Martin Van Buren to James Polk

1
Martin Van Buren to James Polk

• The Presidents Contd

2
Martin Van Buren

• VP and Secretary of State under Jackson
• Panic of 1837
• Why did this occur?
• Depression followed
• Thousands were unemployed
• Van Buren blamed

3
Martin Van Buren Contd

• He thought the states should maintain control, so
  he did not interfere with the Depression ? made
  it worse
• Noteworthy He did not allow Texas to into the
  Union because it allowed slavery

4
William Henry Harrison (1841)

• Whig
• Beat the Democratic incumbent Van Buren
• Died after a month in office
• Gave a 3 hour inauguration speech in the cold
• Didnt really do much because he was sick

5
John Tyler

• Became President after Harrisons death
• He was from Virginia and was against anti-slavery
  legislation and was an advocate of states rights
• Alienated himself from the Whig party
• Got expelled from the party-lost re-election bid
• Tried to annex Texas

6
James K. Polk 1845-1849

• Was from North Carolina, and attended UNC-Chapel
  Hill
• Was the last Jacksonian to be President, and the
  last solid President before the Civil War
• Was an expansionist, and promised to settle
  Texas, Oregon, California, and only serve one
  term

7
Texas

• 1845 Congress approved the annexation of Texas
• 1845 Texas became the 28th state

8
Dont Mess with Texas!

• Texas, or the land known directly west of
  Louisiana, was a place where American settlers
  went for cheap and arable land
• The problem was that it was controlled by Mexico,
  and once the number of American settlers
  outnumbered Mexicans, the Mexican government
  started to outlaw slavery
• The Texans wanted slavery protected, and decided
  that they should declare independence from Mexico
• In 1836, they fought against the Mexican army led
  by Santa Anna

9
Texas Fights for Independence

• The Texas forces, led by General Sam Houston,
  fought a series of battles against the Mexicans,
  namely the Alamo and San Jacinto
• The Alamo was a small mission in San Antonio, and
  Texan settlers like Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie
  led about 190 settlers against an army of over
  4,000 Mexicans

10
Texas Question

• Where was the boundary?
• Rio Grande ?U.S.
• Nueces River ? Mexico

11
War With Mexico

• After the annexation, Mexico cut off diplomatic
  ties
• Polk sent Ambassador John Slidell to Mexico City
  with an offer to buy New Mexico and California
  for 30 million.
• Mexico refused to meet with him

12
Contd

• Polk sent troops to the Rio Grande, Mexico
  considered this an invasion
• Mexico killed several Americans
• American blood on American soil
• Congress declared war on May 13, 1846

13
Pretty Quick and Easy

• By May 1846, the fighting had spread to New
  Mexico and California, but the US scored victory
  after victory
• The US had a huge advantage in technology and
  resources, and used them to defeat sometimes
  heavy resistance from the Mexicans
• In early 1847, Generals Winfield Scott and
  Zachary Taylor had invaded Mexico and drew the
  Mexican army all the way back to Mexico City
• By September 1847, war ended

14
Overall Importance of the War

• Robert E. Lee, Ulysses Grant, Jefferson Davis,
  Stonewall Jackson, and William Sherman all served
  in the conflict, and later became significant
  during the Civil War
• Eventually, we gained all of what we now call the
  American Southwest, with New Mexico, Arizona, and
  California

15
Guadalupe-Hidalgo

• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended
  the conflict in 1848
• The US paid Mexico 15 million for California,
  most of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and
  Arizona
• Mexico gave up its claim to Texas and the Rio
  Grande
• The US covered any damage claims the citizens had
  against Mexico
• Obviously, this was a HUGE addition to the
  country, and after the Gadsden Purchase in 1853,
  our present continental boundaries were set.

16
Wilmot Proviso

• Dealt with slavery issue
• A provision attached to a bill stating that any
  new territory coming into the Union will never
  have slavery
• Congress rejected it