Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion in the 1840s-1850s

CHAPTER 5: ANTEBELLUM WEST, Uprooting and Upheaval,
1820-1860
Contents
Introduction and Pre-Reading Questions: 1
Documents: 4
Document 1, John O’Sullivan Explains “Manifest Destiny” (Mt.
Holyoke, 1839) 4
Document 2, Autobiography of John Ball from the Oregon Trail,
1832 (user.xmission.com, 1832) 6
Document 3, Stephen Austin Justifies Taking Up Arms Against
Mexico (Digital History, 1836) 8
Document 4, General Zachary Taylor Describes the Mexican
War (Digital History, 1847) 9
Document 5, Taylor Gives the Mexicans an Ultimatum re:
Surrender (Digital History, 1847) 9
Document 6, Henry Simpson Tells Americans How They Can
Get Rich in California’s Gold Mines (library.ca.gov, 1848) 10
Document 7, William Clayton Writes About the Mormon
Migration to Utah (westvalley.edu, 1846) 11
Document 8, The Donner Party Write About Their Fateful Trip,
1847 (donnerpartydiary.com, 1847) 12
Document 9, Senator Stephen Douglas Argues for Popular
Sovereignty re: the Kansas-Nebraska Territory (The Library of
Congress, 1854) 14
Document 10, The Free Soil Ideology, 1848 (Digital History,
1848) 16
Post-Reading Exercises: 16
Works Cited 17
Introduction and Pre-Reading Questions: Americans had been

pushing west since early colonial times, always in search of
more land, better land, and, for some, more opportunity. That
push for land led settlers from the coast into the interior, from
the town into the backwoods. And this feeling that land could
always be found west, this feeling that opportunity lay in the
west, often convinced people to leave their surroundings and
strike out in the wilderness. Though settlers had begun
migrating to newer portions of the west in the 1820s, the 1840s
and 1850s truly saw the most dramatic increase in western
settlement, in westward expansion. One of the major factors in
why more people were migrating westward was the spread of an
idea called “Manifest Destiny,” an idea that would come to
define the American spirit for decades to follow. Manifest
Destiny explained to Americans that the United States was
destined, by God, “to expand its boundaries over a vast area, an
area that included, but was not necessarily restricted to, the
continent of North America.”[footnoteRef:1] This idea
embraced a spirit of nationalism that insisted it was Americans’
duty to bring that wonderful institution, democracy, to the
farthest reaches possible. And by the 1840s, the idea of
Manifest Destiny had spread like wildfire through the nation, as
you’ll see in the first document by John O’Sullivan. [1: Alan
Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the
American People (McGraw Hill: New York, 1996), 326.]
Manifest Destiny led people to a number of regions in the west.
In the early years of Manifest Destiny, people began traveling
first to Texas and Oregon. Document 2 illustrates the
excitement and resources that could be found on the Oregon
Trail. In Texas, tens of thousands of Americans migrated to
this Mexican territory in the 1820s and by the 1830s, these
white settlers wanted Texas (and other Mexican territories,
among them California) to become a part of the United States
with all of its benefits and protections. The United States
ultimately went to war with Mexico over this territory, which
Documents 3-5 discuss. What positive attributes did these

authors give to the West? What are some of the negative aspects
you can see regarding westward expansion? Why do you think
the United States felt justified in going to war over Mexican
territory?
The Mexican-American War added a great deal of territory to
the United States, which appeased the appetites of those people
who supported the idea of Manifest Destiny. But when gold
was found in California (Document 6) in 1848 causing
California to apply for statehood, it became clear that the
accumulation of new territory also meant that the issue of
slavery was far from solved.
There were certainly people who came to the Far West before
the 1848 gold rush, in search of a new and better life—people
who just came on the wings of the belief in Manifest Destiny.
One of these groups was the Mormons, a religious group that
had formed in the early 19th century in upstate New York. The
Mormons were heavily persecuted in upstate New York by other
religious folks who believed the Book of Mormon to be heresy.
As a result of these feelings of persecution, Joseph Smith and
his followers headed west to set up Mormon settlements and,
hopefully, escape danger. Document 7 discusses the Mormon
migration that took place as Mormons moved from New York,
to Missouri, Ohio, and ultimately Utah, in search of religious
freedom.
One of the most infamous groups of Manifest Destiny-
proponents was the Donner Party who migrated to California in
1846-1847. The story of the Donner Party is a tragic one
(Document 8), and it had the effect of at least tempering the
multitude of stories traveling east about how easy migration was
and how wonderful it was. How do Documents 6-8 describe
westward migration? What were the positives? The negatives?
Do you think you would have migrated west given what you’ve
read?
Westward expansions presented an exciting opportunity for
Americans and many Americans took advantage of the
opportunity and headed west. This westward expansion

