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I. President John Tyler:
-Tenth President: 1841-1845
-Whig
-Vice President: None
-Called the "Accidental President" or "His Accidency"
-Establishes the Right of Presidential Succession when William Henry
Harrison dies after just 4 weeks as President.
A. President Without a Party:
-Clay and other Whig Members hoped to push through a new Bank Charter,
which would reestablish the National Bank.
-Tyler, a former Democrat, vetoed the bill, and then vetoed a second
Fiscal Corporation Bill.
-Whig members then voted to expel Tyler from their party, and his
entire Cabinet resigned in disgust.
-Tyler does allow for a protective tariff to be passed creating revenue
for the nation which upsets Democrats.
-Tyler asks to be readmitted into the Democratic Party, but they
refuse, and so Tyler is left without the support of either political
party.
B. Diplomacy with England:
-With the Depression of 1837, America's finances were in ruin.
-British Banks were lending money to the United States, though many of
the States that borrowed money were defaulting.
-Money lenders in England felt that they were being robbed by the
United States, which strained foreign relations.
-Along the U.S./Canadian border the U.S. steamer "Caroline", was
attacked by the British, and was destroyed.
C. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty:
-Signed in 1842
-Lord Ashburton (England), Daniel Webster (Sect. of State)
-Agree to a compromise of the Maine/Canadian Border. The British give
the United States 6,500 sq.miles of land that is the border of
Minnesota, where valuable iron ore is located.
D. The Election of 1844:
-The leading issue of the Presidential Election of 1844
-Democrat James K. Polk was for the annexation of Texas, Henry Clay,
who represented the Whigs, was against it.
-Southerners were for the annexation of the land because it would
increase the number of slave states. Northern states were opposed.
-President Tyler in his last days in office, worked on Texas
Annexation, bringing Texas into the Union as a territory, but Mexico
refused to give up its claim to the land.
E. Problems with Texas:
-In 1823 Mexico won its independence from Spain
-That same year, Stephen F. Austin, fulfilled his father’s dream of
establishing a colony in Mexico of over 400 American families.
-Given the blessing of the Mexican Government to establish a colony
under the Mexican Constitution of 1824, the Americans had to promise:
1. To adopt the native language of Spanish
2. Become followers of the Roman Catholic Faith
3. Agree not to bring in, or allow slavery
-As southerners and westerners continued to move into the territory,
they created “social contracts” with their slaves that lasted 99 years.
-President Santa Anna of Mexico orders Stephen Austin and others
arrested, and in doing so antagonizes Texans and Tejanos (Northern
Mexicans) to declare Texas an Independent Republic.
-Upon his freedom, Austin heads to the United States to gain support
for Texan independence, recruiting southern slave owners and
westerners.
-Northerners are opposed to the Texan Revolution, for they see the
Texans continuing the institution of slavery.
-President Jackson, hoping to avoid a war with Mexico, refuses to
acknowledge Texan Independence; instead he offers to purchase Texas
from Mexico.
-Santa Anna refuses to sell, and then orders his men to march towards
San Antonio, were the Texans have established their new government.
F. Sam Houston and the Lone Star Republic:
-As the Texan Revolution arises, Sam Houston, a former Congressman and
Governor from TN, was named head of the Texan Army because of his
military background.
-Houston was believed to be the heir to Jackson’s political legacy.
-Known for bouts of alcoholism and depression, Houston was erratic, but
moved to Texas after divorcing his wife.
-Houston believed that fighting Santa Anna right away with untrained
volunteers was fruitless because they could not win.
-Houston orders that all volunteers fight with him, yet he is rebuffed
by volunteers who attempt to defend two old Spanish Missions called the
Alamo and Goliad.
-The Alamo was led by a lawyer William Travis, Jim Bowie (inventor of
the Bowie knife), and David “Davy” Crocket, a former Whig Congressmen
and frontiersmen from TN. (Crocket would be one of the last killed at
the Alamo by Santa Anna)
-When Santa Anna had revolutionaries killed at Goliad and the Alamo,
Sam Houston was approached by the Governor of Texas to fight.
-Sam Houston sent scouts out to spy on Santa Anna who had divided his
forces in hopes of trapping the revolutionaries.
-Scouts notified Houston that Santa Anna and his men were resting along
the San Jacinto River for siesta.
-Houston told his men to prepare for battle saying, “Trust in God and
fear not. Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!”
-Charging Santa Anna and his unprepared army, Sam Houston leads a
decisive victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, which
only lasted 13 minutes.
-That very day Santa Anna is forced to sign over Texas and grant its
independence, making its border the Rio Grande River.
G. Texas is NOT a State:
-Worried over a possible war with Mexico, Jackson refuses to allow
Texas to be annexed by the United States.
