Westward Expansion: The Growth of the US

The Growth of the US: How Did it Happen?

What do you think? How do you think the US grew from thirteen territories to fifty states? Use your iClicker to answer.

a. The US bought the land

b. The US fought wars to win the land

c. The US found the land first and so won the land

d. The US made treaties with other countries to gain the land

The Louisiana Purchase As the US expanded West through exploration, they came to the Mississippi River and found that it ran down to the Gulf of Mexico, to the Atlantic Ocean

The US wanted to use the Mississippi River to transport goods to the ocean and export goods to other countries, but the port of New Orleans was controlled by France, and France charged the US a lot of money to export from New Orleans.

The Louisiana Purchase

Because of this, President Jefferson wanted to buy New Orleans, the port city, to save the US a lot of money. He sent ambassadors to Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of France, to offer to buy the city of New Orleans for $10,000,000.Napoleon Bonaparte and the French wanted to fight a war with the British. They were desperate for money, so Napoleon Bonaparte offered to sell the entire territory of Louisiana for $15,000,000. This would cost $0.03 per acre. The ambassadors agreed and purchased the land. Do you think this was a good deal? Click 'a' for yes, and 'b' for no.

The Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase

So, what happened next?

President Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark on their expedition to explore the new territory from 1804-1806. They walked over 8,000 miles, going from coast to coast. Who can remind us about the Lewis & Clark expedition?

Because of the stories, pictures, and items Lewis & Clark brought back after their adventures, Americans wanted to start moving out West to explore new opportunities.

In 1812, the US fought a second war with the British, known as the War of 1812.

The Florida PurchaseAlso known as the “Adams-Onis Treaty”Unfortunately, arguments

between countries sometimes end in war. Neither Spain nor the US wanted that, so the US bought Florida for $5,000,000. US Senator John Adams and Spanish Minister Do-Luis de Otis signed the treaty. In 1819. By 1821, a lot of US citizens were living in the area.

After the Louisiana Purchase, the US and Spain began to argue about where the border of the US-owned Louisiana territory stopped and the Spanish-owned Florida Territory began.

How do you think the Florida

Purchase

impacted the United States?

The Florida PurchaseAlso known as the “Adams-Onis Treaty”

Polk for President!

▪ In 1829, President Monroe introduced the Monroe Doctrine (more commonly known as 'manifest destiny'), which established the idea that Americans had a God-given right to expand Westward from ocean to ocean. But there were some problems with that.

The Oregon Territory was owned by the British

And, all of this area was owned by Mexico

Enter James Polk, a politician who wanted to be president. He ran for president on the platform (or position) that other countries would either give the US these territories, or would fight with the US. Polk won the election because of his focus on manifest destiny. He said that, unless the British would give up the Oregon Territory, the US would go to war with the British for the third time.

So, why did we want the Oregon Territory, anyway?Great question! • Lewis and Clark explored the area during their expedition and found a lot of

resources• Americans who wanted to increase their wealth moved to the Oregon for fur

trading, but had to follow all of the British rules when they went because it was a British territory. They didn’t like that.• Remember from the Florida purchase that boundary lines are not actually

drawn in the soil. When Americans started moving to the Oregon territory, the US and Britain began having border disputes

What do you think?a. Polk for President! Kick those British out!b. Maybe we could find a peaceful solution…c. Well, if the British claimed the land first, they should

have itd. They should all leave! The Native Americans were there

first!

The Oregon Treaty: A Compromise

In 1846, in order to prevent getting into

ANOTHER war, Britain just up and gave the United

States the Oregon Territory up to the

49th Parallel!! (which is at the blue line on the

map)

Let’s look at this from the British perspective. What would you have

done if you were Great Britain?a. No way I’m giving up MY land

b. We’ve really had quite a few wars recently… maybe we could sell the

landc. Let’s keep the peace, and just give

the land to the Americans. We could use some allies.

The Oregon Treaty: A Compromise

The Oregon Treaty: A Compromise

The Annexation of Texas

• In 1823, Mexico invited Americans to move to Texas to plant cotton, provided that:– Americans agreed to become

Mexican citizens– Americans converted to

Catholicism– Americans agreed to follow all

Mexican laws (except a law of anti-slavery)

• Many Americans agreed so that they could get a lot of cheap land and get rich quick

The Annexation of Texas

In 1835, a new government took over Mexico and enforced an anti-slavery law. Because of this, the Texans rebelled and became their own country when the won the Texas War for Independence. They wanted to become a US territory, but were not allowed to at first because they would upset the balance of slave and free territories. So, Texas was its own country.

The Annexation of Texas

However, that didn’t last for long! When James Polk won the election in 1844, he promised to make Texas a state. So he annexed Texas (allowed Texas to become a part of the United States as a territory).

Let’s think about this from Mexico’s perspective. How would you feel about this if you were Mexico?

a.Gladb.Sadc.Angryd.Ready to go to war!

The Annexation of Texas

The Mexican Cession

Let’s take a look at the US map. In 1845, the United States owned all of the land that is circled.

What land didn’t they own?

Based on what you know of President Polk, what do you think he did about this?

a.Bought the landb.Went to war to win

the landc.Entered a treaty

with Mexico

The Mexican Cession

Whatever you clicked, you’re right! President Polk, who ran for office based off of his belief in Manifest Destiny, really wanted to secure a port in California to make trade with Asia easier. He offered to buy the land from Mexico, but Mexico was still angry about the annexation of Texas and Mexico still wanted the land. So, Mexico refused to sell. What did President Polk do?

The Mexican Cession

He declared war! The Mexican War lasted from 1946-1948, and was caused by the annexation of Texas, the desire for Pacific ports, and Manifest Destiny. The United States invaded Mexico after a border skirmish, and the war began!

The Mexican Cession

After many battles and heavy losses on both sides, the United States won the war and was given the Mexican Cession in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in return for $15 million. During the war, California became its own country for 26 days until the US military came in and claimed the land for its own. It was called the ‘Bear Flag Republic.’

The Mexican Cession