absorbed the massive population growth of the antebellum
period and spread the American borders from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Oceans. But as people migrated west, their cultures and
their ideologies migrated westward, as well. And former
Northerners and Southerners soon found themselves as
neighbors; and slavery once again became a hot-button issue,
particularly whether or not slavery should be allowed to expand
into the new territories of the west. Document 9 introduces the
idea of popular sovereignty, which was introduced by Senator
Stephen Douglas to “solve” the question of slaver yin the west,
while Document 10 discusses a new political ideology known as
the “Free Soil” ideology, which proposed slavery not be allowed
to expand at all. What are the basic tenets of each ideology? Do
they contradict one another? Do either provide a “solution” to
the slavery question? Rapid expansion into the west, and the
new ideologies that surfaced regarding slavery, would lead the
nation closer and closer to civil war.Documents:
Document 1, John O’Sullivan Explains “Manifest Destiny” (Mt.
Holyoke, 1839)[footnoteRef:2] [2: Excerpted from “The Great
Nation of Futurity,” The United States Democratic Review,
Volume 6, Issue 23, pp. 426-430.]
The American people having derived their origin from many
other nations, and the Declaration of National Independence
being entirely based on the great principle of human equality,
these facts demonstrate at once our disconnected position as
regards any other nation; that we have, in reality, but little
connection with the past history of any of them, and still less
with all antiquity, its glories, or its crimes. On the contrary, our
national birth was the beginning of a new history, the formation
and progress of an untried political system, which separates us
from the past and connects us with the future only; and so far as
regards the entire development of the natural rights of man, in
moral, political, and national life, we may confidently assume
that our country is destined to be the great nation of futurity.

It is so destined, because the principle upon which a nation is
organized fixes its destiny, and that of equality is perfect, is
universal. It presides in all the operations of the physical world,
and it is also the conscious law of the soul -- the self-evident
dictates of morality, which accurately defines the duty of man
to man, and consequently man's rights as man. Besides, the
truthful annals of any nation furnish abundant evidence, that its
happiness, its greatness, its duration, were always proportionate
to the democratic equality in its system of government. . . .
What friend of human liberty, civilization, and refinement, can
cast his view over the past history of the monarchies and
aristocracies of antiquity, and not deplore that they ever
existed? What philanthropist can contemplate the oppressions,
the cruelties, and injustice inflicted by them on the masses of
mankind, and not turn with moral horror from the retrospect?
America is destined for better deeds. It is our unparalleled glory
that we have no reminiscences of battle fields, but in defence of
humanity, of the oppressed of all nations, of the rights of
conscience, the rights of personal enfranchisement. Our annals
describe no scenes of horrid carnage, where men were led on by
hundreds of thousands to slay one another, dupes and victims to
emperors, kings, nobles, demons in the human form called
heroes. We have had patriots to defend our homes, our liberties,
but no aspirants to crowns or thrones; nor have the American
people ever suffered themselves to be led on by wicked
ambition to depopulate the land, to spread desolation far and
wide, that a human being might be placed on a seat of
supremacy.
We have no interest in the scenes of antiquity, only as lessons
of avoidance of nearly all their examples. The expansive future
is our arena, and for our history. We are entering on its
untrodden space, with the truths of God in our minds,

beneficent objects in our hearts, and with a clear conscience
unsullied by the past. We are the nation of human progress, and
who will, what can, set limits to our onward march? Providence
is with us, and no earthly power can. We point to the
everlasting truth on the first page of our national declaration,
and we proclaim to the millions of other lands, that "the gates
of hell" -- the powers of aristocracy and monarchy -- "shall not
prevail against it."
The far-reaching, the boundless future will be the era of
American greatness. In its magnificent domain of space and
time, the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to
mankind the excellence of divine principles; to establish on
earth the noblest temple ever dedicated to the worship of the
Most High -- the Sacred and the True. Its floor shall be a
hemisphere -- its roof the firmament of the star-studded
heavens, and its congregation an Union of many Republics,
comprising hundreds of happy millions, calling, owning no man
master, but governed by God's natural and moral law of
equality, the law of brotherhood -- of "peace and good will
amongst men.". . .
Yes, we are the nation of progress, of individual freedom, of
universal enfranchisement. Equality of rights is the cynosure of
our union of States, the grand exemplar of the correlative
equality of individuals; and while truth sheds its effulgence, we
cannot retrograde, without dissolving the one and subverting the
other. We must onward to the fulfilment of our mission -- to the
entire development of the principle of our organization --
freedom of conscience, freedom of person, freedom of trade and
business pursuits, universality of freedom and equality. This is
our high destiny, and in nature's eternal, inevitable decree of
cause and effect we must accomplish it. All this will be our
future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and
salvation of man -- the immutable truth and beneficence of God.
For this blessed mission to the nations of the world, which are

