Manifest Destiny From the Atlantic to the Pacific - PowerPoint Presentation

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Manifest Destiny

From the Atlantic to the PacificSlide2

Manifest Destiny

In the 1840s, many Americans believed in Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was the nation’s destiny to expand from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coastSlide3

The Will of God

The term “Manifest Destiny” was coined by a New York Editor, John L. O’Sullivan

He suggested that it was the will of God or a divine sort of destiny that the nation should encompass all that landSlide4

Westward Expansion

Of course, the Louisiana Purchase made Manifest Destiny possible

From France, Jefferson – the usually strict constructionist – gained the Great Plains, the Mississippi River, and the port of New OrleansSlide5

Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea

And the maps of the Louisiana Territory produced as a result of Lewis and Clark’s expedition with the help of Sacagawea made it easier for Americans to venture westSlide6

Other Factors

Americans also settled in Texas

Initially with the blessings of the Mexican government if they converted to Catholicism and pledged loyalty to MexicoSlide7

Texas Independence

Eventually, the American settlers declared independence from Mexico and fought the Mexican government

First at the Alamo, a former mission, where many Americans were killedSlide8

Annexation

But over time and with more battles, Texans achieved independence

And by 1845, Congress voted to annex TexasSlide9

Just a Little More Land

The Americans wanted the border between Mexico and the USA to be at the Rio Grande

But the Mexican government believed the border was the Nueces RiverSlide10

The Mexican-American War

1846

–

1848

Mexico was defeated

The United States gained California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New MexicoSlide11

The Gadsden Purchase

In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico completed U.S. expansion in the

southwest Slide12

The Oregon Territory

In an agreement with Great Britain in 1846, the line dividing Canada and the United States was extended westward to the Pacific, giving the U.S. part of the Oregon

Territory Slide13

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight”

Before the U.S. gained the Oregon Territory, Americans wanted the line of latitude for this territory to be the

54°40

′ line of latitude

Thus, the slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight” but then settled on the 49

th

parallelSlide14

President Polk

President Polk is the President associated with Manifest Destiny

He was president from 1845 – 1849 Slide15

The Gold Rush

Gold was also discovered in California in 1848

By 1849, Americans rushed westward in hopes of finding gold in CaliforniaSlide16
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The Decline of the Plains Indians

As Americans moved west, they confronted Native American Indians

Indian Wars ensued

Eventually, Native American Indians were placed on reservationsSlide18

The End of A Way of Life

As buffalo were killed for sport by American settlers, the very way of life of the Plains Indians was destroyedSlide19

Now that the Buffalo are Gone

For the Native American Indians, westward expansion and Manifest Destiny meant the end of their way of life and of their freedom Slide20

Alaska

And although it was not Atlantic to Pacific related, the United States also acquired Alaska

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2

millionSlide21

The Railroad Too

The railroad also encouraged westward expansion

As a transcontinental railroad was built with often free federal land, Americans could more easily move westSlide22