Instructed to buy California for $25 million
o The Mexican government refused to see him, pressured by angry
people

American Blood on American (?) Soil

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Polk was frustrated a forced a showdown on Jan. 13, 1846

o Ordered 4000 men under Zachary Taylor to march from Nueces Rover
to Rio Grande

Very close to Mexican troops

Polk claims it was just to protect Texas
April 25, 1846 news of Mexican troops crossing Rio Grande and killed 16
Americans
o Polk was pushing for war and this was the backbone he needed for his
argument
Some politicians wanted to know the exact spot of the fighting
before war
Among them was Abraham Lincoln
They didnt know if it was really American soil
Pushed, Congress declared war and the Mexican- American War
started

The Mastering of Mexico

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Polk only wanted to fight until America was able to get California
o Recently dethroned Santa Anna told U.S. if returned to Mexico he
would end war
U.S. believed him and helped, but he was lying
He immediately started on plans to get America out
o In Southwest, battles led by Stephen W. Kearny and John C. Fremont
were successful
Zachery Taylor, a general, fought into Mexico, reached Buena
Vista
Repelled 20,000 Mexicans with only 5000 men
General Winfield Scott led American troops to Mexico City
They needed this to hit at the main Mexican artery

Fighting Mexico for Peace

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Polk sent Nicholas Trist to negotiate and armistice with Mexico at 10,000
dollars
o Santa Anna took bribe they used it for defenses
Trist was recalled in anger but he refused to leave
o He negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in Feb. 2, 1848
Gave America all Mexican territory from Texas to California north
of Rio Grande
Called the Mexican Cession
Paid Mexico $15 million to Mexico for it
$3.5 million debts from Mexico to the U.S. were absolved
In America some people wanted no more war (the Whigs) , others wanted all
of Mexico
o South leaders and Polk realized they didnt want to be too greedy
Polk passed the bill to the Senate, who approved it

Profit and Loss in Mexico

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This war in a way prepared America for the Civil War

o Only had 13,000 dead and most taken by disease

o Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant battle experience

o Gave U.S. more land to dispute over with the slavery issue
Foreign countries now had a new respect for America
Wilmot Proviso introduced by David Wilmot of Pennsylvania
o Slavery should never exist in the Mexican Cession territories
o Passed twice by the House but rejected by the Senate
o Not passed, but opened old wounds of slavery
Mexicans were bitter since half their land had been taken from them
o Doubled Americas land