Manifest Destiny Flashcards
Define Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was intended by God to rule the entirety of North America.
After it won independence from Spain in 1823, Mexico invited Americans to settle Texas’ northern frontier. Why?
The Mexican government had neither the troops nor funds to protect the state from raids by the Comanche Indian Tribe. Mexico hoped that a strong group of settlers along the northern frontier would protect the state.
The American settlers were known as “Texians.”
What was the response to Mexico’s invitation to Americans to settle in Texas?
The response was overwhelming. By 1830, Americans in Texas outnumbered Mexicans by 3 to 1.
Many Americans arrived from the South, and brought their slaves with them.
Who is considered the Father of Texas?
Stephen F. Austin
Austin, for whom Texas’ state capital is named, led the first group of 300 settlers to Texas in 1822, where they set up homesteads along the Brazos River.
Following independence from Spain, the new Mexican government ratified the land grants to the new settlers.
In addition to banning further American immigration to Texas in the 1840s, Mexico enacted two laws which enraged American settlers. What were they?
First, Mexico required anyone already living within Mexican territory to convert to Roman Catholicism.
Second, Mexico passed legislation barring slavery.
Americans simply ignored both laws. Most slaveowners simply converted their slaves into lifetime indentured servants, a distinction without a difference which only served to irritate Mexican authorities.
