Samantha H., Sarah R., Sydney P., Zach B., Jenna S.

3/8/2007

Chapter 13

Moving West

Ÿ         In the 1840’s people began considering expanding across the Mississippi

Ÿ         Cass, a Michigan Senator believed that expansion was good and that the crowding of people in cities threatened the welfare of the republic

Ÿ         Those men that volunteered for the war against Mexico supported Cass’s idea

°      Though untrained, the men risked their lives to continue the progression of expansion and dealt with bad weather, insects, disease, and the stench of dead bodies

Intro

Ÿ         Western resources helped the nation develop and gain wealth

Ÿ         Many different races already living in the west suffered due to the expansion of the United States

Ÿ         This chapter is about the movement west of the Mississippi from 1830 to 1865, how we acquired land, the nature of the new frontiers and the response from the other cultures already inhabited there

Probing the Trans-Mississippi West

Ÿ         The admission of new states and other advancements moved 4.3 million Americans west of the river

o The developing of the Nation led to the expansion of the United States

Foreign Claims and Possessions

Ÿ         Despite Spanish rulers attempt to keep foreigners out, in 1815, the Spanish had colonized most of the land west of the Mississippi, spreading their culture

Ÿ         The Oregon country, area from California to Alaska was claimed both by Great Britain and the United States and the Occupation Treaty of 1827 was made to settle the tension

o Most likely, further problems would arise within this area, therefore this treaty was only a quick fix

Early Interest in the West

Ÿ         Before the great migration, Americans traveled westward, interested in the fur trade in Oregon

o This led to more marriages and the cultural combination of Americans and Indians

Ÿ         Missionaries also traveled westward to convert Indians to Christianity and teach Indians how to live with white people

Ÿ         Groups of American traders often went to Mexico to trade metals and furs for manufactured goods

Ÿ         In Texas, cheap land for cotton drew many Americans in

Ÿ         Many early westerners were tribes sent there from the government

Ÿ         Government reports provided details and maps for routes to the west

o This shows how the Government believed similarly to Cass in that expansion was better for the Republic

Ÿ         Through war and the Gadsden Purchase, America acquired much land from Mexico

Manifest Destiny

Ÿ         People used the phrase “Manifest Destiny”, coined by L. O’Sullivan, to explain the expansion saying that “superior institutions and culture gave Americans a God-given right, even an obligation, to spread their civilization…”

o Although this idea seemed sort of  idealistic, many American’s believed this

Ÿ         The gain of Louisiana Territory, and successful advancements let people to believe that the United States could successfully expand.

Winning the Trans-Mississippi West

Ÿ         The transcontinental treaty was a treaty between Spain and the United States.  In it, America got Florida while a southern border excluding Texas was made. 

Annexing Texas, 1845

Ÿ         Mexicans began to wonder if America would continue to obey this treaty now that they were independent from Spain, multiple attempts to buy Texas worried Mexican politicians

Ÿ         In order to strengthen the border, the Mexican government offered land in return for pledges to become Mexican citizens, and with the help of Stephan Austin, 300 families were let across the border.  As a result of this, many Americans moved into Texas but as time passed, the Mexican government began to question their decision because many people were failing to follow through on their side of the bargain.  Mexico soon changed their policy and abolished slavery in Texas and collected duties on goods crossing the border.

o The growing population of Americans in Texas worried the Mexican Government and they feared that the Americans would try to revolt.  This is why the Government changed the policy; however these changes failed to reduce American influence

Ÿ         The increasing influence of Americans in Texas worried Mexico and eventually led into a war between the Mexican army and people of Texas.  Texas won and gained its independence but Mexico still believed that Texas was a part of Mexico. 

Ÿ         Texas was a very weak republic and the United States was afraid of admitting Texas because it would throw off the balance between the 13 slave states and the 13 free states.  Overtime, the annexing of Texas was brought up again, by President John Tyler.  Democrats said that it was part of Manifest Dynasty, being sure not to mention the fact of slavery.  Eventually, Texas became part of the union and ensured the win of the Democrats.

War with Mexico, 1846-1848

Ÿ         During this period of expansion and conquest, the United States won Texas, causing Mexico to sever ties between themselves and the U.S.

