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abolition
Forten was joined in his opposition to slavery by a growing
number of Americans in the 19th century. Abolition, the movement to abolish
slavery, became the most important of a series of reform movements in America. -
missouri compromise
Behind the leadership of Henry Clay, Congress passed a series of agreements
in 1820–1821 known as the Missouri Compromise. Under these agreements,
Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. The rest of the
Louisiana Territory was split into two parts. The dividing line was set at 36°30´
north latitude. South of the line, slavery was legal. North of the line—except in
Missouri—slavery was banned. -
santa fe trial
The settlers and traders who made the trek
west used a series of old Native American trails as well as new
routes. One of the busiest routes was the Santa Fe Trail,
which stretched 780 miles from Independence, Missouri, to
Santa Fe in the Mexican province of New Mexico. -
san felipe de austin
San Felipe, also known as San Felipe de Austin, is a town in Austin County, Texas, United States. The town was the social, economic, and political center of the early Stephen F. Austin colony. -
the liberator
he most radical white abolitionist was a young
editor named William Lloyd Garrison. Active in religious reform movements
in Massachusetts, Garrison became the editor of an antislavery paper in 1828.
Three years later he established his own paper, The Liberator, to deliver an uncompromising
demand: immediate emancipation. -
Mexico abolishes slavery
The governors feared the growth in the Anglo-American population in Texas, and for various reasons, by the early 19th century, they and their superiors in Mexico City disapproved of expanding slavery. In 1829 the Guerrero decree conditionally abolished slavery throughout Mexican territories. -
stephen f austin goes to jail
Austin had
traveled to Mexico City late in 1833 to present petitions to Mexican president
Antonio López de Santa Anna for greater self-government for Texas. While
Austin was on his way home, Santa Anna had Austin imprisoned for inciting
revolution. -
oregon trail
The Oregon Trail stretched from Independence,
Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. It was blazed in 1836 by
two Methodist missionaries named Marcus and Narcissa
Whitman. -
texas revolution
The 13-day siege finally ended on March 6,
1836, when Mexican troops scaled the Alamo’s walls. All 187 U.S. defenders and
hundreds of Mexicans died.
Later in March, Santa Anna’s troops executed 300 rebels at Goliad. The Alamo
and the Goliad executions whipped the Texan rebels into a fury. Six weeks after
the defeat at the Alamo, the rebels’ commander in chief, Sam Houston, and 900 -
manifest destiny
Many Americans began to believe that their movement
westward was predestined by God. The phrase “manifest destiny”
expressed the belief that the United States was ordained to expand to the Pacific
Ocean and into Mexican and Native American territory. Many Americans also
believed that this destiny was manifest, or obvious and inevitable. -
texas enters united states
Most Texans hoped that the United Stateswould annex their republic, but U.S. opinion divided along sectional lines.
Southerners wanted Texas in order to extend slavery, which already had been
established there. Northerners feared that the annexation of more slave territory
would tip the uneasy balance in the Senate in favor of slave states—and prompt
war with Mexico.The 1844 U.S. presidential campaign focused on westward expansion. The
winner, James K. Polk, favored it -
mexican american war
In March 1845, angered by U.S.-Texas negotiation on annexation, the Mexican
government recalled its ambassador from Washington. On December 29, 1845,Texas entered the Union. Events moved quickly toward war.POLK URGES WAR President Polk believed that war with Mexico would bring not only Texas into the Union, but also New Mexico and California. Hence, the
president supported Texan claims in disputes with Mexico over the Texas–Mexico border. While Texas insisted that its southern border extended -
the north star
, Douglass
broke with Garrison, who believed
that abolition justified whatever
means were necessary to achieve it.
In 1847, Douglass began his own
antislavery newspaper. He named it
The North Star, after the star that
guided runaway slaves to freedom. -
treaty of guadalupe hidalgo
After about a year of fighting, Mexico conceded defeat. On February 2,
1848, the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico and
ceded the New Mexico and California territories to the United States. agreed to pay $15 million for the Mexican cession, which included presentday
California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of
Colorado and Wyoming
