Chapter 17 Ids: Manifest Destiny & Movement West

Identify the following. Be as specific as possible, and include names, dates, and relevant facts as appropriate. Be sure to explain the significance of the person or term and demonstrate the connections between the terms.

See Key Concept 4.1 / I
D) Regional interests often trumped national concerns as the basis for many political leaders’ positions on slavery and economic policy.
See Key Concept 5.1 / I
A) The desire for access to natural and mineral resources and the hope of many settlers for economic opportunities or religious refuge led to an increased migration to and settlement in the West.
B) Advocates of annexing western lands argued that Manifest Destiny and the superiority of American institutions compelled the
United States to expand its borders westward to the Pacific Ocean.
C) The U.S. added large territories in the West through victory in the Mexican–American War and diplomatic negotiations, raising questions about the status of slavery, American Indians, and Mexicans in the newly acquired lands.
See Key Concept 5.1 / II (Partly in Chapter 14)
A) Substantial numbers of international migrants continued to arrive in the United States from Europe and Asia, mainly from Ireland and Germany, often settling in ethnic communities where they could preserve elements of their languages and customs.
B) A strongly anti-Catholic nativist movement arose that was aimed at limiting new immigrants’ political power and cultural influence.
C) U.S. government interaction and conflict with Mexican Americans and American Indians increased in regions newly taken from American Indians and Mexico, altering these groups’ economic self-sufficiency and cultures.

Make sure you know these: German & Irish Immigration, Know Nothing Party & nativism (See chapter 14)

1.)  Empresarios, Texas Revolution, Lonestar Republic, Annexation controversy, Annexation, boundary dispute (Past chapter review)

2.)  Manifest Destiny, What is it? Why was it controversial? Was it something new?

3.)  James K Polk, Election of 1844, Goals of his administration

4.)  Anglo-American Treaty, Oregon Trail, 54, 40, or Fight, Polk

5.)  Mexican American War, Lincoln’s Spot Resolution, Zachary Taylor, Wilmot Proviso

6.)  Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Benefits and costs of the war

Guiding Questions:

1. Was American expansion across North America an “inevitable” development? How was the idea of Manifest Destiny used to justify expansionism?

2. Why was Texas annexation so controversial?

3. How did the rivalry with Britain affect the American decision to annex Texas, the Oregon dispute, and lesser controversies of the period?

4. What caused the Mexican War? Did Polk provoke the Texas-boundary conflict in order to gain California or expand slavery, as war opponents like Lincoln charged?

5. What were the benefits and costs of the Mexican War both immediately and in the longer run of American History?

6. What did Ralph Waldo Emerson mean when he said, "The United States will conquer Mexico, but it will be as the man swallows the arsenic; Mexico will poison us"?