Westward Expansion Flashcards
Overview of westward expansion
In 1800 most of the land that now makes up part of the USA belonged to Spain and NA controlled most of it.
By 1840 nearly one-half of the population lived to the west of the Appalachians with the West playing a key role in the rise of the USA as an economic power.
Federal government action towards land policy and the acquisition of territory undoubtedly encouraged westward expansion.
However, the major problem with expansion for the f.g was whether new states would be free or slave states.
Exploration
Lewis and Clark:
At the start of the period the area beyond the Appalachian Mountains was largely unknown.
In 1803 President Jefferson persuaded Congress to provide money for an expedition under Lewis and Clark to chart the lands acquired by the Louisiana Purchase which began to provide others with knowledge of the area.
They provided maps of some 4 thousand miles including the sources of the Missouri and Colombia rivers, the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic Coast.
Exploration
Pike
Whilst Lewis and Clark went North-West, Pike (1806-1807) explored the Arkansas river and reached Santa Fe which provided the first account of the Great Plains and the Rockies.
Exploration
Major Long
In 1819-1820 Major Long travelled through Nebraska, his report ended up discouraging people to move west ad he argued the Great Plains were unsuitable for settlement.
Fur traders and trappers
• Provided most of the initial impetus for settlers to move to the west
–> Their greater significance was in the knowledge they acquired of the area
- The trappers also brought back exciting stories of their adventures which played a role in encouraging others to move west.
- Trappers opened up trails from the Appalachians to the Rockies and some of the trappers would use the knowledge they had gained of the area in order to act as pioneers and guide wagons that brought larger numbers of settlers to the west
The Louisiana Purchase of 1803:
In 1803 James Monroe signed a treaty with France that sold the whole of Louisiana and 2.1 million km squared at the cost of $15million. Thomas Jefferson was concerned that France would be a greater threat as a neighbour than Spain, he therefore sent Monroe to France to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida for $10m. However, by the time he had arrived Napoleon offered all of Louisiana.
==> The Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the territory of the USA
Florida
1810
1817-1819
The USA was concerned about who possessed Florida, fearing that it could be used as a base to attack America .
- -> It therefore wanted to acquire it from Spain
- -> The acquisition was given greater urgency as many southerners feared that it would become a safe haven for runaway slaves
• In 1810, American settlers seized Baton Rouge and proclaimed the Republic of West Florida
- -> In 1812, it became part of Louisiana, with the rest of west Florida taken in 1813
- -> As Spain was at war with France, there was little it could do to resist
The rest of Florida was acquired between 1817 and 1819:
The Seminole people who inhabited the region had caused problems for the Americans in the War of 1812 and therefore President Monroe began negotiations with Spain to settle the border and end disputes.
At the same time, he also authorised a campaign against the Seminoles.
Although he ordered his commander, Andrew Jackson, not to pursue them into Spanish territory, this order was ignored and much of northern Florida was soon taken.
Spain demanded its return, but in practice there was little it could do and, in 1819, the Transcontinental or Adams-Onis treaty was signed, by which Spain lost Florida
What was the Adams-Onis Treaty?
When was it?
In 1819 the USA and Spain agreed to the Adams–Onís (or Transcontinental) treaty.
- Spain ceded Florida to the USA.
- The western boundary of the Louisiana Purchase was agreed. The USA gave up its claims to Texas but acquired Spain’s claim to the Oregon Territory north of the 42nd parallel.
Missouri Compromise 1820
description
what did it show about gov power?
Missouri applies to become a slave state
- That would cause a disbalance between slave and non-slave states
- Maine was admitted to the Union to balance out Missouri.
The 36 30 parallel was introduced, states south of this line could be slave and north had to be free.
–> eased tension for a time
==> Showed the federal government was more important than states as states could no longer chose to be slave or free, it now depended on their geography.
Acquisition of Texas:
Events leading up to independence
Immediate aftermath
The border between the USA and New Spain had been set in 1819 at the Sabine River, the border between Louisiana and Texas.
–> In the 1821 Mexican War of Independence Texas became part of Mexico, but many Americans refused to recognise this.
–> Americans had been encouraged to settle there since the 1820s and many were slave owners
In 1829 Mexico freed its slaves and in 1830 prohibited further American immigration into Texas
==> Many defied this, the Mexican government was too weak to react
• In March 1836, Texas declared itself independent
–> This led to military conflict, which the federal government was unwilling to support, but large numbers of Americans from the South and West did go to aid Texans.
–> Texans were eventually able to drive the Mexicans back, capture its leader, General Santa Anna, and force him to agree to Texan independence.
Acquisition of Texas
Texas after independence:
Election
When did texas join the union?
After gaining independence Texas hoped to join the Union
–> sparked similar controversy, over the spread of slavery and the of fear of antagonising the Mexicans
–> Most importantly, the size of Texas meant that it could be divided into a number of states, which could tilt the balance in favour of the slave states.
