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Step 8 – Mexican Cession 1848

Location
Southwest U.S.
Acquired In
1848
Acquired From
Mexico
Acquired Because
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War, which Mexico lost

U.S. Territorial Expansion

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The Frontier

Frontier - Unsettled land containing wilderness and unknown dangers
Westward movement of Americans from their original settlements from the original 13 states to the Far West
Pioneers – People who were first to settle in a place.

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Where do I go for supplies?

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What about here?

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The Explorers

They wanted to begin trade with Indian people.
They wanted to find out what the U.S. had bought when it purchased Louisiana.
The explorers mapped the route to the Pacific.
They established good relations with western Indian peoples.
They brought back information about the West.

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The Great Plains

The Great Plains were explored by Major Stephen Long in 1819, who described the area as the “Great American Desert”
With no wood and no water, many believed that the area was useless for settlement and farming – but some still tried to make it work

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What dangers did they face?

Lack of food, water, and shelter
Lack of protection from the weather (floods, storms)
Lack of medical care
Exposure to Native Americans who felt threatened by the presence of settlers
Conflict with other settlers- they sometimes were competing for the same land and resources (water, animals, trees).

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The Mountain Men

The trappers moved west in search for furs.
Hardships they faced

The mountain men feared attack by fur thieves, Indians, wolves, and bears.
Death from accident or disease was a hazard of the profession.

Legacies they left

The mountain men explored the West.
Their routes became the Oregon and California Trails.
Their trading posts became supply stations for settlers.

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The Californios

Mexico ended the mission system in California in 1833
Mission lands were broken up and huge grants were given to some of the wealthiest California settlers

These settlers created vast ranches (ranchos) with tens of thousand of acres of land

Anglos - A small number of settlers arrived from the United States (Anglos)

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The Californios

Hardships they faced

Neighbors lived so far apart that loneliness was a daily problem.
Government officials in Mexico were unskilled and dishonest.

Legacies they left

The Californios gave us Spanish names for California cities.
They brought new crops, such as grapes, olives, and citrus.
They opened California to the world.

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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo1848

Mexicans living in these areas were given freedom of religion, protection of property, bilingual elections and open borders

New Mexico and California are ceded to the U.S. for $15 million (California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah)

Rio Grande becomes official border between U.S. and Mexico

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1848 gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains

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California

After California became a state, Mexicans experienced various forms of discrimination and mistreatment
Land Dispossession: Mexican landowners faced legal challenges to their land titles, often resulting in the loss of their properties.
Labor Exploitation: Many Mexicans were forced into low-paying, menial jobs with little job security or labor rights.

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Discrimination in California

Cultural Assimilation - Mexicans pressured to assimilate into Anglo-American culture, Often at the expense of their own cultural identity
Speaking Spanish was discouraged, and children were often punished for speaking Spanish in schools.
Racial Segregation: Mexicans were subjected to segregation in schools, public facilities, and housing.
Discriminatory laws, such as the Foreign Miners Tax of 1850, which affected Mexican miners.

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The Missionaries

Missionaries moved west to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
They also wanted to help settle the country and establish churches.
Hostile Indian warriors sometimes attacked them.
These settlers brought disease and death to many Native Americans.
They opened the West to settlement.

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The Pioneer Women

Women were heavily outnumbered by men, so they had greater opportunities such as establishing homesteads and finding husbands.
Hardships they faced

Cooking, washing clothes, and caring for children while traveling 15 to 20 miles a day was grueling work.
Disease and accidents killed their loved ones.

Legacies they left

Women brought schools, churches, libraries, literary societies, and charitable groups to the rugged west.
They fought for and won the right for women to vote in the West.