shut out from the life-giving light of truth, has America been
chosen; and her high example shall smite unto death the tyranny
of kings, hierarchs, and oligarchs, and carry the glad tidings of
peace and good will where myriads now endure an existence
scarcely more enviable than that of beasts of the field. Who,
then, can doubt that our country is destined to be the great
nation of futurity?
Document 2, Autobiography of John Ball from the Oregon Trail,
1832 (user.xmission.com, 1832)[footnoteRef:3] [3: John Ball,
Autobiography of John Ball, Grand Rapids, Michigan: The
Dean-Hicks Company, 1925.]
The first day after leaving the trappers, we traveled over a
rough country of all sorts of rock, burnt and unburnt, and
encamped in what is now called a canyon, between high basaltic
rocks. We twelve thus for the first time alone it seemed a little
lonely. And though not fearful, there was something like a deep
curiosity as to the future, what might happen to us in that
unknown land. Our aim was to get back on to the Lewis river
and follow that to its junction with the Columbia. And I now
presume we were on the headwaters of the Owyhee, the east
boundary of Oregon. And the next day and for days we kept on
the same or near. We pursued it till so shut in that we had to
leave it by a side cut and get onto an extended plain above, a
plain with little soil on the basaltic rock, and streams in the
clefts or canyons. One day we traveled 30 miles and found
water but once, and in the dry atmosphere our thirst became
extreme. On approaching the canyon we could see the stream
meandering along the narrow gorge 1,000 feet down, and on and
on we traveled not knowing that we should survive even to
reach it to quench our thirst. Finally before night we observed
horse tracks and that they seemed to thicken at a certain point
and lead down the precipitous bluff where it was partially
broken down. So by a most difficult descent we reached the
creek, dismounted and down its banks to quench our thirst. And

our horses did not wait for an invitation, but followed in quick
time. The bluffs were of the burnt rock, some places looking
like an oven burned brick kiln, and others porous. And laying
over the next day and going a short distance down the creek, we
found Indians who had our future food, dried salmon. And
getting out on the other side we traveled on and when we came
again to the river we found it, though now quite a stream,
decidedly warm, made so by hot springs gushing in from porous
bluffs. Quite a stream came in of the temperature of 100
degrees.
Shoshone Indians
The creek finally comes out of the ravine into a better looking
country, and here we met other Indians. They call themselves
Shoshones and seemed very friendly and sold us their salmon
for such of our goods as they seemed most to need-- awls of
iron to prick their deer skins for sewing into garments, and
knives, for they hardly possessed an article of our manufacture.
They used a sharp bone for an awl, one flattened for a chisel,
stone knives and hatchets. Ourselves and all we had seemed to
them great curiosities. For their country being poor in furs it
had not been visited by traders.
In some ten or twelve days after leaving the trappers, we
reached the mouth of the creek where it joins the Lewis river.
And here we found a large encampment of Indians, being a
favorable site for fishing. The first thing on arriving the chief,
in their usual hospitable manner, sent us a fine salmon for our
dinner, and would have deemed it an insult to be offered pay for
it. We were strangers and his guests.
Indian Fishing
Their manner of fishing was ingenious. The stream was shallow
and they built a fence across it near its mouth and then some

distance above, leaving weirs at one side, so that the fish
coming down or going up would come in, but would not find
their way out. They had spears with a bone point with a socket
that fitted onto a shaft, and a hole through the point by which a
string tied it to the handle. At sunrise at a signal from the chief
they rushed in from both sides, struck the salmon through with
the spear, the point came off, and held by the string to the shaft,
they towed them to shore and so soon had hundreds on land.
Near, up the Lewis river, were bluffs of basaltic rock thirty feet
high and resting on the sandy shore, the pentagonal columns
tumbling down into the river as the earth was washed away,
showing that there had been melted overflow of rock, which
then cooled and crystallized into rock and in this form in
blocks, one above another.
Beavers
As we occasionally saw the fresh marks of beaver on the
streams, we set our traps and occasionally caught some,
preserved and packed along their skins, knowing that they
would be acceptable to the Hudson Bay people in exchange for
such things as we should need from them. And at times we had
nothing else to eat but their meat, which having nothing else,
we relished right well. About the beaver building houses, they
only do it when the land along the streams, where they are, is
low. For when there are high banks they burrow up and make
their nests in the earth, but always have the mouths of their
holes under the water, so even when the streams are frozen over
they can come to the water under the ice. They subsist on the
bark of small trees, but for winter's use cut with their chisel
teeth, small trees into blocks and store them in the mud at the
mouths of their burrows or in the same, as the squirrel does with
his acorns. And the muskrat too makes his nest of grass or
rushes in the swamp, raising it above the water. The beaver is
an intelligent and interesting animal and so are all others, birds