For some years Texas remained independent,
–> but by 1844 it had become a major issue in the presidential election
The election fought between Whig Henry Clay, who opposed annexation, and the Democrat James Polk, who supported the annexation of Texas and Oregon.
–> Polk’s expansionist programme was popular, and he secured victory
–> Texas join the Union in July 1845
Results of the annexation of Texas:
- The annexation of Texas and the election of Polk as president, in 1844, led eventually to war between USA and Mexico in 1846
- Most southerners and westerners fully supported the war, but many northerners were less convinced and saw it as a war of aggression incited by the south
Outcome of the annexation of Texas
- What treaty was signed and when?
- What did it state?
- What tensions did this cause
- The outcome was a disaster for Mexico and the US was able to enforce peace, but there were divisions between northerners and southerners over the terms, with some southerners wanting to take all of Mexico, while some northerners wanted no annexations
- The eventual treaty, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was signed in February 1848, gave America lands that would become California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona.
- This was a massive gain of territory, some 500,000 square miles, providing American with some two-fifths of its present land area
- However, it also increased the controversy surrounding the extension of slavery, which would ultimately lead to the Civil War
What was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo a result of, what did it state and when was it.
- It was a result of the USAs war with Mexico.
It stated that California and New Mexico
–> (including present-day Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming) were ceded to the USA.
- In return for this huge area (two-fifths of the USA’s present territory) the USA agreed to pay Mexico $15 million.
President James Polk
- Huge fan of manifest destiny
- Made America transcontinental
The Gadsden Purchase
In 1853, President Pierce gave James Gadsden the authority to negotiate the purchase of 650,000 km2 of Mexican territory.
Gadsden eventually agreed to purchase 140,000 km2.
Southerners supported the acquisition of this territory because it would assist the building of a southern railway to the Pacific.
Gadsden’s treaty gained Senate approval only after a northern amendment slashed 23,000 km2 from the proposed purchase.
What role did increased communications play in Westward expansion?
- government
The government played an important role in developing transport links with the West, initially by funding the “Cumberland Road” linking the Potomac and Ohio Rivers.
–> Further road development was funded by state governments, as well as private enterprise
funding and expansion of the transcontinental railway
The most important role of the federal government came with the construction of transcontinental railways
–> Companies were given large land grants and the government also provided considerable loans.
--> The grants of land made by the government were crucial in enabling the building
- However, it was not just the federal government that played an important role, but also the states
- -> They provided over $200 million and made land grants of some 19 million hectares
==> Despite this considerable sum, it was actually private sources that provided the bulk of finance
What role did increased communications play in Westward expansion?
- state governments
Similarly, state governments played an important role in funding the development of canals, most notably the construction of the Erie Canal, in 1825, from Albany to Buffalo.
–> This encouraged further moves west as freight charges dropped dramatically.
The Homestead Act 1862: What was it? When was it? What were the problems? Conclusion?
This encouraged settlers to move west as they could claim 160 acres of land for free once they had lived on it for five years.
–> Congress thought it would have great appeal to those living in the east who were poor and landless
However, many were simply too poor to become independent farmers
• It cost a great deal to move west and added to that was the cost of establishing a farm
• As a result, many of those who did move were already farmers and therefore the Act did not have the desired impact of attracting new farmers west.
• Similarly, the granting of 160 acres was not sufficient for settlers to make a living in the drier conditions in the west
==> Therefore, although government measures were designed to attract people west and develop substantial holdings, their impact on settlement was limited
Arguments that the F.G was more important that individuals in promoting Westward Expansion
- it was the federal government who acquired new territories and supported exploration, surveying and mapping
- They provided money for the infrastructure and encouraged settlement
==> The federal government created the conditions that made settlement possible
Argument that individuals were more important that FG?
In areas such as Texas where settlers were already present before it became US territories, the role of the individual was more important in opening up and settling west.
How important were economic factors in opening up the West?
Pull factors
Pull Factors:
After 1803, many Americans and European immigrants, often from Britain and Germany, began to move west, attracted by the large amounts of available fertile land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River
- Mining was a pull factor
- The fur trade was a pull factor
- Farming
Fur trade:
• Provided most of the initial impetus for settlers to move to the west
–> Their greater significance was in the knowledge they acquired of the area
- The trappers also brought back exciting stories of their adventures which played a role in encouraging others to move west.
- Trappers opened up trails from the Appalachians to the Rockies and some of the trappers would use the knowledge they had gained of the area in order to act as pioneers and guide wagons that brought larger numbers of settlers to the west.
Mining
Californian Gold Rush
when was it?
impact?
• It was the California Gold Rush of 1848-49 which initially drew people westwards so that within a few months of the gold being discovered, 100,000 people had come to the region
–> Miners never really established a frontier as their settlements were scattered over often inhospitable and barren regions
Mining
Colorado and Nevada
when was it?
impact?
• Although the discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858-59 attracted some to the region, it was the discovery of silver ore in 1859 at Comstock Lode in Nevada that brought large amounts of labour to the area.
In the 2 decades after the Lodes discovery, its total output of gold and silver yielded $350 million
