Honors U.S.

History Name:
PRP2, Week 11
Mr. Irwin Period:

Lecture 10
Expanding New Nation - America Moves West – Part I

THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE OF 1787– When our country was still operating
under the Articles of Confederation, Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785,
which established a plan for surveying land in the Northwest Territory. In 1787, Even
though Native American groups claimed this land, Congress followed up by providing a
procedure for dividing the Northwest Territory into “no fewer than three states and no
more than five states.”

From this ordinance, the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were
created.

Students are to read handout titled “Geography Spotlight – The Land Ordinance of
1785.”

MOVING WEST – By the late 1700s and beyond, Americans were moving west, into
new lands. To makes such a journey required courage, practical know-how,
determination, and probably, a little luck.

DANIEL BOONE – Has become a symbol of the type of rugged individuals who made
their way west into unknown and unexplored territories. After spending years exploring
Kentucky, Boone was hired in 1775, to help create the Wilderness Road (sometimes
called the Wilderness Trail), through the Cumberland Gap, a low spot in the
Appalachian Mountains.

Boone had been a well known citizen in the Ohio Valley. In addition to being a hunter
and a trapper, he was also a member of the Kentucky legislature. In 1799, he moved to
Missouri. When he died there in 1820, his fame as a bold and tough pioneer spread
across the nation.

THE WILDERNESS ROAD – Began in Eastern Tennessee and ended where Louisville,
Kentucky is today. It became the main route to the lands west of the Appalachians for
thousands of settlers, including Boone’s own family.

POPULATION GROWTH SPURRED THE SURGE WESTWARD – In 1780, about 2.7

million people lived in the original 13 states. By 1830, the population had grown to 12
million people in 24 states. Much of this growth came as the result of children born in
America.

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Between 1800 and 1849, the average woman had five children. As young people
matured, they had their dream of becoming successful land owners and farmers. The
open land west of the Appalachian Mountains seemed to be the place where this dream
could be converted into reality.

MANY SETTLERS WENT TO THE NORTHWEST – By 1830, there were hundreds of

thousands of Americans living in the newly established states of Ohio, Indiana, and
Illinois. Nearby Michigan was converted from a U.S. territory, to a state in 1837,
becoming a border state between the U.S. and Canada.

Most of the settlers in this region traveled downstream, by river from Western
Pennsylvania and Virginia, or had traveled by land, northward from Kentucky and
Tennessee, bringing their entire families with them.

1820 - THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE – In 1819, Congress began debating the

admission of Missouri as a state. The underlying issue was slavery. Several members
of Congress objected to admitting Missouri as a slave state because they were
concerned that this would increase the power of Southern states in the U.S. Senate.
Southern members of Congress countered this argument by stating that the U.S.
government had no right to dictate to the states regarding slavery.

After months of heated debate, in 1820, Congress reached what is now called the
Missouri Compromise. Under this compromise, Missouri would be allowed to enter the
U.S. as a slave state, and Maine would be allowed to enter the U.S. as a free state.
This arrangement maintained the balance in Congress between slave and free states.

Congress further agreed that as the United States expanded westward, states north of
36 Degrees, 30 minutes north latitude would enter as free states, and states entering
below that latitude would enter as slave states.

FLORIDA – Under the Pickney Treaty of 1795, the United States had agreed that
Florida would remain a Spanish territory. The U.S. and Spain also agreed to control
Native Americans living within each countries territory, and to prevent them from
attacking people in the other country.

When Seminole Indians from Florida began attacking U.S. settlers in southern Georgia,
army general, Andrew Jackson sought out the Seminoles, by invading Florida. After a
few weeks, Jackson claimed possession of the entire western part of Florida, which in
turn, upset Spain. Although Congress was unhappy with Jackson for causing a
diplomatic problem with a foreign country, in negotiations with Spain, President Monroe
and his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, accused Spain of failing to uphold their
end of the Pickney Treaty, by not controlling the Florida Seminoles.

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In1819, the U.S. and Spain agreed upon the Adams-Onis Treaty. In the treaty, Spain
gave up Florida, as well as a long held claim on the Pacific Northwest. As the result of
this treaty, the United States would be able to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean.

TEXAS – In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain. In a move to encourage
trade and to develop the northern portion of Mexico, American, Stephen F. Austin was
given a charter to establish a colony in Texas. In 1822, Austin founded his colony in
east Texas, with several hundred families. By 1824, approximately 2,000 people had
emigrated to the colony, and by 1835, the number had swelled to more than 30,000.

As the population of Austin’s colony increased, the Americans living in Texas began to
demand more political control. They wanted slavery to be allowed in east Texas, and
they wanted to have the same rights under Mexican law as they had under American
law, in the U.S.

Around that time, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna declared himself dictator of
Mexico, and launched an effort to enforce Mexican law in east Texas. Americans living
there chose to revolt against Mexico, and sought to establish their own sovereignty.

A clash between the Texans and Mexican soldiers in 1835, put the Texans in open
rebellion against Mexico.

In 1836, General Santa Anna led an army across the Rio Grande River to subdue the
rebellion. On February, 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s army began its attack on the Alamo.
After 13 days of fighting, Mexican troops scaled the Alamo’s walls. The 187 Texans
inside were killed, including William B. Travis, who led the Texans in the battle, and the
famous frontiersman, Jim Bowie who played a large role in the fight.

Later, in March, Santa Anna’s troops executed 300 Texas rebels in Goliad. What
happened at the Alamo and at Goliad enraged other Texans. Six weeks after the
incident at Goliad, Commander in Chief of the Texas army, Sam Houston, along with
900 Texas soldiers killed 630 of Santa Anna’s troops, and captured the General himself.

Santa Anna was given his freedom after agreeing to the Treaty of Velasco, which
granted Texas its independence. In September, 1836, Sam Houston was elected the
first and only president of the short lived Republic of Texas.

In 1845, during the presidency of James Polk, the U.S. Congress annexed Texas to the
United States.

THE OREGON COUNTRY – In 1818, the U.S. and Great Britain signed a treaty
agreeing to joint occupation of an area in the Pacific Northwest known as the Oregon
Country. This opened the door for Americans to migrate further west. In 1843,
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organized wagon trains began carrying masses of migrants to the Oregon Country.
Groups intending to make the trip would typically travel to Independence, Missouri.
From there, they would link up with other settlers who were moving to Oregon. This
would be a 2,000 mile journey across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains, and
then along the Oregon Trail. Most came in search of land and trading opportunities.
Many would not survive the arduous and dangerous trip.

In the Treaty of 1849, the U.S. and Great Britain agreed to divide the Oregon Country
along the 49th parallel, with U.S. territory below that line on the map.

- End of Lecture -

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