Introduction

[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]

Chapter 12: Westward Expansion and Slavery

Introduction
John Tyler served a somewhat embattled presidency, as he often clashed with his cabinet and Henry Clay over issues such as a new Bank of the United States and the tariff. Southerners were most against the tariff, hinting at sectional differences that would grow with America's expansion in the next few years. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which settled the Maine–New Brunswick border and others between the U.S. and Canada, caused little sensation. Developments in the West, however, did, starting with Texas. Americans had begun to stream into Texas, a part of independent Mexico, and soon outnumbered the Mexicans. The conflicts between the two cultures led white Texans to fight a war for independence, which they won in 1835. Texans wanted to be annexed by the United States, but Presidents Jackson and Van Buren resisted because they neither wanted war with Mexico nor to rouse sectional tensions over slavery, which Texan statehood would inevitably provoke. But Americans continued to move to Texas and California, also a part of Mexico, as well as Oregon, which the U.S. shared with Great Britain, arduous journeys west undertaken with a firm belief in manifest destiny. Finally, by a joint resolution of Congress, Texas was annexed. Under President Polk, the United States gained the Oregon Territory south of the forty-ninth parallel from England and went to war with Mexico over disputed Texan territory. At minimal expense, the Mexican War won this territory, California, and much of the American Southwest; the later Gadsen Purchase added to this Mexican cession. And it paid immediate dividends for the United States, as gold was soon discovered in California. Meanwhile, however, California was ready to apply for statehood and the new territories had to be organized, both facts that necessitated addressing the question of slavery’s spread. The Compromise of 1850 settled the matter for the time being.

Legal and Privacy Terms

[Return to the Top of this Page]