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Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny. The Mexican War (1848-1853). First "dark horse" President Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1795. graduated with honors in 1818 from the University of North Carolina. Served in the Tennessee legislature, and became a friend of Andrew Jackson.

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Manifest Destiny

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  1. Manifest Destiny The Mexican War (1848-1853)

  2. First "dark horse" President • Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1795. • graduated with honors in 1818 from the University of North Carolina. • Served in the Tennessee legislature, and became a friend of Andrew Jackson. • In the House of Representatives, Polk was a chief lieutenant of Jackson in his Bank war. • Served as Speaker between 1835 and 1839, leaving to become Governor of Tennessee. James K. Polk

  3. In 1844 both Martin Van Buren, who was expected to win the Democratic nomination for President, and Henry Clay, who was to be the Whig nominee, disagreed with the idea of expansion • Polk said that Texas should be "re-annexed" and all of Oregon "re-occupied." • James K. Polk, campaigned on the idea of "Fifty-four forty or fight" • The Democrats chose Polk and "Manifest Destiny” when he was nominated on the ninth ballot • Polk defeated Clay by a thin margin in the general election Presidential Election of 1844

  4. How does Polk address the issue of sectionalism? • How does Polk justify U.S. expansion into Texas? • How does Polk justify U.S. expansion into Oregon? • If you had listened to Polk deliver the address would you have agreed with his expansionist views? Explain. James K Polk Inaugural Address March 4, 1845

  5. Texas had been independent for a decade and Mexico had made no attempt to reconquer it. • Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with U.S. when the United States annexed Texas and it became a state in 1845. • Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor into Texas to defend the border. But the location of the border was in dispute. • Texas claimed the Rio Grande; Mexico insisted that the boundary was the Nueces River, which emptied into the Gulf about 150 miles to the north. • Taylor reached the Nueces in July 1845 with about 1500 troops and crossed into the disputed territory. Mexican War

  6. In November 1845, Polk sent an envoy, John Slidell, on a secret mission to Mexico to try to obtain the disputed territory by negotiation. • Polk authorized Slidell to forgive Mexican debt in return for recognition of the annexation of Texas and acceptance of the Rio Grande boundary. • The president also authorized Slidell to offer $30 million if Mexico would sell the U.S. all or part of New Mexico and California. • Mexico refused to see Slidell Mexican War

  7. By late March 1846, American forces had grown to 4,000 and had taken up position near the Mexican town of Matamoros. • The Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande on April 25 and attacked an American mounted patrol. When news of the fighting reached Washington, Polk asked for a declaration of war. • Many northerners feared that the war would lead to the expansion of slavery. Others, including Abraham Lincoln, felt Polk had mislead the public and Congress in the cause of this war. As more northerners saw the United States as the aggressor, the war became “Mr. Polk’s War”. Mexican War

  8. As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country • James K. Polk, “Declaration of War”, May 13, 1846 Mexican War

  9. “The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican War, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.” Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” Mexican War

  10. From the first battle, the outcome of the war was never in doubt. • At Palo Alto, north of the Rio Grande, 2,300 Americans scattered a Mexican force twice that number. • 1,700 Americans routed 7,500 Mexicans at Resaca de la Palma. Fewer than 50 American soldiers lost their lives; while Mexican losses were over 1000. • Within a week, Mexican forces had retreated across the Rio Grande, and General Zachary Taylor’s forces had firmly established ground on the southern bank of the river. Mexican War

  11. The Mexican army was poorly equipped and poorly led. • The well supplied American forces had a hard core of youthful West Pointers eager to make their reputations ( P. G. T. Beauregard, William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, George McClellan, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert Anderson, Robert E. Lee) and regulars trained in Indian warfare • But, Mexico was a large, rugged country with few decent roads. • Polk’s war plan had three major parts: • First, he would clear the Mexicans from Texas and occupy the northern provinces of Mexico. • Second, he would take possession of California and New Mexico. • Finally, he would march on Mexico City. Mexican War

  12. Campaign against Mexico City was most difficult. General Winfield Scott put in charge of the invasion. • Scott landed his army south of Veracruz, Mexico on March 9, 1847, laid siege to the city, and obtained its surrender in less than three weeks with the loss of only a handful of his 10,000 men. • September 14, 1847 Scott took Mexico City. • In every engagement, his troops had been outnumbered, yet they always exacted a far heavier toll from the defenders. Mexican War

  13. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war: Mexico accepted the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas and ceded New Mexico and Upper California to the United States. In return the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15 million • The relatively easy military victory made some people ashamed that their country was crushing a weaker neighbor. Abolitionists, led by William Lloyd Garrison, called it “an invasion…waged solely for the detestable and horrible purpose of extending and perpetuating American slavery.” Mexican War

  14. Read the excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and answer the guided questions • Be prepared to share out. Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”

  15. Use the secondary resources located on the Unit 5 Resource page of the class Weebly site to determine your position on the current North Dakota Pipeline Protest. • Create a T diagram that demonstrates the pros and cons of the issue. • Having considered the pros/cons of the issue write a reflective journal entry that demonstrates your position on the issue. North Dakota Pipeline Protest

  16. Digital History Assignment: Read the excerpts provided for additional evidence on the origins of the Mexican War. Construct a response to the following question as if it were a SAQ. Use the ACE strategy for each part of your response. • Was the United States or was Mexico the aggressor in the Mexican-American War? Consider: • Whether the soil on which blood was shed really belonged to the U.S. • Were there other legitimate reasons the U.S. had for going to war against Mexico • Should the U.S. rather than Mexico own the land acquired in the war? Homework

  17. Create a political cartoon that demonstrates a point of view that is either pro-war with Mexico or anti-war with Mexico • Create symbols and captions that demonstrate this point of view. Your creation should use at least two facts to justify your position in the cartoon. • Use the political cartoon rubric to guide your creation. Manifest Destiny Cartoon

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