Chapter 9 Notes

Expanding Markets and Moving West

The Market Revolution

In the early 19th century farm families produced most of what they required or traded with neighbors

By mid-century many families, particularly in the northeast, spent their wage earnings on goods produced in factories and mills

Farmers shifted from self-sufficiency to specialization, growing crops they could sell at home or abroad

A market revolution was taking place as people bought and sold goods rather than making them themselves

In the 1840s the economy grew more than it had in the first four decades of the century

Capitalism, an economic system in which private businesses and individuals control the means of production--factories, machines and land--to earn profits which are often reinvested back into the businesses as capital, and creating more profits

Entrepreneurs were businessmen who risked their capital in enterprises, employing workers (often at very low wages in mills and factories that were not subject to any government regulations), to produce products or provide services, to consumers at much lower prices due to improvements in the manufacturing process

Falling prices also occurred in agriculture as more farmers mechanized to increase their productivity

New inventions and industrial processes would change how Americans would live: the sewing machine is a good example--patented by Elias Howe in 1846--it would lead to the factory production of clothing, and much lower prices

In 1837 Samuel Morse invented the telegraph which would revolutionize communication; with 23,000 miles of cable used by 1853

Steamboats opened an era of two way river traffic, with 200 in service on western rivers by 1830

By early 1840s over 3,300 miles of canals had been constructed: water transportation was more efficient than land transportation

However, railroads would soon overtake canals in economic importance because of their advantages: faster with the use of steam engines and able to function in winter, more flexible in their locations--by 1850 almost 10,000 miles of track had been laid

Like the early steamboats railroads were uncomfortable and dangerous--steam engines had a nasty habit of exploding and burning their crew, passengers and cargo

The National Road, first began in 1816, would run east to west--Maryland to Illinois--by 1838

Regions of the nation specialized: the East with manufacturing and textiles, the West with grains and livestock, the South with cotton exports to England and New England

New York City would be the major port for which cotton and farm exports would be shipped to Europe, thanks to the Erie Canal

14% of workers by mid-century were engaged in manufacturing; however the majority of people were still farmers

Farmers in the midwest would depend upon farm tool improvements such as John Deere's steel plow, with 13,000 sold each year by the 1850s

Cyrus McCormick's reaper allowed one farm hand to do the work of five at harvest time

Southern agriculture centered around cotton, tobacco and rice; fewer roads and canals were evident, a lack of factories compared to the north and less investment in schools

Manifest Destiny

The West drew increasing numbers of people as low-cost land appealed to many who wanted a new start or to escape the pressures and problems (for instance the economic depression of the late 1830s) of the East

Many assumed that the American Republic would eventually extend as far west as the Pacific Ocean, sharing the blessing of democracy, free enterprise and civilization as the nation expanded

Thomas Jefferson dreamed of an "Empire of Liberty" though it was not until the 1840s that expansion fever gripped many Americans

Manifest Destiny, the notion that it may have been God's will for America to expand westward, became a popular idea, first promoted by John L. O'Sullivan as he described the annexation of Texas in 1845

Land seemed abundant and endless, and the key to prosperity for farmers, ranchers and speculators

Merchants and manufacturers followed as they sought new markets

Inevitably conflicts with Native Americans occurred as settlers desired land controlled by them; the Indian Removal Act would move all Indians to the west

Native Americans who resisted, such as the Sauk and Fox, would be defeated, and sometimes slaughtered in large numbers, as in the Black Hawk War of 1832 in Illinois

Treaties signed by the US Government were often violated as settlers poured onto Native American lands, and later treaties would demand that Indians move onto reservations

The Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1851 gave Native Americans control of a 400 mile stretch of land east of the Rocky Mountains, in exchange they agreed not to attack settlements and trains

Settlers continued to move west on various trails: Santa Fe Trail stretched nearly 800 miles from Missouri to New Mexico, Oregon Trail went from Missouri to Oregon and followed some of the same paths that Lewis and Clark had used decades earlier: about 5,000 pioneers arrived in Oregon by 1844

Joseph Smith had a religious vision in 1827 while living in New York and he establishes the Mormon Church, the Church of Latter Day Saints, three years later; they move west and in 1844 he is murdered in Illinois for his controversial view: America as the center of the Christian religion, he is a prophet, the practice of polygamy

Brigham Young replaces Smith and moves the group to present day Utah (then part of Mexico) which they called Deseret and the Mormons build a community that flourishes to this day

Meanwhile, The Oregon Country had been claimed at one time or another by a variety of nations including Britain, Russia, Spain, France and the USA

By 1818 only the USA and Britain shared joint occupation; in 1842 the Webster-Ashburton Treaty resolved border disputes in the east and midwest but no decision had been made in the northwest

In 1846 the USA and Britain agreed to the present boundary of the 49th parallel of latitude despite earlier American slogans of "Fifty-four forty or FIGHT!", the northern boundary of today's British Columbia

Diplomacy, rather than war, had worked with the British; however the situation with Mexico would be far different

Expansion in Texas

Texas had been lightly settled during centuries of Spanish rule

Spanish missionaries attempted to convert Native Americans in Texas, California and New Mexico and established missions, nearby forts (presidios) were supposed to protect them with soldiers