°        Now that the Americans had expanded their country to Texas, would they stop or continue to grow? This question seems rhetorical because a new nation will most likely go even farther to extend their territory.

Ÿ         Mexico, fearing for their land now that Texas had been taken, became wary of the Americans.

Ÿ         Unaware of their belligerence, President Polk demanded that Texas be bordered by the Rio Grande, instead of the Nueces River

°        In response to Polk’s insensitive and ignorant demands, rumors of a Mexican invasion arose due to the fact that the Mexicans wanted to preserve their land!

Ÿ         General Zachary Taylor was sent to the Rio Grande by Polk along with 3,500 troops, causing Mexico to declare a state of defensive war

Ÿ         After ensuing battles and skirmishes, the Americans negotiated and end to the war with Mexico

°        Was war even necessary? As a growing nation couldn’t the U.S have avoided confrontation and expanded elsewhere? It was inevitable for Mexico to fight for control over their land, and as a result of this war, the conflict bitterly divided Americans.

California and New Mexico

Ÿ         Because of its fine harbors which could improve trade with China, and the threat of British conquest, Polk considered California a necessary territory to be added onto the United States.

°        Which was more of an influence on Polk’s desire for California: A more efficient trade route with China or the fact that Great Britain had an interest on reclaiming some of America’s hard fought country?

Ÿ         President Polk was also interested in New Mexico due to the economic profits that arose

°        Greed or opportunity?

Ÿ         Texas ineffectively attempted to claim New Mexico, until the Army of the West, led by Colonel Stephen W. Kearny bloodlessly took the territory.

Ÿ         New Mexico and California both became official American states on January of 1847

The Treaty of GuadeloupeHidalgo, 1848

Ÿ         This treaty decided the fate of the majority of the people who were living in the Southwest.

°        This treaty enabled the U.S. to have control over the almost 75,000 Spanish-speaking inhabitants, and the 150,000 Native Americans who previously had control over their own lives

Ÿ         For years sporadic violence ensued from the Mexicans in the Southwest but to no avail, for the Americans had won.

°        The cost of the war was massive for the Americans: 13,000 lives were lost in the fighting, and also from diseases such as measles and dysentery.

The Oregon Question, 1844-1846

Ÿ         To prevent Great Britain from owning Oregon, Polk urged many Americans to move westward.

°        From Great Britain’s view, this act was considered to be causa belli, a motive towards war. However, Polk’s speech did indeed urge over 5,000 families to relocate to Oregon.

Ÿ         In 1845, Polk created many difficulties for his country by offending the British Prime Minister with his offer to compromise.

Ÿ         Britain overlooked this offense, and agreed to settle within the Vancouver Island boundary.

Ÿ         Expanding was beginning to win the public favor as it was honored in poetry, essays and art.

°        Within all the gain for the Americans, certain hatred was slowly dispersing, especially towards the Mexicans and the Indians. A biased belief arose that only white people had the right to expand and own property.

Going West

Ÿ         From the 1840s to the 1860s, thousands of Americans had left their homes to expand westward and by the end of the 1860s, California alone contained 380,000 pioneers.

The Emigrants

Ÿ         A large number of the emigrants who expanded westward were white, or American born.

°        Few emigrants were black due to the issue of slavery that was present at the time. However, a small number of free black did make the journey.

Ÿ         Many pioneers kept journals to record events that occurred while on the journey.

°        The thoughts within these journals covered emotions such as fear, sorrow and hope, all of which defined the long and hard expedition to the Far West.

Personal Diaries

Ÿ         The personal diaries of the hundreds of ordinary men and women who traveled west in search of a new life all contribute to a monumental time in history.

Ÿ         The journals of pioneers such as Robert Robe and Mary Stuart Bailey describe the reality of westward expansion.

°        The hardships and gains that are expressed in these journals are of much importance to us because they are the documents that reveal what life really was like during this period of moving west.