and all, each in his way.
Reckless of Danger
In this part of our journey we twelve were often very reckless of
danger. For the purpose of this trapping we would separate, for
a night or for more. When in full camp our horses were always
picketed near us and some two or more always awake as a
guard. But when two or three were away for a night's trapping,
we slept with our horses' long halters tied to a bush near us or
sometimes in our hand. One night when thus encamped I had my
old camlet cloak stolen from my saddle and our horses' halters
cut, but they, the horses, did not leave us, and we did not see by
whom done. At another time we found the Indians about at
night, for though generally friendly, they could not forego the
attempt to steal away in a quiet manner, our horses, of which we
had two to a man.
We traveled some days along or in the vicinity of the Lewis
river after meeting Indians, and subsisting mostly on fresh or
dried salmon bought or given us from them, and making short or
long day's journeys and laying over to catch the beaver. They
are a night animal.
At one night's encampment, we made the Indians understand
that we were going to Walla Walla, the name of that place being
the only word we had in common. All else was by signs, talk
with the fingers. Inquiring the way, one of the Indians said that
he had been to Walla Walla and made in the sand a map of the
country. He said that such a mark meant the river and another
the trail, that the road kept down the river three sleeps, always
reckoning distances by day's journeys, or in two if we whipped
up; that then the river went into mountains, it does pass through
a canyon and for a hundred or two miles, and the road left the
river and up a creek, and then we should go so many days and
come to a mountain, go over that and encamp, then over another

and encamp, then a plain and in two days Walla Walla.
I felt confident I understood him, though this all by signs, and it
proved just as he had said, and of great help to us. But as we
traveled on we met with no more Indians from whom to buy our
fish, and we met with no game that we could kill. And not
taking the precaution to pack along much, we soon got short of
food. And we hurried on making thirty miles one day, crossing a
most beautiful fertile plain surrounded by mountains, the same I
think is called the Big Pound. And came to the mountains, the
Indian described, the Blue Mountains. And here we were in a
bad plight, our horses, some of them at least, exhausted by hard
travel, and ourselves the same, having been some days on short
allowance and now nothing left. So for food we killed an old
horse. But hungry as we were, this did not relish well. But I will
show that horse, in good condition is good food, for I
afterwards tested it…
Document 3, Stephen Austin Justifies Taking Up Arms Against
Mexico (Digital History, 1836)[footnoteRef:4] [4: Stephen F.
Austin letter, 1836.]
The revolutions and usurpations and violations of the
constitutional rights of the people of Texas by the Mexican
Govt. have compelled us to arm in self-defense--ours is a war of
independence--our object is a total & everlasting separation
from Mexico and to form a new and independent republic, or to
become a part of these U.S.--we shall be satisfied with either....
We have an organized provisional govt. in operation, an army
on the frontier and four armed schooners to protect our coasts.
Gen. Santana [sic] is however preparing to invade us in the
Spring with all the forces he can collect. The main contest will
probably take place in April & we shall then need all the aid we
can procure in men and money. Col T.D. Owings late of the

U.S. Army has engaged to train two regiments in Kentucky to
be called the Kentucky legions and must see the privilege of old
friendships so far as to elicit your aid in our cause--a move
more just and holy one never existed in any country, and it is
one which pertains to the interests of the people of the U.S. &
especially the western country. Texas ought to be American.
The tranquility of Louisiana requires it. The cause of liberty, of
freedom of conscience, & of civilization, most correctly demand
it. This state [Tennessee] & Alabama, & Mississippi have
formed many companies who have marched and are preparing to
march. I hope that Kentucky will not be behind them.
Document 4, General Zachary Taylor Describes the Mexican
War (Digital History, 1847)[footnoteRef:5] [5: Zachary Taylor
letter, 1847.]
I have not heard any of the particulars as regards...Scott's taking
possession of the City of Mexico. All we have heard relative to
that affair is that he was in quiet possession of that piece & that
the Mexican army had dispersed; I presume there will hardly be
another battle; that Santa Anna had gone no one knew where, in
the direction of the Pacific, & it was supposed he would leave
this country; this is Mexican views & Mexican conjecture.... I
presume atrocity of some kind or other will grow out of our
taking the city & laying it under contribution [occupation],
which the Mexicans say has been done, & should they acquiesce
in considerable [loss] of territory, it will produce great strife in
the streets, when atrocity is laid before that body for their
action. The Wilmot Proviso will shake that body to its center...
but I hope some compromise will be entered into between the
two parties slavery & anti slavery which will have the effect of
allying violent passions on both sides, which will have the
effect of perpetuating...or shortening the Union....
It is to me a matter of perfect indifference whether I am even
elected [as president] or not. I do not intend any party shall use

