THE COUNTRY GROWS LARGER
The country became much larger in the 1840s. This was the result of compromises with other countries over territory. It was
also the result of a war with Mexico. Yet another cause of this expansion was the discovery of gold in California. Presidential
elections were also changing. Over the next 3 days, we will learn about these & other changes in the U.S. in the 1840s.
Goals for Learning:
1. To identify ways that presidential campaigns changed
2. To discuss the concept of Manifest Destiny
3. To describe the boundary conflicts with Great Britain over Maine and the Oregon Country
4. To explain the reasons for the Mexican War
5. To describe events of the California gold rush
THE ELECTION OF 1840
- When President Van Buren ran for re-election in 1840, the Whigs again nominated William Harrison as their candidate
- At age 68, Harrison was still remembered for his great victory against the American Indians at Tippecanoe in 1811
- The Whigs chose John Tyler as their candidate for VP as "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!" became the slogan of the Whig Party
WHAT NEW ELECTION METHODS WERE USED?
- The Democrats made fun of William Harrison as they said he lived in a log cabin & sat on the porch drinking hard cider
- Actually, Harrison lived in a very large house on 3,000 acres of land
- The Whigs decided to use the log cabin and hard cider story to help their candidate win the election
- They held big parades with a log cabin mounted on a wagon
- They passed out leaflets describing Harrison as a man of the people, an old fighter, and a great hero
- In addition, they organized political meetings and painted large billboards with pictures of Harrison and Tyler
- This was the first election campaign to use these new ways of winning votes
- These ways worked, for Harrison easily won the election & in addition, the Whig Party gained control of the Congress
WHAT HAPPENED TO PRESIDENT HARRISON?
- Harrison took office in 1841…weary and worn out from the election, Harrison came down with a cold
- His condition grew worse, and on April 4, 1841 he died
- He had been the President for only 1 month & as he was the first President to die in office
JOHN TYLER BECOMES THE 10TH PRESIDENT
- Vice President John Tyler then became president
- Formerly a U.S. Senator, Tyler had been a faithful Democrat
- Although he had switched to the Whig Party, he held on to his belief in states' rights and a weak central government
- As a result, he often came into conflict with Congress during his presidency
HOW WERE CANADIAN BOUNDARIES STILL A DISPUTE?
- The United States and Great Britain were still disputing over the location of the boundary between Maine and Canada
- By 1842, the disagreement nearly turned into a war
- British Lord Ashburton met with Sec. of State Daniel Webster to try to work out a compromise
- The land in question covered 12,000 square miles as both countries wanted the whole area
- However, after many talks, a compromise was reached
- Lord Ashburton said he would accept 5,000 square miles if the boundary didn't block a road planned to go from Halifax, Nova
Scotia, to Quebec
- The U.S. received a large part of land, which included the fertile Aroostook Valley
- Then, as a part of the same agreement, the British adjusted the boundary of what is now northeastern Minnesota
- The U.S. gained control over an area that was later found to contain rich iron ore on the Mesabi Range
MANIFEST DESTINY AND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1844
- Expansion was the big issue in the election of 1844
- The Democratic candidate, James Polk of Tennessee, believed expansion to the Pacific was the Manifest Destiny of America
- Manifest Destiny is a belief something is meant to happen
- Polk thought the nation should stretch from one coast to the other
- Polk and his followers wanted to expand quickly
- Henry Clay, the Whig candidate, also believed in expansion but he wanted to expand slowly
- Polk won the close election
- He took office in 1845 as the country chose a man who favored quick expansion
WHAT DISPUTE OCCURRED OVER OREGON COUNTRY?
- The area of the Northwest south of Russian Alaska, north of Mexican California, and between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky
Mountains was known as Oregon Country
- The U.S. and Great Britain signed a temporary treaty in 1818 allowing settlement of the area by both countries
- Then land-hungry Americans began to move into the region
- Many of them had packed their belongings into crowded covered wagons in hope of a better life on the fertile Oregon land
- As the American population of Oregon Country grew, America and Great Britain disputed the boundary of American Oregon
- In his election speech, President Polk had promised to take American Oregon as far north as 54 degrees 40 minutes north
latitude, using the slogan "fifty-four forty or fight"
- After the two sides debated the issue, the British agreed to 49 degrees latitude as the northern boundary of America
- President Polk felt this was a fair compromise, and he wanted to keep America out of yet another war with Great Britain
- In the Treaty of 1846, the U.S. accepted the southern part of Oregon Country
- Great Britain took the northern part, with 49 degrees north latitude as the boundary
SAMULE MORSE
Samuel Morse is known today as the inventor of the first successful electric telegraph. In effect, the telegraph made electricity
visible. It also enabled immediate communication of messages over long distances. With his Morse code-an alphabet of dots
and dashes-messages could be sent by telegraph. The first telegraphic message was sent by Morse in 1844 from Washington
D.C, to Baltimore, Maryland. It was the famous greeting, "What hath God wrought!" Later he experimented with underwater
cable telegraphy. He was also involved in introducing an early type of photograph in the United States.
THE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLEN POE
Many regarded Edgar Allen Poe as one of the most brilliant, original writers in American literature. Poe struggled to make a
living during the 1830s and 1840s. He published his writings and worked as a magazine editor and critic. A complicated,
tormented man, some believe he eventually died of alcoholism. Poe is remembered for such eerie poems as "The Raven" and
"Annabel Lee." He is also remembered for short stories like "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poe established a tradition of
American horror stories. Filmmakers and writers like Stephen King carry on that tradition today. Poe is also considered one of
the creators of the modern detective story. Examples of his detective stories are "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The
Masque of the Red Death." Poe never enjoyed much commercial success from his writing. However, millions of people today
enjoy reading his work.