Migrant’s Motives

Ÿ         Many people believed that frontier life would open up opportunities to start a rich, happy life

Ÿ         Opportunities and reasons the emigrants traveled to the West for:

°        riches in the form of gold or an occupation

°        to speculate land

¨      buy a large amount of land and then later sell it off in pieces to new settlers to the region

°        riches from practicing law and/or medicine

°        the chance to cultivate land

°        religious missions were taken out West to educate and “evangelize” the westerners

·        Preemption Acts (1830s-1840s)

°        before the government puts land for sale, “squatters” are allowed to settle on the public property and then they would purchase the land at the minimum price offered

°        If “squatters” were allowed to settle before the public is allowed onto the land, then wouldn’t the best land be taken by them?  This doesn’t seem very fair to the emigrants who spent so long traveling from on part of the country to another just to be short-ended and having the best property go to someone before it is put out to the public.

°        the amount of land one family had to purchase lowered to forty acres

·        Homestead Act (1862)

°        the government offered 160 acres of land for free under three conditions:

¨      the owner was a free citizen or future citizens over the age of twenty-one who lived on the property

¨      the land was improved by the citizen

¨      a small registration fee was paid by the owner

·        Oregon’s land policy

°        “awarded” any single man 320 acres of property for free

°        married men were given 640 acres of free land under two conditions

¨      he occupied his land for four years

¨      he made improvements on the land

The Overland Trails

·        Emigrants mainly traveled in the late spring to starting points and then set out in May when the grass stock was available

·        Native American relations

°        the Indians helped the wagons cross rivers that were deep

°        trade between the members in the wagon train and the Indians helped both parties

°        during the 1850’s, conflict between Indians and emigrants arose and the Native Americans killed about 400 emigrants

°        At first the Native Americans helped the emigrants through their travel.  It almost seemed like the emigrants and the Indians were at peace with one another, and then in the 1850’s when the Indians killed about 400 emigrants, if kind of makes you wonder what the emigrants did to cause such a change in character from the Indians.

·        Troubles during the trip

°        disease, Indian conflicts, tired animals, scarce food, and the oncoming snowfall

·        Women began to take the men’s jobs as the men tried to make it to the destination before the first snow fall

·        The trip took somewhere from five to six months and once in California or Oregon, the families had very little money to spend

·        With little money to spend once the family arrived in the West, the stakes were high.  If the life they wanted was not there, there was no turning back because a return trip would also mean more money needed and if a family starts out with little money, there’s no chance they can afford another trip.

·        Different strains of the trip

°        setting up rules and electing officials

°        arguments over the pace of travel/number of stops made per day to rest

°        family “harmony” collapsed due to the strenuous work that had to be done, sickness, and death along the way

Living on the Frontier

• Emigrants had to start a new life when reaching their destinations

The Agricultural Frontier

·        Pioneer farmers were faced with the task of first finding a plot of land to live on, clearing the land, and then they were able to plant crops

·        Starting a new life on the frontier was very hard because the emigrants did not bring a lot of their possessions from home

°        families settled on their claims away lonely because they go from constant interactions with travelers on the wagon train to being only with their families

¨      because of this loneliness, the chores for the men and the household chores for the women were done by both the male and female of the house

°        this isolation occurred for several more years until there were more emigrants seeking land and settled emigrants looking for better land

¨      some emigrants had up to four plots of land (farming) until they found a satisfactory one

¨      It seems like farmers are investing a lot into their plots of land and the farmers have the ability to pick and choose where they want to settle after “testing” out different plots of land first.

°        schools, churches, and clubs needed so people of different backgrounds were selected to help make a diverse system

¨      religious gatherings were mostly mixed religions coming together, for if it was separate religions meeting, the congregation would be too small

°        political systems were based upon those from the communities back East

·        Frontier life was thought to be almost utopian compared to the Eastern economic and social situation when in fact the West was relating their economic and social policies after that of the East. 

°        newspapers advertised that the West was “better” making people believe there were more opportunities available

°        The newspapers weren’t leading the people on by saying the life was “better” the emigrants interpreted the meaning of the headline wrong, thinking that the frontier was going to be a whole new place from what they once knew.

·        Emigrants who settled for a while and did not make the fortune they dreamed of, left and moved to another town in hopes of the riches they thought were there

·        The ones who stayed and did not move because they did not make an abundance of money proved to be more successful than those that moved

The Mining Frontier

·        The news that prospectors struck “rich” finding fuels and valuables in the earth spread and attracted fortune seeking families

·        Gold was found in 1848 in California and the first Gold Rush occurred

°        thousands of people rushed in from all over the country searching for the gold

·        Gold rushes found in Colorado (1859), Montana and Idaho, and the Black Hills of North Dakota (mid-1870’s) brought even more emigrants to the frontier

°        these population growths were sudden, but not long lasting almost over night these towns (camps) were set up

°        This population growth is much different from that of the agriculture frontier where there was a constant flow of emigrants and the population grew over time instead of a sudden increase and then a sudden decrease.