me as a convenience; if drafted I intend to stand aloof, & let
Whigs and Democrats [use] this matter in their own way....
Depend on it there will be great changes in the complexion of
political affairs between now & the end of this next session of
Congress; the Whigs as a party between ourselves I look upon
as doomed.... I am gratified I took the position I did, which was
not to be the exclusive candidate of any party; & if I am elected
at all, it will be by a union of a portion of Whig Democrat and
native votes. At any rate I am occupying a position & shall
continue to do so. I hope that if not elected, I shall neither be
mortified or disappointed.
Document 5, Taylor Gives the Mexicans an Ultimatum re:
Surrender (Digital History, 1847)[footnoteRef:6] [6: Zachary
Taylor, “Proclamation,” 1847.]
PROCLAMATION
The Chief General of the American Forces to the Inhabitants of
Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila.
When the American troops first crossed the frontier and entered
the said districts, it was with the intention not to make war
against the peaceful citizens of the country, but instead, with
the aim of finding an honorable peace as quickly as possible....
The author [of this proclamation] was authorized by his
government to make a levy or require tribute from the local
communities in order to maintain his army. But disinclined to
throw the heavy weight of the war on those who, with few
exceptions, have manifested a neutral disposition, he has
continued, from the beginning, to pay punctually and liberally
for all the support that has been extracted in order to aid his
troops.
He has made the greatest effort so that the war will not weigh

heavily upon the citizens of those districts, and had hoped
through these means to have enjoyed your confidence and
assured your neutrality in the current dispute between his
Government and that of Mexico. But with regret he is forced to
say that his generosity has not been appreciated but has been
met with acts of hostility.
Instead of continuing their business peacefully in their hearths,
the citizens of the country have distributed arms in the
roadways and encouraged ambushes [of U.S. forces]. Under the
direction and with the support of the government, they have
destroyed wagon trains and assassinated drivers in atrocious
circumstances that are shameful to humanity.
The lives of those who have been so wickedly assassinated
cannot be restored; but the author requires that the citizens of
the country indemnify the losses caused by the destruction of
the trains and the pillaging of their contents. Towards that end,
an estimate will be made by the authorities of the entire loss.
This loss must be made good in cash or in products of the
country by the general community in the Districts of
Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, each judicial district paying its
fair share. And it is hoped that the rich will pay their proper
share.
The author calls on all good citizens to remain absolutely
neutral and not give aid to the partisans who infest the country
with the sole object of killing and robbing.
Document 6, Henry Simpson Tells Americans How They Can
Get Rich in California’s Gold Mines (library.ca.gov,
1848)[footnoteRef:7] [7: Henry Simpson, “The Emigrant’s
Guide to the Gold Mines” (New York: Joyce & Co., 1848).]
Document 7, William Clayton Writes About the Mormon

Migration to Utah (westvalley.edu, 1846)[footnoteRef:8] [8:
William Clayton, “Mob Violence Against Mormons,” 1846.]
T HURSDAY, 24th. Very cold all day. I did not feel so well. I
have been told that Daniel H. Wells and William Cutler have
arrived in camp and brought a report that there has been a battle
fought in Nauvoo and some of the brethren killed.
FRIDAY, 25th. I learned today that the mob had made it known
that they were coming to drive out the "Mormons." The
Governor sent an officer to raise volunteers to disperse the mob,
but the mob learning this they came sooner than they had
calculated. The brethren being apprised of the intentions of the
mob prepared to meet them as well as their circumstances would
permit. Some of the new citizens also made preparations to join
the brethren. They made five cannon shot of an old steam boat
shaft. They also filled some barrels with powder, old iron, etc.,
which were buried in the pass to the city which could be fired
by slow match but this was of no avail as some traitors
informed the mob of it, hence they did not come into the settled
part of the city. On Saturday the 12 inst., the mob made their
appearance being about twelve hundred in number. The
brethren and some of the new citizens in the whole about one
hundred and sixty went to give them battle, but many of the new
citizens and some of the brethren when they saw the numbers of
the mob fled and left about one hundred, nearly all brethren to
fight the enemy. The mob had pieces of cannon. They met near
Boscow's store on Winchester street. The cannon of the mob
fired a number of times into Barlow's old barn expecting many
of the brethren were concealed there but in this they were
disappointed, the brethren chiefly lying down on the ground
behind some shelter and fired in that position. They fought one
hour and twenty minutes when the mob offered terms of
compromise which were these, that all the "Mormons" should
leave the city within five days leaving ten families to finish the

unsettled business. The brethren consented to this inasmuch as
they had been well informed that 1500 more were coming to
join the mob and they had nothing to expect from the authorities
of the state. Lyman Johnson, one of the twelve, headed a party
of the mob from Keokuk, Iowa territory. Three of the brethren
were killed, viz. William Anderson, his son, and Norris, a
blacksmith. Three others wounded. The mob would not own to
any of their party being killed but one person saw them put
sixteen men into one wagon and handled them more like dead
persons than wounded. The ground where they stood was pretty
much covered with blood, so that there is no doubt they had
many slain or wounded. They had 150 baggage wagons.
Esquire Wells took command of the brethren and rode to and fro
during the whole battle without receiving injury, although the
balls whistled by him on every side. Amos Davis fought
bravely. While running across a plowed field he stumbled and
fell on his left arm which formed a triangle with his head. As
he fell a cannon ball passed through the angle of his arm
between that and his head. Hiram Kimball received a slight
wound with a musket ball on the forehead. The mob fired sixty-
two shots with the cannon and ten rounds with the muskets
making 12,000 musket balls only killing three and wounding
three. The brethren did not fire so much in proportion but did
much more execution. Truly, the Lord fights the battles of his
saints. The cannon of the brethren was not of much service,
they would not carry more than a quarter of a mile whereas
those of the mob would hold well a half a mile. They shot nine
balls through a small smith shop, one through Wells' barn and
one at his house but the ball struck the ground in front of his
house and glanced through the well curb. The mayor of Quincy
watched the battle from the tower of the temple and owned that
history never afforded a parallel. The brethren then began to
get their families and effects over the river where they remain
in a suffering and destitute condition until wagons and means
are sent from the saints to their relief. On the Thursday
following, the mob 1200 strong, entered the city. 'Tis said from

