I. The Great Immigration Wave (1815-1860)

A. Basic Facts
1. 5 million European immigrants between 1815-1860, 3 million of whom arrived between 1845-1854
2. Largest immigration wave relative to total population
3. ¾ of immigrants were from Ireland and Germany, the remainder from Norway, Sweden, Holland and Switzerland

B. Reasons for immigration
1. Economic opportunity/necessity (however, reality often fell short of expectation)
2. Religious Freedom (especially for Norwegian Quakers, British Mormons, Irish Catholics

C. Difficulties of Immigration
1. Expensive (sometimes false) tickets and unreliable ship schedules
2. Immigrants travelled in crowded and unclean steerage or cargo areas of ships
3. Cheap US farmland tended to be in isolated and dangerous locations
4. Hazardous, backbreaking wage labour (construction, building canals/railroads, iron foundries, coal mining)
5. Discrimination by American ‘Natives’

D. German immigrants
1. Diverse Groups- from different German kingdoms, from a variety of socioeconomic levels, as well as practitioners of various religions- Catholics, Lutherans, and Jewish
2. Though most had been farmers, many had been professionals, artisans, and tradesmen
3. Tended to move to the Upper Midwest where land was fertile and still cheap
4. Formed tight knit communities and maintained language (created their own schools, professional organizations, newspapers)
5. Self-sufficient communities were possible because German immigrants practiced all the necessary trades/professions
6. Resented by mainstream culture for their economic success, clannishness, and language

E. Irish Immigrants
1. First immigration wave was spurred by Irish veterans of War of 1812 who reported positively on American opportunities
2. Initially immigrants were small Protestant landowners and trades people
3. Potato famine (1845-1853) prompted 1.8 million Irish to come to the US and escape starvation
4. By the 1850’s most Irish immigrants were poor and Catholic
5. Most couldn’t afford to go west and stayed in large East Coast urban centres
6. Men dug cellars, canals, and railroad bed; women were often household servants or worked in textile mills
7. Some Irish managed to work their way into the middle class (becoming foremen in iron foundries/coal mines or opening grocery, liquor stores and bars)
8. Because most Irish worked as unskilled labourers, the tended to oppose abolition for fear of African American competition for jobs

F. Nativist Reactions
1. Anti-Catholicism sometimes lead to violent confrontations such as the ‘Bible Riots’
2. Spurred by anti-Catholicism, political organizations arose and culminated in the creation or the American (“know-nothing”) Party
3. Protestant workers and artisans who increasingly viewed the Irish as competition began to join nativist societies. This created a political split in the northern antebellum working class (immigrants generally joined the Democrats whereas “natives” tended toward the Whigs or Know-Nothings)
4. Immigrant power
a. Irish often joined and led labour organizations
b. Immigrants became politically active and mostly identified with the Democratic Party
c. Irish were anti-Whig due to that party’s antislavery, pro-schooling, pro-protestant and temperance stances
d. Understanding the size and importance of this demographic, the Democratic Party actively catered to and recruited new immigrants

II. The Far West

A. Skip the Plains
1. Just beyond Missouri are the Great Plains
2. Viewed as too arid for farming
3. Dominated by nomadic Indians (Pawnees, Kiowas and Sioux) who hunted buffalo
4. Most travelled over the plains heading further west

B. Western Land Claims
1. With Adams-Onís treaty of 1819, US gave up claims to Texas, CA, and New Mexico to Spain. After Mexican Independence, Mexico claimed these areas
2. Russia and Spain gave up claims to Oregon Country. In 1827, US and Britain agreed to share territory between 42° and 54°40’.