°        miners set up temporary towns to settle in while searching for gold and silver

°        violence was part of life in mining towns, murders were not uncommon and there were a lot of fistfights, duels, and drunk people running around the town

°        This just shows the idea of “only the strong survive”.  These mining towns needed a government and the loss of control in the towns shows that a government is needed to protect the greater good of people.  Murders happened without an investigation seeking the murderer and fights happened daily, life was dangerous without a central government and it was not a place where you would want to raise a family.

·        Eventually, silver and gold were embedded in rock and inaccessible to those without the right machinery.  This transformed the miners into wage workers.

·        Women sought riches in California doing household chores like.  Because women made up 5% of the emigrants of the gold rush, the women were hired for their services (household chores) by the men who did not know how to perform the household tasks.

·        Even though the women did not do the dirty work, mining for the riches in California, they still dreamed about getting the fortune from the ones who did the work.  It seems almost too familiar that the women would depend on their riches from a male who does all the work.

·        Prostitutes were not uncommon in the mining camps.  They thought that the abundance of males in the towns would lead to a bigger profit.  These women were most likely the cause of the violence and made up a high percentage of those murdered.

·        There were many things tried from the Americans to keep the Mexicans, South Americans, Chinese, and blacks seeking mining privileges in the West out of the mines.

°        First, a law, that was never passed, was written to make mining illegal to foreigners.

°        Next, a high tax was put on a foreigner’s right to mine.  The majority of Mexicans and Chinese miners found other jobs in California because of this tax.

¨      this tax was later called “unconstitutional” and it was demolished

·        Black Americans were feeling the same way that the foreigners were about the discrimination in the frontier. 

°        the news of a gold rush in British Columbia in the 1850’s led hundreds of thousands of black Americans in hopes of finding a more welcoming community

°        The black Americans used the gold rush in the British-Columbia as an excuse to get out of the country.  They were not only fleeing to seek riches, they were also leaving behind a society that persecuted them because of the way they looked.

·        Effects of gold between 1848 and 1883

°        California supplied two-thirds of the country’s gold

°        San Francisco was transformed from a quiet, sleepy town to a “bustling metropolis”

°        the agricultural and commercial development of California and Oregon were dependent on the gold rushes

°        harbors, railroads, and irrigation systems were set up all over the West because of the flow of emigrants coming into the region

°        Seems that the gold rush had a positive affect on the West, even if all the violence and murders had to occur for it to happen.  Not everyone struck gold, well a select few actually did, but the ones who didn’t helped shape the West as we know it today.  So the hard work and travel they put in for what they thought was nothing, really helped our society today, even if they never realized it.

The Mormon Frontier

·        April 1847: Brigham Young led an expedition of 148 people to “promise land” and ended up in Salt Lake City(which is in Utah and at the time was owned by Mexico)

°        Why did Mormons leave their original location?  They were often in trouble with their neighbors who were against their monolithic social and political structure and polygamy, and had been forced to migrate.  They were also seeking new opportunities. 

°        Although there were hardships, the Mormons thrived due to unity, economic prosperity and its numbers

·        Similarities found by outsiders:

°        Similar government, most people were farmers, customs and attitudes

·        Differences found by outsiders:

°        society was not individualistic, was a cooperative village, polygamous family life for some

¨      Is polygamy legal?  Federal law prohibits polygamy in the territories. Federal law also does not provide legal recognition of polygamy. It defines marriage as one man and one woman.

¨      Why would women want to be involved in polygamy?  Since their husbands had multiple wives, they had an unusual opportunity for independence.

·        Nothing separated church and state for the most part

°        Why didn’t they keep the two separate?  Because they found that it was too difficult to decide which issues were political and which were religious, and found it easier to just not separate the subjects. 

