1. Westward Expansion
Go West Young Man!!

2. Oregon Country
• LOCATION: Beyond Rocky Mountains
– Willamette River Valley
– Puget Sound lowlands
• CLIMATE:
– Fertile soil
– Lots of rain
– Mild temperatures

3. Oregon Country
• LAND CLAIM: Many nations claimed control of
this region
– Native-Americans
– USA
– Spain
– Russia
– Great Britain

4. Oregon Country
• PEOPLE:
• Fur Traders & Trappers: Trapped otter &
beaver pelts
• Mountain Men: Rugged individualists. Lived
off the land
– Trapped & Traded furs
– Connected with Native-American tribes
– Married Native-Americans

6. Fur Traders
• American Fur Company: Created by John
Jacob Astor.
– Became the richest man in the United States

7. Explorers
• Jedediah Smith: Traveled the South Pass into
Wyoming

8. Explorers
• Manuel Lisa: Traveled up the Missouri River
– Established Fort Manuel.

9. Explorers
• Marie Dorion: An Indian woman and fur
trader
– Traveled around Oregon Country

10. Explorers
• James Beckwourth: Ex-slave from Virginia
– Became a guide through the Sierra Nevada
Mountains

11. Missionairies
• Missionaries: Wanted to convert Indians to
Christianity

12. Missionaries
• Marcus & Narcissa Whitman: 1st
white settlers
in Oregon to build permanent housing.
• Accident: The Whitman’s give measles to the
Cayuse Indian tribe. Many children die
– The Indians brutally kill everyone in the mission

13. Utah
• Mormons: Moved to Utah for religious
reasons.
– Joseph Smith: Founded in 1830
– Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Persecuted: The Mormon teachings were
different
– More than one wife allowed
– Common owned property

14. Utah
• Brigham Young: Mormon leader 1844
– Takes control after Joseph Smith is killed by angry
mob in Illinois.
• Great Salt Lake: Region in Utah
– Mormons settle there

15. New Mexico Territory
• Santé Fe Trail: Created by William Becknell
• Used it to gain entrance to:
– Arizona
– New Mexico
– Nevada
– Utah
– California
– Colorado

16. California
• GOLD RUSH: 1849 gold found in California
– Many people “rush” out to find it [49ers]
– Sutters Mill: 1848 John Sutter builds a sawmill in
Sacramento, CA.
– They discover gold while digging a ditch

17. Sutters Mill

18. California
• 49ers: Settlers would find gold by
– Digging it up
– Panning for it
– Very few miners ever struck it rich

19. California
• BOOM TOWN: San Francisco becomes a huge
city overnight
– Overcrowded
– Crime
• Vigilantes: Self appointed law enforcement
officials
– Handed out “justice”

20. For Quiz
• Joseph Smith Annex
• James Beckwourth Lone Star Republic
• Sam Houston Sutters Mill
• James Polk Missionaries
• William Becknell Gadsden Purchase
• 49ers The Alamo
• Vigilantes
• Mormons-Utah
• Mountain Men

21. END

22. TEXAS

23. Moses Austin
• LAND GRANT: 1821 Spain gives Moses Austin
a land grant in Texas
• Stephen Austin: Takes over project
– 20,000 Americans living in Texas by 1830
• Mexico: Wins independence from Spain
– Takes control of Texas

24. Conflict in Texas
• Mexican Government: Refused to allow any
more Americans into Texas
• New Laws: Used to discourage Americans
from moving to Texas
– NO more Slavery
– Must worship Catholic religion

25. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
• 1833
• Mexican General & Military Dictator
– Wants to drive all Americans OUT of Texas
• Tejanos: Mexicans living in Texas disliked him

26. Town of Gonzales v Mexican Army
• 1835
• Texans push Mexican soldiers out of Gonzales
– Win battle
• Stephen Austin vows:
– “To see Texas forever free from Mexican
domination!”

