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Westward expansion fisher
- 1. READ AND ANNOTATETHE EXCERPT FROM JOHN L. O’SULLIVAN’S 1839 PIECE, “THE GREAT NATION OF FUTURITY” IN WHICH HE WRITES ABOUT “MANIFEST DESTINY” ▪ As you read, underline/circle language that communicates how O’Sullivan views the United States ▪ What language does he use? ▪ Why is he writing this piece? ▪ What do think its purpose was? ▪ How does the piece connect to John Gast’s painting on the right?
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- 4. 1804: Lewis andClark
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- 6. 1830 Indian RemovalAct - causes “Trail of Tears”
- 7. 1836: Texas Independence- “Lone Star Republic” 1845: US annexes Texas
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- 10. 1847: Mormon establishmentat Great Salt Lake 1846-1849: Use of Oregon Trail
- 11. 1851: Indian AppropriationsAct creates reservations
- 12. Now what? Wherewill slavery be legal in all this new territory? What will this new land do to the character of America?
Editor's Notes
- #4 § US gained the Louisiana Territory, more than 800,000 square miles of land § US gained control of MS river § Native Americans did not recognize US “rights” to landàongoing conflict and more than 50 wars
- #5 § sent by Jefferson to explore western part of continent § looking for water route across continent (which they didn’t find), to establish relationships with Native Americans (for access to the fur trade) § observed firsthand the impact of European settlement on Native American culture § expedition shifted the idea of “the West” westwardàcitizens began to settle further inland and view lands west of Mississippi as ripe for expansion
- #6 § Missouri petitioned Congress to enter as slave state (at a time when Congress was balanced with 11 slave, 11 non-slave states) § MI able to enter as slave state b/c ME entered as free, maintaining the balance But draws the line of free and slave westward - will stay with new turf???
- #7 § spearheaded by Andrew Jackson as a means to remove all Indian tribes then living east of the Mississippi River § goal of removal was furthered when govt dispossessed the native Americans of their land § “trail of tears” marked migration of Indians; removal was complete by 1844
- #8 § resulting following a defeat at the Alamo § Anglo settlers were discontent with Mexican rule - also slaveowners but in Mexico where slavery outlawed § Mexican govt regarded annexation as declaration of war; never ratified TX independence
- #9 § war was over the annexation of TX as a US state in 1845 § tremendously divisive: some saw as bid to add another slave state, some supported even more aggressive expansion into Mexico, some didn’t want to incorporate non-white citizens, some afraid of empire building § US victory in 1848: gained 1.2 million square miles of territory (what would eventually become CA, NV, UT, some of CO, WY, most of AZ and NM) § Land transfer reduced Mexico nearly by half, created lasting sense of resentment towards US
- #10 § discovery of gold and subsequent “rush” to mine and otherwise capitalize on the discovery brought 300,000 + people to California § established San Francisco as thriving city led to the incorporation of California as a state (in the Compromise of 1850)
- #11 § Oregon Trail and its many offshoots used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families. § 1869 – decline b/c transcontinental railroad completed
- #12 § 10 years after Indian Removal, the govt began moving towards a policy of fencing native Americans within specified reservations to open up the West to expansion/white settlement § Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 was designed to consolidate western tribes on agricultural reservations