-Jackson does not want Texas annexed because it would cause debate and
possible upheaval over the delicate balance between slave and free
states.
-Northerners worry that allowing Texas to join the Union is a “secret
plot” by the South to keep slavery growing.
-The Republic of Texas nominates Sam Houston as its first President,
and seeks international recognition from England and Spain.
II. President James K. Polk:
-Eleventh President: 1845-1849
-Democrat
-Vice President: George Dallas
-"Young Hickory"
-Known for bringing in the territory to the United States which
completed control of North America (CA, WA, OR, ID, UT, NV, CO, NM, AZ,
TX)
-Agreed to not run for a second term if all of his goals were
accomplished
in first term of office.
A. Polk's Presidency:
-Was not a strong delegator of authority
-Ran on a platform of four goals he wanted accomplished in one term of
office
1. Lower the Tariff of 1842 to 25% (The Walker Tariff of 1846)
2. Restore the Independent Treasury Department
3. Bring California and Texas into the Union
4. Bring the Oregon Territory into the Union
B. The Oregon Fever:
-The Oregon Territory had been shared by Great Britain and the United
States for the past ten years, since the signing of an agreement by
President Monroe and the British Government.
-The Oregon Territory bordered California and spread to the tip of the
Alaskan frontier, along the 54, 40' line.
-The United States lay claim to the territory because they could
populate the land in greater numbers (with missionaries like the
Whitman’s, and settlers, like the Seager Family), and quicker, than
Great Britain.
-Pioneers made their way to the Oregon Territory via the Oregon Trail.
-When the United States wanted to divide the land along the 49', the
British refused, believing the Columbia River to be a more appropriate
border.
-Many in the United States, claimed "54, 40’ or Fight" demanding that
the United States be awarded the entire Oregon Territory.
-Great Britain agrees to settle the border of the Oregon Territory with
the United States along the 49th parallel.
C. The California Question:
-Polk wanted to purchase the California Territory from Mexico.
-The Mexican Government refused to sell the land, especially after the
Annexation of Texas by the United States.
-Mexico refused to believe that Texas was now apart of the United
States and southern expansionists in Texas wanted to take even more
land from Mexico.
-To settle the land dispute and purchase the land legally, Polk sent
John Slidell to Mexico City, offering $25 million for the land.
-Mexico refuses to take the money.
D. An Unconstitutional War?
-On January 13, 1846 U.S. troops, under the Command of General Zachary
Taylor, march to the Rio Grande, near Mexican soldiers.
-The Rio Grande was disputed territory still owned by Mexico, and
therefore Taylor and his men had "invaded" Mexico.
-On April 25th, 1846 Mexican soldiers fired upon American troops,
killing 16
-Polk went to Congress demanding a declaration of war, and was granted
the right with a coalition of Democrats and Whigs.
-Many viewed Polk's invasion as unconstitutional because Polk had
provoked the Mexican's into a fight.
-Both the United States and Mexico were "itching" for a fight, with
Mexico assuming that arguments with Great Britain over the Oregon
Territory might cause the United States to sue for peace.
E. The Mastering of Mexico:
-In 1846 Gen. Stephen W. Kearny captures Santa Fe, New Mexico
-In 1846 John C. Fremont collaborates with the United States Navy and
his own armed forces to overthrow the Mexican Government in California.
-*Fremont's Rebellion sparks the creation of the Republic of
California.
-The U.S. Army, under the command of General Zachary Taylor, "Old Rough
& Ready" defeats a force of 20,000 Mexicans with his band of 5,000
troops at the Battle of Buena Vista.
-General Winfield Scott, "Old Fuss & Feathers" was successful in his
invasion of Mexico City in September, 1847.
F. Peace with Mexico:
-Polk was determined to claim California and sent Nicholas P. Trist to
Mexico to work out a peace agreement with Santa Anna.
-The agreement was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February
2, 1848
-America took from México: Texas, California, New México, Nevada,
Arizona, Colorado, Utah
-The United States had to pay the Mexican Government $15 million and an
additional $3,250,000 to the Mexican people for damages.
G. Profit & Loss in Mexico:
-As a result of the war, the United States increased by a third
-The war proved to be good training for men like Robert E. Lee and
Ulysses S. Grant, while also bolstering the Marine Corps, Army, and
Navy.
-The Mexican American War caused a great riff between the United States
and Latin American countries.
-Anti Slave and Pro Slave sides began to quarrel, with men like David
Wilmot of Pennsylvania arguing for the abolishment of slavery.
-*Wilmot's Proviso introduced his Bill to the House which stipulated
that slavery should never exist in any of the territory won from
Mexico.
-Southerners were highly opposed to this, because much of the land won
from Mexico was below the Missouri Compromise line.
-The Proviso was supported along sectional lines, with Northern States
in support, and Southern States opposed.