27. Battle of San Antonio
• Texans storm San Antonio
– Win important battle

28. Republic of Texas
• FREEDOM: Texas declares independence!
• Sam Houston: Name 1st
Commander of the
Texas Army

29. The Alamo

30. The Alamo
• Battle: Mexican siege
• 6,000 Mexicans attack 200 Americans/Texans
– Battle lasted 12 days
– American Soldiers: William Travis, Davy Crockett
& Jim Bowie
– Mexico killed every soldier in the fort

31. Battle of Goliad
• Execution: Hundreds more Texans were killed
by Santa Anna in this battle
– The soldiers were killed AFTER they surrendered

32. Battle of San Jacinto
• Americans React: “Remember the Alamo”
• American Volunteers and Texans defeat and
capture Santa Anna
– Santa Anna: Forced to sign peace treaty
• Texas has independence

33. Lone Star Republic
• Sam Houston: Elected 1st
President of Texas
• Problems:
– Mexico refused to accept the peace treaty
– Texas was bankrupt
• Solution: Become a state in the Union!

34. President James Polk
• James Polk [Democrat] defeats Henry Clay in
1844
• Expansion: Polk believed in Manifest Destiny
and expanding the American borders
• Slogan: 54 40 or Fight!

35. President James Polk
• Texas: Sam Houston threatens to become an
ally with Britain.
– 1845: Polk annexes Texas
• Oregon: Both U.S. and Britain want control of
Oregon Territory.
– 1846: A compromise is met. The border is made at
49 degrees North

36. Mexican War
• Annex: The U.S. takes Texas, offers money to
Mexico.
– Mexico gets angry

37. Mexican War
• Border Issues:
– United States claims border is Rio Grande River
– Mexico claims it is the Nueces River
• U.S. Military goes to the border
• Mexican soldiers move across Rio Grande
River
• U.S. declares war on Mexico

38. Mexican War
• General Zachary Taylor: President Polk sends
Taylor to border.
• Leads troops into Northern Mexico
• Wins many battles in this war

39. Mexican War
• General Winfield Scott: Attacked the Port of
Veracruz
– Took control of Mexico City

40. Mexican War
• General Stephen Kearney: Captured Santé Fe
without firing a single shot!
– Controlled Southern California

41. Mexican War
• John Fremont: An American explorer
– Led a group of rebels in Northern California
– Defeated the Mexican Army
• Declared their independence from Mexico
– Bear Nation Republic

42. Mexican War
• Battle of Chapultepec: 1847 Final battle of
Mexican War
• U.S. defeats the Mexicans and controls
California, New Mexico & Mexico City

43. Mexican War
• Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo [1848]:
– Known as the Mexican Cession
– Mexico ceded all of California & New Mexico
Territory for 15 million dollars

44. Mexican War
• Gadsden Purchase [1853]: The U.S. purchases
a strip of land in Arizona from Mexico for 10
million dollars

45. END

46. Manifest Destiny

47. Manifest Destiny
• It was our DESTINY to move West to the
Pacific Ocean.
• Bring our:
– Way of Life
– Religion
– Government
• They felt superior to the Native-Americans

48. Treaty of Paris
• 1783
• Land ceded [given] by Britain after the
American Revolution
– Includes Ohio River Valley

49. Louisiana Purchase
• 1803
• President Jefferson buys this land from France
for 15 million dollars
– Double the size of the U.S.

50. Northern Border Lands
• 1818
• Land ceded by Britain
– Included pieces of Minnesota and Wisconsin

51. Florida
• 1819
• Adams-Onis Treaty: The U.S. buys Florida
from Spain for 5 million dollars

52. Webster-Ashburn Treaty
• 1842
• U.S. acquires Northern Border lands from
Britain
– A small piece of Maine

53. Texas
• 1845
• The U.S. annexes Texas from Mexico
– Texas and Southwest states

54. Oregon
• 1846
• President Polk negotiates a treaty with Britain
to draw the boundary at 49 degrees North
latitude

55. Mexican Cession
• Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo: After the end
of the Mexican War, this treaty gave America
parts of:
– New Mexico
– California
– Arizona
– Utah

56. Gadsden Purchase
• The U.S. buys a strip of land in Arizona from
Mexico for 10 million dollars

58. `

59. END