American History
Unit 11:
Manifest Destiny (Part 03):
Oregon Dispute & the War with Mexico
Manifest Destiny
I. What was Manifest Destiny?
A. American belief they were superior to Mexicans and Indians.
1. Justification to take over land.
B. New Mexico Territory
1. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado.
a. Capital of territory was Santa Fe
1a. Mexican controlled area.
1aa. Mexico prohibited Americans from settling the area.
Manifest Destiny: Fifty-four forty or fight!
II. Election of 1844
A. Henry Clay (Whig) vs. James K. Polk (Democrat)
1. Polk demanded Texas and Oregon be added to the U.S.
a. "Fifty-four forty or fight!"
1a. Democratic slogan during election.
B. James K. Polk won.
1. War over expansion?
a. England and U.S. avoid war.
1a. Oregon given to U.S.
b. Mexico and U.S.?
1b. War declared!
James K. Polk
The Oregon
Dispute
Manifest Destiny Map
Mexican War (1846-1848)
I. Texas was annexed by John Tyler on his last day in office.
A. December 29, 1845, Texas became the twenty-eighth state of the Union.
B. The Mexican government became angry about the American claim to Texas.
1. Mexico threatened to go to war against the United States.
2. President Polk wanted to avoid war with Mexico.
a. Wanted to wait until the dispute with the British claim to Oregon was
settled. (See previous slide)
1a. Didn't want to fight two wars at the same time.
b. Dispute concerning the spread of slavery ignited in Congress.
3. The border between Mexico and the United States not settled.
a. The U.S. claimed the border was the Rio Grande.
b. Mexico claimed the border was at the Nueces River.
4. President Polk sent Foreign Minister Slidell to Mexico.
a. Wanted to discuss a peaceful settlement of the Texas boundaries.
b. U.S. offered to buy California, Arizona, and New Mexico for $30 million.
1b. Mexico claimed this offer as an insult.
Border Dispute Between Mexico and the
United States
Mexican War (1846-1848)
II. The Mexican War began.
A. The Mexican army ambushed a U.S. patrol in the disputed area between the Rio
Grande and the Nueces River.
1. Sixteen U.S. cavalry troops were killed.
2. American citizens demanded revenge.
III. The United States declared war on Mexico.
A. Not all Americans wanted a war.
1. Southerners wanted war.
2. Northerners didn't want war.
a. Spread of slavery was the reason.
Mexican War (1846-1848): Battles
IV. Mexico was unable to stop the U.S. army's advances.
A. The U.S. army won every battle with great ease.
B. General Taylor captured Buena Vista.
C. General Stephen Kearney
1. Captured Santa Fe, (New Mexican Capital)
2. Captured Southern California.
D. John Fremont
1. Captured Northern California
a. Proclaimed California an independent
republic, "Bear Flag Republic.”
E. General Winfield Scott
General Winfield Scott:
1. Captured Vera Cruz
Led the Americans to victory
2. Captured Mexico City
during the Mexican War. Many
a. Chapultepec
American soldiers in this war
later fought against each other
1a. Fort outside Mexico City.
during the Civil War.
2a. Heroic last stand by Mexican troops.
The Mexican War Map
Mexican War (1846-1848): End
V. Mexico surrendered Feb. 2, 1848.
A. The peace treaty was signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1. Mexico ceded all land the U.S. conquered.
2. The United States paid $15 million for the land.
a. Felt guilty about the easy victory.
3. Mexico never forgave U.S. for this war and what we took.
VI. The Gadsden Purchase.
A. The U.S. paid 10 million dollars to Mexico for a small strip of land south of
New Mexico and Arizona.
The War with Mexico “Number of Firsts"
The United States' first foreign war.
The first war anywhere in the world to be
photographed.
The first war in which steamboats played an
important role.
The first war in which newspaper correspondents
regularly reported.
The first war in which graduates of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point participated.
Among these were a number of officers who
would later face each other across the battlefields of the Civil War: Robert E. Lee,
Thomas J. "Stonewall“ Jackson, Braxton Bragg,
Ulysses S. Grant, George Meade, George McClellan,
and William T. Sherman, to name but a few.
U.S. Territorial Gains from Mexico
Concepts to Know
1. Explain Manifest Destiny.
2. What was the Oregon dispute and how was it settled?
3. Explain why the United States went to war with Mexico.
4. Describe the war with Mexico.
5. What were the conditions of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
6. What lands did the United States gain from the war against Mexico?