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Working Together

Most pioneers woke up at sun rise
Men and boys took care of the animals and farmed the crops
Women and girls took care of the animals, cooked, cleaned, and did laundry
Doing laundry would take a whole day
Pioneers made their own soap from ashes and animal fat
Families carried buckets from a nearby stream and each piece of clothing had to be scrubbed

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Life in the Frontier

Found sources of water and food…some lived near creeks or rivers while others had to make windmills to pump water out of the ground
Many were miles from their nearest neighbors or trading posts…lonely
Harsh weather that they weren’t used to
Different soil for raising crops and animals

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So many pioneers traveled west that…

Small cities and towns popped up in the west
Many families grew as they lived in the west
Immigrants moved into the west

These westward areas were eventually added as states which are much more populated today

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Mormon Trail

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History and Background

Mormonism was founded in 1830, in Fayette, New York
Founded by Joseph Smith
Mormons are Christians, but they believe that conventional Christian churches have lost the authority of God.
It is the fourth largest religion in the United States
Has approximately 13.5 million followers worldwide

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Founding

In 1820, in New York, God and Jesus Christ visited a 14-year-old Smith in response to his prayer about which church to join.
God commanded Smith not to join any existing churches but to create his own
This encounter became known as the First Vision
Smith founded The Church of Latter-Day Saints 10 years after the First Vision

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Beliefs

An ancient American prophet, complied the history of an ancient civilization, and inscribed it on plates of gold.
Later, Mormon's son, Moroni, buried the plates for safety in New York state.
Moroni returned in 1823 as an angel and showed Joseph Smith where the plates were hidden.
Smith translated the plates into the Book of Mormon.

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�The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is considered a sacred text and is central to the beliefs of Mormons
Extension of The Bible
Similar to The Bible, it is a volume of ancient scriptures which tell of the Israelites who, under the direction of God, traveled from Jerusalem to America in 600 B.C.

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Persecution

Mormons faced significant persecution due to their religious beliefs and practices.
Reasons for Persecution:

Opposition to mainstream Christian beliefs.
Polygamy practices - one man married to several women

Violence and mob attacks against Mormon settlements.
Legal persecution, including the enactment of anti-polygamy laws.
Forced relocation – New York, Missouri, Illinois

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The Death of Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith was arrested for destroying a printing press that published negative articles about the Mormons
On June 27, 1844, a mob stormed the jail where Smith was held.
Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed in the attack.
Aftermath:

Shock and grief among Mormons.
Heightened tensions and conflicts with non-Mormon communities.

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Brigham Young

After Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, Brigham Young was ordained President of the Mormon Church in December 1847
Young was determined to find a safe place to practice their faith freely.
Organized the Mormons to move west to find free and open space free of persecution

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The Mormon Trail

70,000 Mormon pioneers headed west
The Mormon Trail spanned over 1,300 miles from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah.
Traveled primarily by foot, handcart, or wagon.
Challenges:

Harsh terrain, including deserts and mountains.
Limited resources and supplies.
Severe weather conditions.

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Salt Lake City

Arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Mormons established Salt Lake City as their new headquarters.
The Mormon pioneers transformed the arid landscape into productive farmland.
They lived in communities and pioneered new farming methods in the dry region.
Mormons turned Utah from a desert into a successful community.
By 1877, Utah was home to over 125,000 Mormons.

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Legacy

The Mormon migration contributed to the settlement and development of the American West.
Millions of other pioneers will use the trail to settle west
Salt Lake City became a hub of Mormon culture and influence.
Today, the Mormon Trail is commemorated as a National Historic Trail with historic landmarks and monuments.

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Connection to Christianity

Mormonism is a form of Christian primitivism. Mainstream Christianity has come about in two ways:
- Orthodox churches were organized a few hundred years after the death of Christ
Protestant churches have attempted to reform perceived problems in Orthodox beliefs and practice

Mormonism is the restoration of Christ’s ancient church with its authority and power, done through modern revelation under the guidance of Jesus Christ.

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Congregation

After Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, Brigham Young was ordained President of the Mormon Church in December 1847
Young founded Salt Lake City, Utah where he established the headquarters of the Church of Latter-day Saints
Mormonism is the 4th largest religion in USA and has almost 14 million followers in the world today

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