US History

U.S. History Study Guide

©2018 of 194 The Webster-Ashburton Treaty 1842 Tyler's Secretary of State Daniel Webster negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain. There was tension between the U.S. and Great Britain over territory and a few incidents. The United States and Great Britain were able to come to terms on many of the issues, resulting in friendlier relations. This would prove important when the United States and the British would negotiate land boundaries on the Oregon territory. 10.19 Manifest Destiny Manifest Destiny is the belief in which Americans had a mission to expand the U.S. fromocean to ocean and that the Anglo-Saxon method of government, agriculture, and education were the best, and therefore only, ways to live. Following this ideology, many peoples were pushed from their homes and consequences set in motion, we are still trying to understand today. In accordance to the notion, there was no regard for how Native American peoples had been surviving on the land for so long. There was only the thought that European settlers and their descendants should inhabit the land and use it how they saw fit. The Growing Population The population continued to double every twenty-five years. The emigration of people in the West increased and by 1840 over one-third of all Americans lived in the West. Immigration laws were not signed until 1820, after which, many more people began to emigrate to the U.S., mostly from the British Isles. 10.20 The Election of 1844 In 1844, the Democrats nominated James K. Polk. He was opposed by Whig candidate Henry Clay. The campaign centered on the idea of annexation by Texas, which Polk supported and Clay opposed. Polk under ran under the slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight,” referred to the latitude coordinates of the Oregon territory claimed by both the U.S. and Great Britain. Polk received fifty percent of the popular vote and won one hundred and seventy out of two hundred and seventy five electoral votes. 10.21 Polk Administration 1844-1848 James K. Polk increased the size of the United State through the acquit ion of California and New Mexico as a result of the Mexican-American War, during which he was an effective leader. He also claimed Oregon Territory after a treaty with England and was considered to be the best one-term president, after deciding he only want to run one term and retire. Achieve Page 130