Manifest Destiny in the Forties

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Manifest Destiny in the Forties
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William Henry Harrison

• Inaugurated as the ninth president in 1841
• Inaugural address shows his inexperience

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• Clay and Webster figured to control the president

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April 4, 1841 President Harrison dies of
pneumonia
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President John Tyler
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President John Tyler

• Tyler was anti-Jackson - strong states-righter.

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• Clay and Webster were pro-bank, pro-tariff,
  pro-internal improvements.
• Tylers Democratic beliefs were at odds with most
  Whigs.

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Whig problems with Tyler

• Clay passes a Fiscal Bank bill - does not
  compromise with Tyler.
• Tyler vetoes Fiscal Bank and subsequent Fiscal
  Corporation Bill.

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• Whigs burn Tyler in effigy - seek to impeach him
  - formally kick him out of the Whig Party.
• His entire cabinet resigns (except Daniel
  Webster, who as Secretary of State is negotiating
  with Britain).

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• Tyler vetoes a tariff bill that calls for
  distribution of land sales revenues - signs 1842
  tariff bill that is mildly protective.

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Problems with England

• War of words between British and Americans.
• Americans defaulted on British loans during the
  depression following the Panic of 1837.

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• Canadian rebellion and Caroline Affair increased
  tensions,
• Canadian citizen is indicted for murder.
• British officials offer asylum to rebel slaves on
  the American ship Creole.

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• Canadian attempts to build a road to Nova Scotia
  leads to Aroostook War between lumber jacks in
  Maine.
• Webster - Ashburton agreement split the
  difference of the land in dispute.

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The Lone Star Republic fades away.

• Texas President Lamar negotiates with Britain and
  France for protection.

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• British and French schemes for Texas made the
  area a major issue in the 1844 election.

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1844 Election

• Martin Van Buren opposes Texas.

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• Andrew Jackson supports James K. Polk.

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• Clay also opposes Texas gets Whig nomination.
• Democrats nominate Polk - first Dark Horse
  candidate.

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• Democrats campaign for Texas and fifty-four
  forty or fight.
• To gain all of Oregon territory.

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• Polk wins for Texas, California and Oregon by 170
  to 105 electoral votes.

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Annexation of Texas

• Tyler proposes and Congress passes annexation
  resolution - to bypass 2/3rds majority needed for
  treaty.

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• Zachary Taylor is dispatched to the Rio Grande to
  protect Texas.
• Texas votes for Annexation - never was a
  territory.

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President James K. Polk
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President James K. Polk

• Developed a four point program and achieved it in
  four years.
• Lower the tariff, restore the independent
  treasury, get Oregon and California.
• His policies are tied to the idea of Manifest
  Destiny.

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Manifest Destiny
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Walker Tariff - 1846.

• Secretary of the Treasury Robert Walker created a
  revenue tariff that reduced tariffs from 32 to 25
  percent.
• Clay Whig supporters denounced the new tariff,
  but boom times made it successful.

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Independent Treasury

• Polk gets congress to restore the independent
  treasury that had been dropped by the Whigs in
  1841.
• It will remain in effect until the creation of
  the Federal Reserve System in 1912.

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Oregon Compromise

• Polk had no intention of holding out for 54º 40
  line.
• He proposed the old compromise line of 49º, but
  Britain refused.

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• Britain eventually agreed to give in with out a
  fight and the line was set at 49º.

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The War with Mexico

• Land to the south of the Nueces River was
  disputed between Texas and Mexico.

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• Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the US
  when the United States accepted Texan claims to
  the Rio Grande as the southern border.

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Slidell Mission

• Polk sends John Slidell to Mexico City offering
  to buy California and New Mexico for 25 million.
• The Mexican government refused to even hear the
  insulting proposition.

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Old Rough and Ready

• General Zachary Taylor and 4,000 troops move to
  the Rio Grande valley near Matamoros.
• 8,000 Mexican troops gathered south of the Rio
  Grande.

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General Zachary Taylor
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First Blood

• April 25, 1846 1,600 Mexican troops crossed the
  river and attacked 60 US cavalry. 16 American
  casualties.
• May 8, 1846 -- Taylor defeats the Mexican force
  at Palo Alto.

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War News From Mexicoby Richard Woodville
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War Resolution

• Congress declared war on Mexico anti-slavery
  Northerners declared the war was for the
  expansion of slavery.

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War Protests

• Henry David Thoreau refused to pay his taxes
  until the war was over - wrote Civil
  Disobedience to justify his actions.

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• Under a government which imprisons any unjustly,
  the true place for a just man is also in a
  prison.

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The Spot Resolutions

• Whig Congressman Abe Lincoln of Illinois
  introduced a resolution seeking to determine the
  exact spot that American blood had been spilt
  on American soil.

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The War with Mexico

• The war was fought on three fronts - California,
  New Mexico and in Mexico.

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• Captain John C. Fremont in California with a few
  dozen well-armed men -- overthrew the Mexican
  government and declared the California Bear Flag
  Republic.

The Pathfinder
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The Bear Flag Republic
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• General Stephen Kearney leads a force from Ft.
  Leavenworth, Kansas to Santa Fe, New Mexico and
  then on to California.

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• General Zachary Taylor - Old Rough and Ready -
  invaded Mexico from Texas and won a close victory
  against Santa Anna at Buena Vista.

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• General Winfield Scott - Old Fuss and Feathers
  - landed with 10,000 troops at Veracruz, Mexico
  and marched through the mountains, lakes and
  swamps to reach Mexico City.

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General Winfield Scott
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• The Capital fell in hand-to-hand street fighting
  on September 14, 1847.

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Battle of Chapultepec
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• 13,000 Americans lost their lives (11,000 by
  disease) and over 100 million was spent.
• Many of the battlefield officers went on to be
  generals in the Civil War.

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• February 2, 1848 -- The Treaty of Guadalupe
  Hidalgo formally ended the war.
• The US gained California, Nevada, Utah, New
  Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado and Wyoming.

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• Mexico gave up its claim to Texas and received
  15 million in compensation.

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U.S. Territorial Expansion
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U.S. Territorial Expansion
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The Gadsden Purchase

• In 1853 the US purchased a disputed territory
  south of the Gila River for 10 million called
  the Gadsden Purchase.

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• The war soured relations with Latin America and
  brought back the slavery issue.

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The Wilmot Proviso

• During the Mexican War the House passed a measure
  known as the Wilmot Proviso - declaring slavery
  outlawed in all territory that might be acquired
  during the war.

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• The Senate refused to pass the measure but the
  issue of slavery had again been broached.

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