good authority that such is the distress and sufferings of the
saints as actually to draw tears from this mob....
Document 8, The Donner Party Write About Their Fateful Trip,
1847 (donnerpartydiary.com, 1847)[footnoteRef:9] [9: William
Fallon, Diary, April 1847.]
April 17th. Reached the Cabins between 12 and 1 o'clock.
Expected to find some of the sufferers alive, Mrs. Donner and
Kiesburg in particular. Entered the cabins and a horrible scene
presented itself,--human bodies terribly mutiliated, legs, arms,
and sculls scattered in every direction. One body, supposed to
be that of Mrs. Eddy, lay near the entrance, the limbs severed
off and a frightful gash in the scull. The flesh from the bones
was nearly consumed and a painful stillness pervaded the place.
The supposition was that all were dead, when a sudden shout
revived our hopes, and we flew in the direction of the sound,
three Indians were hitherto concealed, started from the ground
and fled at our approach, leaving behind their bows and arrows.
We delayed two hours in searching the cabins, during which we
were obliged to witness sights from which we would have fain
turned away, and which are too dreadful to put on record.--We
next started for 'Donner's camp' 8 miles distant over the
mountains. After traveling about half way, we came upon a
track in the snow, which excited our suspicion, and we
determined to pursue it. It brought us to the camp of Jacob
Donner, where it had evidently left that morning. There we
found property of every description, books, calicoes, tea,
coffee, shoes, percussion caps, household and kitchen furniture
scattered in every direction, and mostly in the water. At the
mouth of the tent stood a large iron kettle filled with human
flesh cut up, it was the body of Geo. Donner, the head had been
split open, and the brains extracted thereform, and to the
appearance, he had not been long dead, and over three or four
days at the most. Near by the kettle stood a chair, and
thereupon three legs of a bullock that had been shot down in the

early part of the winter, and snowed under before it could be
dressed. The meat was found sound and good, and with the
exception of a small piece out of the shoulder, wholly
untouched. We gathered up some property and camped for the
night…
April 19. This morning Foster, Rhodes, and J. Foster started
with small packs for the first cabins intending from thence to
follow the trail of the person that had left the morning previous.
The other three remained behind to cache and secure the goods
necessarily left there. Knowing the Donners had a considerable
sum of money, we searched diligently but were unsuccessful.
The party for the cabins were unable to keep the trail of the
mysterious personage owing to the rapid melting of the snow,
they therefore went direct for the cabins, and upon entering
discovered Kiesburg lying down amidst the human bones and
beside him a large pan full of fresh liver and lights. They asked
him what had become of his companions, whether they were
alive, and what had become of Mrs. Donner. He answered them
by stating they were all dead; Mrs. Donner, he said, had in
attempting to cross form one cabin to another, missed the trail,
and slept out one night; that she came to his camp the next
night very much fatigued, he made her a cup of coffee, placed
her in bed and rolled her well in the blankets, but the next
morning found her dead; he eat her body and found her flesh
the best he had ever tasted! He further stated that he obtained
from her body at least four pounds of fat! No traces of her
person could be found, nor the body of Mrs. Murphy either.--
When the last company left the camp, three weeks previous, Mrs
Donner was in perfect health though unwilling to come out and
leaver her husband there, and offrered $500 to any person or
persons who could come out and bring them in, saying this in
the presence of Kiesburg, and she had plenty of tea and coffee,
we suspected that it was her sho had taken the piece from the
shoulder of beef in the chair before mentioned. In the cabin
with Kiesburg was found two kettles of human blood, in all