Mission lands after Mexican independence were offered to government officials and ranchers, and many of the Native Americans who had been forced laborers at the missions left to resume their nomadic ways

Conflicts between Mexican authorities and Native Americans in Texas were serious and sometimes violent

Ties between the northern provinces and Mexico began to loosen and the government was concerned: it would invite American settlers into Texas to develop the province and provide stability against the Apache and other Indians

Land grants, at less than $.13/acre were offered as long as the settlers agreed to conform to the Roman Catholic religion and Mexican laws

English speaking settlers (Anglos) would soon surpass the Spanish speaking Tejanos and were content to live as naturalized citizens through the late 1820s

Stephen F. Austin was one land agent who would disperse nearly 300 land grants to families that settled between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers

American presidents Adams and Jackson offered to purchase Texas from Mexico but were refused and the government began to have second thoughts about inviting Americans into their land

Tensions and conflicts arose over issues such as slavery--Mexico banned it in 1829 and wanted Texans to free their slaves

Mexico closed its borders to immigration in 1830 and attempted to install a steep tax on American imports

American population nonetheless continued to double from 1830 to 1834 (as illegal immigrants) and in 1834 the immigration restriction was lifted

By 1835 the population was 30,000 Anglos, 30,000 Native Americans, 5,000 slaves and 4,000 Tejanos

Mexico, politically unstable, would see Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna suspend the Mexican Constitution (and hold Stephen Austin while he was visiting Mexico City in late 1833) resulting in rebellions, including the beginning of the Texas Revolution

Austin argued to Santa Anna for self-government and would be released in 1835

Santa Anna would lead an army of 4,000 to Texas while Austin and others prepared for war

Davy Crockett, William Travis and Jim Bowie would attempt to defend a fort in San Antonio called The Alamo in March 1836; eventually all 187 of its defenders would perish

Another 445 would die at Goliad later in the month

The Texans gained revenge six weeks later at the Battle of San Jacinto, with 630 Mexicans slaughtered in less than an hour and Santa Anna captured and only released after he signed the Treaty of Velasco, which provided for Texan independence

Mexico refused to acknowledge the treaty though France and Britain did so

In July 1836 Sam Houston was elected President of Texas, known as the Lone Star Republic

Most Texans hoped for annexation by the USA and Houston urged this to happen only to be rejected by American leaders such as John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster

James K. Polk, a slaveholder elected in the 1844 election, favored annexation at the earliest opportunity and this finally occurred in late 1845

The Mexican government, furious, withdrew its ambassador, and prepared for war

The War with Mexico

President Polk had hoped to see not only Texas, but also California and Oregon, enter the union after his election in 1844

He sent John Slidell to Mexico to purchase New Mexico and California: Slidell was rebuffed as the Mexican government was outraged at the notion of selling its land

Polk then hoped to provoke a war with Mexico to gain the land and sent US Army troops to a disputed border area between Mexico and Texas

Southerners supported the war (fought in 1846 and 1847) that would expand slavery while some New Englanders opposed it

A proposed amendment to a Congressional bill, the Wilmot Proviso, would have banned slavery in land acquired from Mexico after the war, turning the debate over the war into a debate over slavery

General Zachary Taylor is sent to south Texas and ordered to blockade the Rio Grande River; at least 11 soldiers are killed in a skirmish with Mexican soldiers

Polk sends a war message to Congress, Rep. Abraham Lincoln introduces the "Spot Resolution" to determine where the spot was that American blood was shed; opposition to the war is noteworthy in the northern states which are concerned about the expansion of slavery

John C. Fremont leads a military expedition to California which further provokes the Mexican government

Col. Stephen Kearny ("the Long Marcher") leads an expedition from Kansas into New Mexico and is greeted by friendly residents who support American annexation, it falls to the USA without a shot being fired; Kearny then leads his men to California

Fremont would declare California independent of Mexico in June 1846 in Sonoma, establishing the "Bear Flag Republic" and Kearny would join forces with him, along with naval support from Commodore John Sloat; Mexican forces are easily overwhelmed

Tayor's forces win battles at Monterrey and Buena Vista while General Winfield Scott's amphibious invasion of Veracruz was impressive: 10,000 men landed in five hours to take the city (after shelling it) and march on to Mexico City, 260 miles away--it fell on September 14, 1847 as the only defenders were young cadets who died defending their capital and today they are held in great esteem by Mexicans

Mexico would lose 50,000 men while the USA lost about 13,000 men, mostly from tropical diseases

Mexico would be forced to sign a treaty, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ceded half of its land to the USA for $15 million--present day New Mexico, most of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Colorado and Wyoming--and it lost hope of ever recovering Texas

The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 would acquire the rest of Arizona, from Mexico for $10 million

Polk declined to run for reelection due to poor health and the Democrats nominated Lewis Cass of Michigan, the Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor and he narrowly won the 1848 election; former president Martin Van Buren also ran as a Free Soil Party candidate and won 10% of the vote but received no electoral votes

In January 1848 James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in northern California in the Sacramento Valley, triggering a massive gold rush of "49'ers"

California's population exploded as hundreds of thousands of people, from the east, Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere flooded into California in search of riches and wealth over the next six years

In 1849 a constitutional convention drew up a constitution that outlawed slavery and California applied for statehood, which occurred in 1850