C. Trade with the far west
1. Oregon
a. Overseas trade dominated by Boston Merchants
b. Traded coffee, tea, spices, and household goods for furs
2. California
a. Overseas trade dominated by Boston Merchants
b. Traded household goods for cattle hide and tallow
3. Santa Fe
a. Overland trade dominated by Missouri merchants
b. Exchanged tools, clothing, and household goods for mules and Mexican silver
c. Trade was welcomed by Mexico as a way to get manufactured goods to remote states of Chihuahua and Sonora
4. Western Colorado and Utah
a. Overland trade by Missouri merchants
b. Exchanged household goods for beaver furs

D. American Settlement of Texas
1. After Mexican independence, the Spanish system of missions and Presidios fell apart
2. To encourage colonization, Mexican government gave huge land grants to Mexican and American impresarios
3. Stephen Austin got large land grant in 1824 and quickly drew many American settlers by offering free of very cheap land
4. Clashes began to occur between Catholic, Spanish speaking Mexicans and Protestant English speaking Americans
5. Biggest point of contention was slavery, which had been abolished in Mexico. Many American settlers were bring slaves to Texas
6. Mexico repealed Austin’s grant in 1829 but unable to stem the flow of American settlers, reinstated it in 1834.

E. The Texas Revolution
1. New Mexican President Santa Anna established and enforced policies to restrict settlers’ political powers in Texas.
2. Both Mexican Tejanos and American settlers resisted the new policies
3. Santa Anna and the Mexican Army invaded Texas in 1835. Austin along with American settlers and some Tejanos decided to resist
4. Santa Anna and am army of 4000 surrounded 187 Texas rebels (including Davy Crockett) at the Alamo near San Antonio on March 6, 1836; despite valiant resistance, almost all the rebels were killed in battle; survivors were executed.
5. Goliad Massacre- a few weeks after the Alamo, Sta. Anna had 350 Texas rebel prisoners executed
6. Texas rebels chose Sam Houston as their military leader
7. Houston’s army of 800 men quickly defeated Sta. Anna and his army and took him prisoner, forcing Sta. Anna to sign a treaty declaring Texas’s independence in April 1836
8. Though Mexico did not ratify the treaty, the Texas Republic was established.


III. Expansionist politics

A. The rise and fall of the Whigs
1. After economic problems during Van Buren’s presidency (Panic of 1837), the Whigs rose to power in the election of 1840
2. Harrison and VP Tyler won and Whigs got a majority in both houses
3. Their agenda was to replace protective tariffs with revenue tariffs; repeal Van Buren’s independent treasury in favour of a new bank of the US
4. Harrison died after 1 month in office. Tyler, who had been a Democrat under Jackson, vetoed every bill relating to the Whig agenda
5. In a last-ditch effort to gain popularity, Tyler began to promote annexation of Texas as a slave state. This led to staunch northern opposition and the measure failed
6. Unable to secure nomination, Tyler didn’t run for re-election in 1844

B. The Dark Horse election of 1844
1. Whigs chose Clay as their nominee for the 1844 election
2. Democrat were split between Van Buren (North) and Cass (South) so they chose the first dark horse candidate.
3. Polk ran on an expansionist platform, promising not only the annexation of Texas but, to allay Northern fears about slavery, also the annexation of Oregon as wall as the purchase of California and New Mexico.
4. Clay’s shifting position on the annexation of Texas and slavery as well as his choice of a temperance/Protestant running mate alienated many voters (esp. NY’s Irish) allowing Polk to win

C. Manifest Destiny
1. Catchy slogan coined by NY journalist John O’sullivan, promoted the expansion of the US to the West Coast
2. The idea was promoted using loft, religious language
3. Economically, it made sense to have west coast ports (esp. San Francisco) to open trade with Asia, land for growing population
4. Democrats liked the idea of having more land in order to maintain US agriculture character
5. Provide opportunities for burgeoning immigrant groups to leave the crowded cities
6. To avert a British “plot” to abolish slavery
7. It was actually possible to govern such a large country due to railroads and the telegraph

D. Annexing Oregon
1. Polk had congress terminate the British-American agreement to jointly occupy Oregon
2. Issued an ultimatum for Britain to exit all land to the 54°40’ line (Alaska’s southern boundary) within one year.
3. Unwilling to go to war, England chose to compromise, granting the US all Oregon Territory south of the 49° line (except southern tip of Vancouver Island) and keeping what would become British Colombia (treaty of 1846)


