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Westward Expansion
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"Manifest Destiny"
First employed by John L. O'Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review, the term summed up the feeling of obligation that Euro-Americans felt to expand their culture to the Pacific Ocean. "Manifest Destiny" would inspire and justify westward expansion for the next decade and a half as wars, policies, and territorial acquisition expanded the US border clear across the continent. -
Texas Cession
Both Great Britiain and Mexico wanted Texas to remain a free republic. Looking to circumvent British influence in Mexico, southern Democrats pushed for the immediate annexation of Texas. Democrats also saw it as an opportunity to expand slavery and Southern power. Appealing to expansionist ideals, the Democrats pushed a measure through congress to annex Texas into the Union, and it passed. -
Wilmot Proviso
In order to curb a rise in Southern power and expansion of slavery, David Wilmot proposed an amendment to a bill dealing with land settlements with Mexico, stipulating that no territory gained from Mexico would permit slavery. The amendment passed in the House, but failed in the Senate, twice. The Wilmot Proviso caused great bitterness between the North and South, and helped solidify the conflict over the expansion of slavery in the West. -
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Mexican American War
The Mexican American War followed the annexation of Texas, and was a fight to gain territory in the Southwest. Polk manipulated a border skirmish, and made it look like the Mexicans had attacked US troops, when the US was the real aggressor. After winning the war, the US gained land from the Mexican Cession in exchange for $15 million. The war expanded territory, but also strengthened opposition to imperialism and the spread of slavery. -
Oregon Territory
As well as expansion in the South, there was fervent attitude to push further north. In 1842, American interest in Oregon soared, and thousands of people poured into the territory shared by Great Britain and the US. Although some Americans wanted to claim land all the way to Russian Alaska, British and American diplomats dissolved the issue by setting the border at the 49th parallel. -
Gold Discovered
Gold was discovered in California at Sutter's Mill by James Marshall, and when word of his discovery got out, thousands of "'49ers" flocked to the new territory. People searching for riches came over land or around Tierra del Fuego in ships. Most prospecters were unsuccessful, but California now had a large population of working class citizens which would help lead to statehood in 1850. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was the official end to the Mexican American War. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to US territory, including the land that makes up present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. When given the choice of Mexican or US citizenship, 90% of the inhabitants of the cession chose US. -
Compromise of 1850
Drafted by Henry Clay, the compromise was a set of five bills designed to relieve sectional tension in the Union. Two of those bills regarded westward expansion. First, California would enter the Union as a free state, and secondly, the Utah and New Mexico territories were created under the principle of popular sovereignty regarding slavery. The western border of the United States now resembled its current form, and opposition between North and South were reaching a fever pitch. -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was a 29,640 square mile strip of land south of the Gila River in present-day Arizona and New Mexico. The treaty was arranged by James Gadsden, ambassador to Mexico, and traded the land for $10 million. The new territory allowed for the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad, which was completed in the late 1880's. This marked the last major acquisition of land in the contiguous US. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The original purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was to open up land for thousands of farms west of the Mississippi River, and allow for the construction of a midwestern transcontinental railroad. Popular sovereignty over slavery was added to the act, which led to an enormous influx of both pro- and anti-slavery populations. Eventually it all led to the Bleeding Kansas incident which goes to show that the entire westward expansion movement was tainted by sectionalist politics over slavery.
