Chapter 11 Section 1: Westward to the Pacific Oregon Country Adams-Onís Treaty Mountain Men Kit Carson Oregon Trail Manifest Destiny Chapter 11 Section 2: Independence for Texas Davy Crockett The area between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains that is north of California. It included all of what are now Oregon, Washington, and Idaho plus parts of Montana and Wyoming. In 1819 the Spanish agreed to set the limits of their territory at what is now California s northern border and give up any claim to Oregon. The first Americans to live in Oregon Country were fur trappers who collected beaver pelts. Many had Native American wives and adopted Native American ways. They lived in lodges and dressed in buckskin pants, moccasins, and beads. A mountain man who ended up a guide leading parties of settlers west after the mountain men killed off most of the beaver and could no longer trap. The path that tens of thousands of American settlers took to get to Oregon Country. It led across the Great Plains, along the Platte River, and through the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. On the other side, the path went north and west along the Snake and Columbia Rivers into Oregon Country. Many Americans thought their nation had a special role to fulfill. In the 1800s many believed that the United States mission was to occupy the entire continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. In the 1840s Newspaper John O Sullivan gave it this name. A skilled hunter and story teller from Tennessee who spent three terms in Congress and was later killed at the
Alamo. Tejanos They were most of the 3,000 Mexicans residents who claimed Texas as their home. Spain They offered large tracts of land to people who agreed to bring families to settle on the land in hopes of promoting economic growth and development in Texas. Stephen F. Austin A large American landowner and political leader in Texas that recruited 300 American families to settle the fertile land along the Brazos and Colorado Rivers Immigration to Texas The Alamo Texas independence Sam Houston which was part of Mexico at that time. By 1830 Americans outnumbered Mexicans in Texas and the American settlers had not adopted Mexican ways, therefore, Mexico issued a decree that stopped all immigration from the United States. A mission in Texas where a small Texan force fought for twelve days and lost against General Santa Anna and his Mexican soldiers. The battle not only gave Texan leaders time to declare independence from Mexico and unite Texans in a common cause, but the bravery of the Texans who fought provided inspirations in the fight for independence. The people who settled there wanted independence because the government of Santa Anna had violated the liberties guaranteed under the Mexican Constitution when Santa Ana threw out the Constitution. Congressman, governor of Tennessee, commander in chief of Texas forces, and later president of the Lone Star Republic.
Andrew Jackson Election of 1844 Texas slavery Chapter 11 Section 3: War With Mexico He did not immediately annex Texas because he wanted to avoid the issue of slavery. The addition of Texas would upset the balance of free and slave states in Congress. Two issues were considered the annexation of Texas and gaining sole possession of Oregon Country It was annexed and officially became a state on December 29, 1845. This issue brought difficulties to the admission of new states to the union during the early and mid-1800s because disputes over the spread of slavery were happening constantly. The delicate balance of slave vs. free states in Congress always caused problems. New Mexico Missions California In the early 1800s, it was the name of a region sandwiched between the Texas and California territories. It included all of present-day New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, and parts of Colorado and Utah. After its independence from Spain, the Mexican government welcomed American traders into this area in hopes of boosting the economy of the province. The mission system was a key part of Spain s plan to colonize California. The Spanish used the missions to convert Native Americans to Christianity. By 1820 California had 21 missions, with about 20,000 Native Americans living in them. Americans wanted to settle there because they believed in Manifest Destiny, they wanted to build ports for trading, and the nation would be safely bordered by a sea instead of a foreign power.
James K. Polk After Mexico refused to sell California and New Mexico to the U.S., this president was determined to pull them into the Union through war. War with Mexico There are three major causes for the war. 1. The U.S. was angry that Mexico would not sell California and New Mexico territories to them. 2. Mexico, which never recognized the independence of Texas, charged that the annexation was illegal. 3. The dispute over the Texas-Mexico border. The U.S. insisted that the Rio Grande formed the border. Mexico claimed that the border lay along the Nueces River, 150 miles farther north. Mexican- The Northerners were angry about the war and accused American War Bear Flag Republic Mexico City Gadsden Purchase Santa Fe Trail Chapter 11 Section 4: New Settlers in California and Utah the Democrats of waging the war to spread slavery. In June 1846, a small group of Americans had seized the town of Sonoma north of San Francisco and proclaimed the independent Republic of California. Their flag showed a bear and a star on a white background. By mid September of 1847, American forces had taken this city and the Mexican government surrendered. In 1853 the U.S. paid Mexico $10 million for a strip of land along the southern border of present day Arizona and New Mexico. With this purchase, the U.S. mainland reached its present size. The trail left the Missouri River and near Independence, Missouri and crossed the prairies to the Arkansas River. It followed the river west toward the Rocky Mountains before turning south into New Mexico. The trail was mostly flat and became a busy trade route for hundreds of wagons. It remained in use until the arrival of the railroad in 1880.
California Gold Rush Mining Camps California Land Law of 1851 Forty-niners Mormons Joseph Smith Utah It began at about the same time as the Mexican Cession. One of the results of this was that California cities flourished. These places were heavily populated by men from all backgrounds. There were very few women. Vigilance committees made up of concerned citizens who wanted to protect themselves from the lawlessness in mining towns, took it upon themselves to act as police, judge, jury, and sometimes executioner since lawbreakers posed a real threat to business owners and miners. Robberies and murders were a daily occurrence. This law set up a group of people to review the Californios land rights. The Californio (Hispanic Californian) had to prove what land they owned. When a new settler claimed rights, to a Californio s land, the two parties would go to court. Some Californios were able to prove their claims by providing official documents. Many, however, lost their land. This is what they called the miners who arrived in 1849. Nearly 100,000 people came to California looking for gold in 1848 and 1849. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who settled in the Great Salt Lake area in Utah to fulfill their vision of the godly life and because they had been persecuted in many settled areas. He was the founder of the Mormon Church. In 1848 the U.S. acquired the Great Salt Lake area from Mexico. Utah did not easily become part of the U.S. because the Mormons wanted to be left alone and resisted federal authority. In the late 1850s, war almost broke out between the Mormons and the U.S. Army. Utah did not become a state until 1896.