IV. The Mexican-American War

A. Prelude
1. As with Oregon, Polk attempted to force Mexico to concede any claim to Texas and to sell its holdings in New Mexico and California
2. In February of 1845, Congress voted to annex Texas but Texans became fearful of a Mexican invasion
3. To convince Texans, Polk promised to extend Texas’s southern boundary all the way to the Rio Grande. Texas voted to join the union on July 4, 1845
4. Hoping to spark a war (so as to take NM and CA), Polk send Zachary Taylor and his troops to Corpus Christi near the Rio Grande.
5. Polk also sent a negotiator (Slidell) to Mexico City with permission to offer Mexico $25 million for CA and NM and to convince Mexico to recognise Texas annexation together with the Rio Grande boundary
6. Slidell was rebuffed so Polk had Taylor and troops move further south to the Rio Grande to harass Mexicans across the river
7. The Mexican army crossed the Rio Grande and attacked some of Taylor’s troops. Polk used this as evidence that Mexico had already declared war on the US
8. By claiming that a state of war already existed, Polk was able to bypass getting Congressional approval for the war.
9. Afraid to oppose Polk and thereby risk seeming “unpatriotic”, Whigs joined Democrats voting to fund the war with $10 million.

B. Fighting Mexico
1. Mexico’s army was four times larger; however, US troops were better organized, armed (rifles, howitzers (!), revolvers) and supplied.
2. US army used a four-pronged attack
3. Zachary Taylor (Old Rough and Ready) beat the Mexican army in Texas, crossed the Rio Grande and took the northern Mexican cities of Monterrey and Buena Vista.
4. Winfield Scott crossed the Gulf of Mexico with 12000 troops, took Vera Cruz, then drove on to Mexico City, winning battle after battle along the way (with the assistance of Lee, Grant, among other Civil War heroes)
5. Stephen Kearny was sent to Santa Fe, took it with little resistance, then sent some of his troops south to join Taylor at the Battle of Buena Vista
6. Commodore Sloat (then Stockton) led the Pacific Squadron of the Navy to the ports of California. Meanwhile, Fremont was sent to California to establish and independent republic (similar to Texas). He quickly seized Sonoma and created the independent “Bear Flag Republic” which lasted 25 days.
7. The War ended as Scott’s army of 11000 defeated Santa Anna’s army of 25000 close to Mexico City (September 13, 1847)

C. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
1. Ratified on March 10, 1848
2. Mexico ceded Texas and agreed to Rio Grande border
3. US agreed to pay $15 million and forgive $2 million in Mexican debts in exchange for NM and CA territories
4. Treaty was criticized by expansionists who wanted to take all of Mexico. Nativist concerns thwarted this plan.

D. Polk’s Post-War Policies
1. Perused Jacksonian policies
2. Restoration of the Independent Treasury
3. Lowered tariffs
4. Refused to fund American System projects (each state is responsible for infrastructure works)

E. Slavery and the New Territories
1. Polk wanted a simple solution and believed that the Missouri Compromise line 36°30’ could just be extended west
2. Whigs opposed the spread of slavery on moral grounds
3. Northern Democrats opposed slavery in NM and CA on the grounds that it would keep free white labourers from moving there
4. Wilmot Proviso (1846)- drafted by David Wilmot, a Democratic congressman from Penn, proposed that slavery should not be allowed in any of the territories acquired by negotiations in Mexico. Consistant with Polk’s early promise that Texas would be for Slaveholders but CA and NM would not
5. Polk did not endores it because it would break the Missouri Compromise; Southerners (both Democrat and Whig) argued that the Proviso (as well as the Missouri Compromise) violated states’ rights and was unconstitutional
6. Proviso passed in house but not in Senate
7. Election of 1848- Polk refused to run. Zachary Taylor, a war hero and Southern slaveholder ran as a Whig and defeated Democratic candidate Cass (Democrats were split on slavery issue)