James K. Polk

Question 1

Manifest Destiny

Answer 1

1. Brinkley, page 344-345, 347
2. was the belef that America was destined by God and by history to expand west
3. fueled by belief in American racial superiority and the belief that it was Americans’ duty to spread American Democracy and Liberty to less fortunate realms
4. tremendously popular among the American public
5. justification for spreading West and other expansionist policy
6. eventually contributed to the reignition of the debate over slavery

Question 2

Texas Statehood

Answer 2

1. Brinkley, page 345-347
2. Texas became a state in 1845
3. the process was a long and strenuous one: Americans had been in Texas since 1822, in the first legal settlement under Stephen Austin. Texas was still a Mexican territory at the time
4. In 1824, the Mexican government passed a law offering newcomers cheap land and a four-year tax exemption. This greatly stimulated American settlement of Texas.
5. In 1826, an “intermediary”, an American that recruited other Americans to Texas, led a revolt against the Mexican government to establish an independent government. (called Fredonia) It was quickly suppressed.
6. In 1830, the Mexican government raised immigration bans, which proved to be largely ineffective. In 1833, these bans were abolished in light of their ineffectiveness.
7. In the mid-1830’s, a group of American revolutionaries declared Texas’ independence, eliciting Mexican general Santa Anna to march against them. Santa Anna defeated them at the Alamo.
8. In 1836, General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto and, consequently, pleaded for American annexation.
9. Texas did not receive any significant American responses until 1837. President Jackson feared that annexation would spark debate over slavery. Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison declined to act.
10. In 1844, statehood was rejected by American Congress.
11. Statehood finally achieved in 1845 under Polk

Question 3

Texas Boundary Dispute

Answer 3

1. Brinkley, 351, 354
2. Mexican governments asserted that the Nueces River was Texas’ western and southern border; Texans, in contrast, asserted that the Rio Grande to the south was the border
3. The Rio Grande was accepted as the official border in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848

Question 4

Oregon Boundary

Answer 4

1. Brinkley, 351
2. Polk initially proposed the 49th parallel as the border. Though after it was denied by the British minister, Polk pushed for all of Oregon (54’40 or fight!)
3. The border was eventually settled at the 49th parallel in 1846, where it remains today

Question 5

Mexican War

Answer 5

1. Brinkley 352-354
2. was the conflict between the United States and Mexico over the disputed territories of California, New Mexico, and Texas
3. Initiated after the failure of the Slidell mission (to purchase the disputed territory), and the advancement of American forces past the Nueces River to the Rio Grande.
4. Approved by the vast majority of Congress
5. fueled predominantly by the belief in Manifest Destiny and expansionist policy
6. Conflict led, in most part, by three military commanders (not including Polk himself). Taylor led a force that eventually took Monterrey. Colonel Kearny participated in the conquest of California in cooperation with John Fremont. General Winfield Scott seized Mexico City, ending the war
7. In the resulting Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded California, New Mexico, and accepted the Rio Grande as the Texan border in return for fifteen million and assuming all financial claims of all new citizens.

Question 6

Bear Flag Revolution

Answer 6

1. Brinkley, 353
2. was the joint effort of Colonel Stephen Kearny, a group of well-armed settlers, John C. Fremont, and the U.S. navy to conquer California
3. The force succeded and thus, by 1846, California was under American military control

Question 7

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Answer 7

1. Brinkley, 354
2. was the treaty that resolved the Mexican war in 1848
3. Mexico ceded California, New Mexico, and accepted the Rio Grande as the Texan border in return for fifteen million and assuming all financial claims of all new citizens. Polk later claimed that envoy Nicholas Trist had violated instructions in an effort to get all of Mexico. However, the Trist treaty was approved, and Polk’s efforts were rendered meaningless.

Question 8

Wilmot Provioso

Answer 8

1. Brinkley, 355
2. was a proposed amendment by David Wilmot, an antislavery Democrat, to prohibit slavery in any territory in the Mexican Cession
3. It passed in the House but was rejected in the Senate
4. Marked the reignition of the debate over slavery once again
5. This debate would continue to intensify for the next fifteen years, eventually leading to the Civil War