·        Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago incorporated Utah into the US

°        Brigham Young became territorial governor

The Urban Frontier

·        Many emigrants went west to settle in cities

°        For business opportunities/chance to make fortune (precious metals)

¨      Most did not find financial success except ones who brought assets

°        Young, single, working men made up most of population

¨      What affect does this type of population create? A loud, rowdy, and violent atmosphere with less emphasis on family

°        Business men, lawyers, and editors = elite

Cultures in Conflict

·        White Americans moving west were very different from people they came in contact with

°        Mary Warner’s husband was approached by an Indian who tried to buy her, and he played along not knowing that they were serious

¨      Why is this significant? The differences between the people foreshadow trouble and conflict.

·        Emigrants had no hesitation in seizing native’s land and predicted the Indian race would disappear from the continent

Confronting the Plains Tribes

• Estimated quarter million Native Americans occupied the land between the Rocky Mountains, Missouri River, Platte River, and Mexico
• Plains Tribes: Border, Southwest, Central, mainly Nomadic
• Similarities (Despite minor differences, the Indian nations shared their dependency on the horse)
  • Spanish horses increased their mobility to 50-500 miles

w        Enabled them to hunt Buffalo upon which they ultimately came to depend on for every aspect of their lives

w        Horses enabled greater conflict between the tribes

• None of the Plains tribes had signed treaties with the United States and there were no friendly feelings towards white Americans
  • Only positive relationships were through the fur trade
  • Due to trading with the white man Native Americans were struck with “epidemics” of smallpox and scarlet fever and introduced to alcohol (White men introduced Indians to the “vices” and sicknesses of modernized society)
• The importance of the American Buffalo
  • Native Americans saw it as a source of life and respected the species
  • Whites fed oxen and horses on the grasses that the Indians had used for buffalo and ponies and hunted buffalo for sport
  • With shrinking herds, came battles for hunting grounds and foods (Native Americans were battling for the very survival of their society)
  • The Sioux wrote a petition to President James Polk in 1846, explaining that the Emigrants were to blame for many for the problems facing the Indian nations
  • President James Polk denied the Sioux compensation for the damages caused by whites (This showed a complete disregard for the Indians, reinforcing the fact that whites believed themselves to be superior)
• Gold Rush of 1849
  • Thousands of Indians killed by the spreading of cholera that is carried by whites through the Platte valley
  • American government’s response

w        Construction of a chain of forts to protect emigrants

w        Call tribes to a general conference

FortLaramie Council, 1851

• General conference is formed at Fort Laramie
  • 10,000 Indians present
  • Border tribes, Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache refused to participate
• Results of the conference
  • U.S. government would compensate tribes for destruction of grass, timber, and buffalo and give payments of goods and services
  • Tribes would have to stay within borders set up by the U.S. government (These borders would allude to more problems between Indian nations and the United States)

Overwhelming the Mexicans

• Americans viewed Mexicans as ignorant, cunning, and lazy
• New Mexico
  • Were of mixed blood, worked as ranch hands for rich landowners or as herdsmen or farmers in small villages
  • Americans would create fake legal titles and force land to be given to them from peasant farmers
  • Despite the hardships, their rural culture ultimately survived well into the twentieth century
  •  Light skinned, upper-class landowners

w        Established contracts with rich American businessman to protect future business interests prior to the annexation, sent sons to American schools, used marriage and business alliances strategically

w        Class came to outweigh all other values, these men ultimately left their former countrymen behind them (This in direct correlation to the effects of capitalism, people began to think more about money and getting ahead than their fellow man.  Thus spreading the idea of the “haves” and “have-nots”)

• Texas
  • Spanish speaking population decreased
  • Upper class lost most of their power, unlike their New Mexican counterparts but Germans, Irish, French, and Americans took control of the state
• California
  • Discovery of gold changed everything
  • Hispanic-Americans had very difficult time adapting to increase in foreigners
  • Taxes and terrorism pushed the Spanish speakers out of the gold mines
  • Process became slow for Mexicans to claim land
  • Owners had to sell their land to pay debts
  • Mexican property went down in value drastically
  • Whites tried to force Protestantism upon the Mexicans
  • People began to believe the only way to be heard was through violence, not protest
• (Mexicans were treated terribly, interesting that a country built on the idea of freedom would allow so much prejudice-it is also surprising that so many Mexicans didn’t rise up violently against the white imperialists)

