History of the 1840s
The Manifest Destiny was the belief said that the United States was destined to expand all the way to the Pacific. It was in this decade where America started expanding itself while fighting many battles and obtaining more land, such as the annexation of Texas and The Mexican American war. An important person in this era was James K. Polk who contributed a lot for the United States. Also the California Gold Rush began which brought many immigrants in search of gold. Women activists were also still contributing for their rights.
When James K. Polk issued the Annexation of Texas and entered the Union angered the Mexican government and it automatically broke any relations with The U.S. and both sides fought for Texas’s southwest border. James had his eye on California so he designated a plan to stop the argument with both sides by sending John Slidell to Mexico to try and purchase California, but Mexico’s president, Jose Joaquin Herrera didn’t even bother to speak with Slidell. Then James planned something else to try and get the land he wanted. He sent general Zachary Taylor to lead his men to the borders of the United States and Mexico and allow the Mexicans to attack them so they could go to war. Exactly how Polk planned, Zachary and his men were attacked which the senate and the house of representatives voted for war and the Mexican American war began. But before the war began , settlers led by John C. Fremont began to take over. The Mexicans presence in California wasn’t strong and was taken over with ease by the American settlers and declared California independent on June, 14, 1846. Even though Mexico lost California, they refused to surrender. Polk then sent general Winfield Scott to seize the capital. 6 month
s later, the capital was captured and the United States won. The victory brought Mexican leaders to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848 which added over 500,000 of land.
James K. Polk was the president at the time of the Mexican-American war and the president who expanded the United States greatly. He grabbed more land than what we had with the Louisiana Purchase. Polk was a democratic committed to the movement to the pacific. Polk got the Oregon Territory by compromising with Britain, who also wanted the territory, and dividing the Oregon territory at the 49 parallel because Polk only wanted territory not war. He also purchased 1.2 million square miles of land with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and ended the Mexican-American war. With his determination and greatly planned out strategies. He expanded the final remains of the west the pacific had to offer and one of the key people of the Manifest Destiny.
the search of gold. Early settlers at California were called forty niners. Even though Americans were the first people at the Gold Rush, it also attracted the attention of many foreigners from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Such an uprise of people made small tent camps into boomtowns, and brought culture to California. It developed governmental rules and laws and it was decided to admission California as a state in 1850.
The battle for women’s rights started back in the 1750s but even after a century they still didn’t have the same equal rights as men. Women activists acted out to be heard and demanded their equal rights. In 1848, women activist Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention in New York for the gathering of women reformers. With all those women combined, their movement issued Seneca Falls Declaration, which was their updated version of the Declaration of Independence. When Stanton announced her suffrage, the present women were shocked and barely passed her idea. So throughout then, women acted out to receive better rights for themselves.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_rush
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk