MANIFEST DESTINY

TERRITORIES ACQUIRED

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo:
• California
• Texas
• Other territories later to become states:
• New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, etc.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

• Occupation in very dynamic and profitable areas
• People could purchase their own land in the west
• Unexploited treasure troves of profitable resources
• Get away from business and toils of the urban environment

IMPORTANCE OF RAILWAYS

• Popular destination for immigrants
• Lucrative transportation industry
• Allowed for rapid "Americanization" of the west
• Assisted capitalist and wartime endeavors

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

ADVANTAGES FOR U.S.

• Large patriotic support for the war effort
• Already had large numbers of Americans in the Spanish territory
• The government had the means and funding to purchase the territory
• Mexico City was captured, virtually ending the war for the Mexicans.

KEY VICTORIES FOR THE AMERICANS

• The loss at the Alamo provoked even more patriotism
• and greatly increased the vigor of U.S. War efforts
• The capturing of Mexico City, the capital of Mexico essentially ended the war.
• Santa Ana defeated in battle of San Jacinto

POLICIES REGARDING NATIVE PEOPLES

LAWS PASSED

• California constitution of 1850:
• Limited voting power to strictly white citizens
• Indians were evicted and sold sometimes into slavery if their land had any mineral value
• The compromise of 1850:
• Instigated a very strict fugitive law that sometimes applied to Native Americans.