supposed to be over one gallon Rhodes asked him where he had
got the blood, he answered, "there is blood in dead bodies,"--
they asked him numerous questions, but he appeared
embarassed and equivocated a great deal, and in reply to their
asking him where Mrs. Donner's money was, he evinced
confusion and answered, that he knew nothing about it.--that
she must have cached it before she died--"I have'nt it" said he,
"nor the money, nor the property of any person, living or dead!"
They then examined his bundle and found silks and jewelry,
which had been taken from the camp of the Donners, and
amounting in value to about $200; on his person they discoverd
a brace of pistols, recognized to be those of Geo. Donner, and
while taking them from him discovered something concealed in
his waistcoat, which on being opened was found to be $225 in
gold.
Before leaving the settlements, the wife of Keysburg had told
us that we would find but little money about him; the men
therefore said to him that they knew he was lying to them, and
hes was well aware of the place of concealment of the Donner's
money; he declared before heaven, he knew nothing concerning
it, and that he had not the property of any one in his possession;
they told him that to lie to them would effect nothing, that there
were others back at the cabins, who unless informed of the spot
where the treasure was hidden, would not hesitate to hang him
upon the first tree. Their threats were of no avail, he still
affirmed his ignorance and innocence, and Rhodes took him
aside and talked to him kindly, telling him that if he would give
the information desired, he should receive from their hands the
best of treatment, and be in every way assisted, otherwise, the
party back at Donners' camp, would, upon his arrival and
refusal to discover to them the place where he had deposited
this money, immediately put him to death; it was all to no
purpose, however, and they prepared to return to us, leaving
him in charge of his packs, and assuring him of their
determination to visit him in the morning, and he must make up
his mind during the night. They then started back and joined us

at Donner's Camp…
Document 9, Senator Stephen Douglas Argues for Popular
Sovereignty re: the Kansas-Nebraska Territory (The Library of
Congress, 1854)[footnoteRef:10] [10: A Century of Lawmaking
for a New Nation: US Congressional Documents and Debates,
1774-1875. Congressional Globe, Senate, 33rd Congress, 1st
Session, 1854.]
Document 10, The Free Soil Ideology, 1848 (Digital History,
1848)[footnoteRef:11] [11: Gerrit Smith, “The Free Soil
Party,” 1848.]
I hardly need say, that I am deeply interested in the present
movement against the extension of slavery; and that I infinitely
prefer the election of the candidates, who are identified with it,
to the election of the Whig and Democratic candidates. Gen.
[Zachary] Taylor and Gen. [Lewis] Cass are proslavery
candidates. Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Adams are antislavery
candidates. The former are the shameless tools of the slave-
power. The latter bravely resist it.
It is true, that, among all the persons, whom there was the least
reason to believe the Buffalo Convention [of the Free Soil
Party] would nominate for President, Mr. Van Buren was my
preference. He was my preference, because I believed he would
obtain a much larger vote than any of the others; and, that his
nomination would go much farther than that of any of the others
toward breaking up the great political parties, which, along with
the ecclesiastical parties, are the chief shelters and props of
slavery.
But it is not true that I shall vote for Mr. Van Buren. I can vote
for no man for President of the United States, who is not an
abolitionist; for no man, who votes for slaveholders, or for

those, who do; for no man, whose understanding and heart
would not prompt him to use the office, to the utmost, for the
abolition of slavery. And, let me here confess, that I am not of
the number of those, who believe, that the Federal Government
has no higher power over slavery than to abolish it in the
District of Columbia, and to abolish the inter-State traffic in
human beings. On the contrary, I claim that this Government
has power, under the Constitution, to abolish every part of
American slavery, whether without, or within, the States; and
that it is superlatively guilty against God and man for refusing
thus to use it. The still higher ground do I take, that no man is
fit for President of the United States, who does not scout the
idea of the possibility of property in man, and who does not
insist, that slavery is as utterly incapable of legalization, as is
murder itself. Why is it not? Is it not as bad as murder? Is not,
indeed, murder itself one of the elements in that matchless
compound of enormous crimes?...There should be no surprise,
that, from the day this Nation came into being until the present
day, no white man has, in any one of the Southern States, been
put to death, under the laws, for the murder of a slave.…
Post-Reading Exercises:
1. Pretend you are a journalist assigned to write a newspaper
article on westward expansion. Write an article that either
encourages or discourages Americans to move west. You
should be sure to incorporate specific examples and quotes from
the primary sources documents in this chapter.
2. Write a 1-2 page essay explaining how westward expansion
contributed to the Civil War. You should be sure to incorporate
specific examples and quotes from the primary sources
documents in this chapter.
3. JOURNAL OPTION: For this chapter of OB, instead of
answering Question 1 or 2, you may instead choose to turn in a

