The document discusses two prominent abolitionists from the 19th century, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, who worked to end slavery through different means. It also provides historical context about territorial expansion in the 1840s, the Mexican-American War under President James K. Polk, and the acquisition of territory from Mexico through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

1. Reflect:
List two (2) of the abolitionists we talked about during the last class.
Explain who they are and what they believed about how to end slavery.
War and Riches in the 1840s
William Lloyd Garrison
Frederick Douglass

2. 1
Politics in the 1840s, John Tyler, and Texas
Henry Clay James K. Polk
Texas in the mid-
1840s
1840s, territorial expansion
dominated American politics
Controversy emerged involving
Maine boundary with Great Britain
and the Oregon territory
Election of 1844 pitted Henry Clay
(Whigs) vs. James K. Polk
(Democrat)
Manifest Destiny expressed itself (said it was
America’s destiny to spread its democratic
institutions over at least the entire continent)
Tyler saw the election of Polk as a mandate to annex
Texas, and so on December 29, 1845, Texas became
the 28th state – Mexico was furious and war was on
the horizon!

3. 4:19The Presidents #10: John Tyler

4. 3
Polk’s 4-Point Program, Texas, and California
President James K. Polk, photographed by Matthew
Brady, circa 1896
James Polk developed a positive
4-point program:
Lower tariff
Restoration of the independent
treasury
Settlement of the Oregon
dispute
Acquisition of California
#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:

5. 5:20The Presidents #11: James K. Polk

6. 5
America Goes To War & the “Spot Resolutions”
Abraham
Lincoln,
circa
1840s
The
cabinet
of James
K. Polk
Jan. 13, 1846, Polk ordered 4,000 men to march to the Rio Grande –
he was trying to provoke war!
April 25, 1846, war arrived when Mexican troops crossed Rio Grande
Abraham Lincoln introduced resolutions requesting to know the
precise “spot” on American soil where American blood had been shed
(known as the “Spot Resolutions”)

7. 6
Santa Anna and the Battle of Buena Vista
Stephen Kearny John C. Frémont
Daguerreotype of Zachary Taylor in
uniform, circa 1843-45
1846, Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe
1846, John C. Frémont helped overthrow Mexican rule in California
By September 1847, General Winfield had succeeded in battling his
way up to Mexico City

8. 7
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago
Map that shows the territory ceded by Mexico in the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of
Gudalupe
Hildago
February 2, 1848, U.S. and Mexico signed Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Confirmed the U.S. ownership of Texas
Yielded enormous area including present day NV, NM, UT, AZ, and
parts of CO and WY
Mexico agrees to set Rio Grande as border for Texas
#1:
#2:
#3:

9. 8
Significance of the War and the Wilmot Proviso
Ulysses S. Grant (21)
Robert E. Lee (31)
Mexico lost 25,000 lives and nearly half its
territory
U.S. territory increased by ~1/3 (counting Texas)
Mexican War proved to be the schoolroom of
Civil War
David Wilmot introduced a bill that said slavery
should never exist in any territory taken as a
result of the war – it was rejected in the Senate

10. 9
The Election of 1848
Martin Van BurenZachary Taylor
Lewis Cass
Each of the two political parties
served as a bond of national unity –
enjoyed support in North and South
1848, Zachary Taylor (Whigs)
defeated Lewis Cass (Democrats)
and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil)
Lewis Cass is the father of “popular
sovereignty” which said people of a
territory should determine the status
of slavery in that area

11. 7:41The Presidents #12: Zachary Taylor

12. 11
The Gold Rush of 1848
San Francisco Harbor, circa 1850 Routes that many 49’ers took to get to the gold fields of
California
Henry Clay
Started at Sutter’s Mill on January 24, 1848 when James Marshall found
pieces of shiny metal along American River
San Francisco became center of the gold rush – immediately after San
Francisco became a ghost town
Forty ‘Niners were first to rush to gold fields (1849) – included men,
women, and sometimes families

13. 8:46Start of the California Gold Rush

14. Homework:
Reflect
Do a Google search to learn about life during the gold rush. In two
paragraphs, explain what life was like for miners/settlers in California.
Wrapping-Up
Why were tensions between the North and South
rising in the mid-1800s? List three reasons.
Artistic depiction of San Francisco
before the gold rush of 1848 (above)
and a depiction of a battle in the
Mexican-American War (left)