IDs

Brigham Young: led Mormon Pioneers in an exodus to “promised land”

Cass: Senator of Michigan and strong believer of the westward expansion

L. O’Sullivan: editor of the Democratic Review and takes credit for “Manifest Destiny”

Stephan F Austin: gained rights to bring families into Texas

Sam Houston: commander in chief of Texas forces

President John Tyler: reopened idea of annexing Texas

President Polk: James K. Polk, the eleventh president of the United Sates

Zachary Taylor: General who was instructed by Polk to organize 3,500 American troops

across the Nueces River

John L. Slidell: the President’s secret agent who secured the Rio Grande border, and bough upper California and New Mexico

Whigs: Many, such as Abraham Lincoln, opposed the war

Winfield Scott: General who took Mexico City

Sidney Breese: The Illinois Democratic Senator

Nicolas Trist: Polk’s diplomatic representative who accompanied the American Army to Mexico

Thomas Catsby Jones: the Unites States Naval Commander who “forced” the Mexican commander to surrender

Thomas Larkin: a successful American merchant in Monterey

James Buchanan: Polk’s secretary of state

Stephen W. Kearny: Colonel who led the Army of the West

Mary Stuart Bailey: Crossed the plains to California at the age of twenty-two, and kept a journal of her experiences

Sioux Chief Black Hawk: was against the borders imposed upon Indian nations

GEOGRAPHY

Salt Lake City

Great Basin area

Western Cities (Denver, Portland, San Francisco)

Mississippi

Oregon Country

California

Alaska

Louisiana Territory

Texas

Florida

Mexico

Rio Grande

Nueces River

Upper California

New Mexico

Santa Fe

Pacific Northwest

Oregon

Columbia River

Willamette Valley

Vancouver Island

VOCABULARY

Mormonism: unique religion founded in 1832 by Joseph Smith

Polygamy: the practice or condition of having more than one spouse

Army of the West: the name of the United States force commanded by Stephen W. Kearny during the Mexican-American War, which played a prominent role in the conquest of New Mexico and California.

Mexican-American War: A war (1846–1848) between the United States and Mexico, resulting in the cession by Mexico of lands now constituting all or most of the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago: incorporated Utah into the US

Gentile: non-Mormon

Zion: A place or religious community regarded as sacredly devoted to God

“Instant Cities”: cities that grew extremely rapidly

Degeneracy: Corrupt, vulgar, vicious be

Trans-Mississippi:  Across the Mississippi River

Transcontinental (treaty): extending across a continent

Annexing: to take over a territory and add it to another state or country

Plains tribes: tribes that lived on the plains between the Rocky Mountains, Missouri River, Platte River, and Mexico

“Border” Tribes: (Pawnee, Omaha, Oto, Ponca, and Kansa): Lived in villages, raised crops, ate buffalo during summer

Central Plains (Brule, Ogala, Sioux)

Southwest tribes (Comanche, Ute, Navajo, Apache, Kiowa, Wichita): adopted Spanish culture and European domestic animals

Mainly nomadic tribes (Cheyenne, Shoshone, Arapaho): Followed buffalo, raided border tribes

American Buffalo: animal upon which native American nations depended, hunted by the white man, caused heavier fighting between the tribes when their supply ran low

Fort Laramie Council (1851): first pact between Native Americans and the United States, created borders for the Indian nations, provided Indians with compensation

Horse: enabled greater range of the American Indian (50-500 miles), caused more wars

Patron: headman of small village

Bandido: Mexicans who protested through acts of violence

Anglo workers: white workers

Las Gorras Blancas: group that protested against whites

Annexation: the act or an instance of expanding, especially a new territory

The American Review: A Whig newspaper that proclaimed, “Conflict is a crime over which angels may weep

Indemnity: protection or security against damage or loss.

Sporadic violence: violence occurring at irregular intervals in time

Tracts: expanses of land or water.

Belligerence: warlike or aggressively hostile nature, condition, or attitude.

Causa Belli: a Latin phrase, which translates as 'causes, motives or pretexts of war

Flamboyant: flashy or showy

Manifest Destiny: an idea that supported and justified expansionist policies.