2-4 page typed document (double-spaced) with brief notes on
each document in the chapter, as well as 5 questions about the
chapter’s material. Please see the handout under Files titled
“Journal Notes/Questions Guide” for more specific instructions
on how to do this properly.
Works Cited
Document 3: Digital History. (1836). Digital History. Retrieved
July 9, 2012, from Stephen F. Austin, Gone to Texas:
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?
doc=93
July 9, 2012, from Zachary Taylor, The Mexican War:
doc=112
July 9, 2012, from Zachary Taylor, Ultimatum to Mexico:
doc=114
Document 10: Digital History. (1848). Digital History.
Retrieved July 9, 2012, from Gerrit Smith, The Free Soil Party:
doc=111
Document 8: donnerpartydiary.com. (1847, April).
donnerpartydiary.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012, from Log Entries
for April, 1847: http://www.donnerpartydiary.com/apr47.htm
Document 6: library.ca.gov. (1848). library.ca.gov. Retrieved
July 9, 2012, from Henry Simpson, Emigrant Guide:
http://www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/images/emigrant_guide_cov
er.jpg
Document 1: Mt. Holyoke. (1839). Mt. Holyoke. Retrieved July
9, 2012, from John L. O'Sullivan on Manifest Destiny:
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/osulliva.htm
Document 9: The Library of Congress. (1854). The Library of
Congress. Retrieved July 9, 2012, from A Century of
Lawmaking for a New Nation: US Congressional Documents

and Debates, 1774-1875, Douglas: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=033/llcg033.db&recNum=27
6
Document 2: user.xmission.com. (1832). user.xmission.com.
Retrieved July 9, 2012, from The Autobiography of John Ball,
Across the Plains to Oregon:
http://user.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/jball.html
Document 7: westvalley.edu. (1846). westvalley.edu. Retrieved
July 9, 2012, from William Clayton, Mob Violence Against
Mormons:
http://instruct.westvalley.edu/kelly/History17a_on_campus/Rea
dings/Mormons.htm
1
Economic, Political and Social Effects of Post-Civil War
Industrialization
Industrialization
Industrialization
Tamika Brown
Alan Rogers
HIS 105: American History after 1865
January 21, 2018
Thesis
In the late nineteenth centuries, the United States developed
from a majorly agrarian economy to an industrial economy
which came with the growth of manufacturing industries and
development of cities. Before the revolution, most Americans
were confined to their rural homes and practiced agriculture.
(Olmstead and Rhode, 711).

IndustrializationOutline
The industrial revolution widely affected economic, political
and social spheres in the United States. Economically,
industrialization saw the construction of the railroad which
enabled the movement of goods and services; it supplied the
high demand for goods since manufacturing companies had the
capacity to produce enough. Also, the post-civil war
industrialization contributed to the rise of America into one the
leading global economies of the world (Bensel, 1). Because of
the industrial expansion and economic growth there arose
disputes over wealth and wealth distribution which led to
formation of political parties to enable those suppressed by
industrialization seek a voice through political representation
(Bensel, 2) Though in a large perspective economics and
political spheres were affected, in the consequential social
effects of the expansion there are specific groups that were
affected by the industrial revolution. The first group is farmers;
most farmers could not produce to compete with the big
company’s production capacities. Because of competition
farmer’s income reduced, therefore in search of a decent
livelihood they moved to cities and lived in congested rooms
and this resulted in the upsurge of diseases. The second group
was women, in the industries they were made to work as hard as
men, and, in as much as they did the same amount of work as
the male counterparts, they were paid half of what men
received. The third group was children, underage was forced
into child labor, and this consequently affected their education.
Fourth, are the Native Americans, with the growth in
transportation industry they lost most of their properties where
the railroad passed, on top of the loses there came unrest and
war when they tried to defend their properties. The fifth group
is the businessmen, they strove with politicians over control of
wealth and resources but contrary to the supremacy wars
businessmen were affected on the positive because they made
money out of the industrialization. (Babayan). With the
foregoing challenges withstanding, industrialization

transformed most of the United States from a rural setting to
urban and therefore need of labor. The desire for labor came
along with its challenges too that affected the working class; the
effects were both negative and positive. Since most people
migrated to the urban areas to offer labor, workers got
congested and lived in unhealthy conditions in the urban centers
(Shackel and Palus, 828). Also, the rapid growth of the
industries at the initial stages after the civil war saw a decrease
in workers’ salaries together with difficulties in movements to
their workplaces (Shackel and Palus, 828). On top of this, the
innovation of labor-saving machines demanded unskilled labor;
this brought scarcity of jobs for adults because the major source
of unskilled labor was children. On the contrary, the positive
effects cannot be overlooked. The increasing labor problem
necessitated the formation of labor unions that helped improve
the working conditions. Later during industrialization came the
rail which eased transportation and solved the movement
problem (Shackel and Palus, 829). Though industrialization in
America came with various developments it also came with its
challenges to various sectors’ and groups in the society. But as
industrialization has continued to advance through innovation
so has Americans managed to overcome and solve the negative
effects that industrialization brought.
References
Babayan Tatevik “American History” 2013 web 19th January
19, 2018
Olmstead Alan L, Rhode Paul W. “The Transformation of
Northern Agriculture”. In: Engerman Stanley L, Gallman Robert
E., editors. The Cambridge Economic History of the United
States. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2000.
pp. 711 print
Shacke Paul A. l, Palus Matthew M. “The Gilded Age and
Working-Class Industrial Communities” Source: American
Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 108, No. 4 (Dec., 2006), pp.
828-841

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