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Crash Course US History Episode 17 - War and Expansion

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Episode detailing westward expansion in early to mid 1800s including Mexican - American War (Period 4 and into Period 5)

Show Transcript

hi I'm John Green this is Crash Course u.s. history and today we're going to discuss how the United States came to acquire two of its largest states Texas and there is another I believe the answer you're looking for is Alaska know me from the fast as you can clearly tell from the globe Alaskan statehood never happened no I am referring of course to California your computer today like Hawaii West but sea to shining sea West team I remember the journalist John O'Sullivan coined the phrase Manifest Destiny to describe America's god-given right to take over all the land between the Chicken Pacific Oceans regardless of who happened to be living Native Americans Mexicans French fur Trappers beavers bison prairie dogs passenger I'm not going to go so far as to give God credit for America's internal imperialism but I will say that our expansion had a lot to do with economics especially when you consider Jefferson's ideas about the Empire of Liberty the road until later in the show turn 19 century by 1860 newbie 300,000 people had made the trip that has since been immortalised by the classic educational video game Oregon Trail what family of 6 even a very hungry one cannot eat a buffalo but is extremely accurate in that a lot of people died of dysentery and cholera freaking disease organ at the time was jointly control R Us in Britain northern Mexico at the time included what are now Texas Arizona Utah Nevada New Mexico and California with the only two would like big settlements about 30,000 Mexicans with the New Mexico and about 3,500 in California and in both places they were outnumbered by Native Americans okay let's go to the became independent they were only about 2,000 tejanos there so to encourage Economic Development Mexico's government granted a huge tract of land to Moses Austin Austin Sons even made a tidy profit selling off smaller Parcels of that land until there were 7000 American American bear made Mexico nervous so backpedaling furiously Mexico land contracts and banned further immigration into Texas even though slavery was already abolished in Mexico up to now they had allowed Americans to bring slaves often joined by some John Leach demanded greater autonomy and the right to use slave labor thinking the better of it Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna decided to assert control over the rest of territory an army turning the elites demands for autonomy into a full-scale Revolt for Independence on March 13th 1836 Santa Anna defeated the American Defenders of the Alamo killing one play D7 or 188 sources differ Americans including Davy Crockett the Texas Rebels would remember the Alamo and come back to defeat Santa Anna I was forced to recognize Texas's Independence so Texas became the Lone Star Republic and quickly decided that it would be much better to be a less lonely star and join the United States so when 1837 Texas is Congress called for Union but all they heard back was not so fast Texas why because Texas wanted to be a slave state and adding an resling state would disrupt the balance in the Senate so Jackson and Van Buren did what good politicians always do they ignored Texas and then after Martin Van Buren go to letter mounting any plan to Annex Texas on the grounds that it would probably provoke War Democratic Convention Southerners threw their support behind slaveholding Andrew Jackson file James K Polk what's managed to get a presidential victory over perennial almost president Henry Clay and seeing the writing on the wall Congress Annex Texas in March of 1845 days before Paul took office Congressman forged an agreement with Britain to divide Oregon at the 49th parallel which restored the slave state free state balance in the Senate thanks. filter I wonder if we're going to be able to keep that slave state free state balance forever as president of California from Mexico try to purchase it from Mexico but they were like no which is Spanish for no to do things the hard way plain border region by which I mean intended fighting broke out between American and Mexican forces of War claim that the Mexicans and turnip on American soil although the soil in question was arguably not American unless you think of America's being in all of this Americans was support almost any War I'm sorry but it's true Check Out Among the Massachusetts transcendentalist who is probably better known than the war itself war and wrote on civil disobedience in his defense which many American high schoolers are assigned to read and expected not to understand less they take the message to heart and stop doing assignments like sing on civil disobedience who won Invasion and you allow him to make war it pleasure that critic was none other than noted peacenik Abraham Lincoln who would go on to do more to expand executive power than any president in the 19 Century except maybe Andrew Jackson was defeated in February 1847 but Mexico refused to give up so Winfield Scott who had the unfortunate nickname Paws and Feathers captured Mexico City itself in September a final peace treaty the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848 under which Mexico confirm the annex Turn It Up Texas and further seated California as well as several other places that we later become States but we couldn't fit on the matter in the us-mexico 15 million dollars and agreed to a back seized in Reed Texas thereby freeing Mexico from the shackles of Amarillo I'm sorry Amarillo I'm not I am I am this is great Stan the people of Amarillo hate me also the people of New Jersey Alaska is in the green parts of not America we don't even have Arizona New Mexico on the chalkboard pretty soon I will have a dated everyone anyway thanks for the land from Mexico are dream of expanding from the Atlantic to the Pacific was finally complete and as always happens when dreams come true trouble started after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between 75000 and 100000 Spanish speaking Mexicans and 150008 of Americans were under the jurisdiction of the United State despite the fact that the treaty granted Spanish descended Mexican male citizens legal and property rights the Mexicans were still seen as inferior to Anglo-Saxons whose Manifest Destiny it was to overspread the continent in the United States known as native his other was a new political party the American party dedicated entirely to such sentiment they were referred to as the know-nothings because when you ask them about their politics they would answer that they didn't know anything they didn't Prince Massachusetts you thought I was going to say New Jersey but I'm trying to make nice with the New Jersey people because they think they can pretty personal in California there weren't enough white English-speaking can residents to apply for Statehood until gold was discovered in 1848 leaving of course the San Francisco's NFL team the San Francisco Forty eighters 1850 the non Indian population in California had risen from $15,000 to 200,000 and it was $360,000 on the eve of the Civil War young men seeking their fortunes were white nearly 25,000 Chinese people migrated to California most as contract workers working for Mining and Railroad Company restaurants in work is cooks and laundresses and prostitutes but the ratio of men to women in California in 1860 was three to one time for the mystery. the rules here are simple I read the mystery document in a mother shocked by electricity or by the fact that I got it right we would beg to remind you that when your nation was it Wilderness in the nation from which you sprung barbarous we exercise most of the Arts and virtues of civilized life that we are possessed of a language into literature and that men's skill science in the Arts are numerous Among Us that the Productions of our manufactories are sale and workshops for no small share of Commerce of the world and that for centuries colleges School charitable institutions asylums and hospitals have been as common as in your own land and we beg to remark that so far as the history of our race in California goes it stamps with the test of truth that we are not the degraded race you would make us oh it said we had a great civilization when you were a willing this plus they called this barbarous how much either Ancient Rome or China I'm going to lean toward China that only gets me halfway there now I have to think of the name of the person and I don't know any famous people from Midnight 18 century John who lived in the US  people say I can't sing Norman awesome  call Singh where is California is known for its groovy laid-back oh your back hurts here's some pot attitude but that was not the case in the 19th century what do women in civil participation to White Snow Asians no black people or Native Americans could vote or testify in court Indians were kicked off their land if it had any mineral volume and thousands of their orphan children were sold as slave and all of this way to the Indian population of California dropping from $150,000 to about 30,000 between 18 8 in 1862 be admitted to the us as a free state or as a slave state who are the 36-30 line and half is above it to New Free Soil Party formed in 1848 calling for the limiting of slavery's expansion in the west so that it can be open for white people too can vend work I just want to be clear that most of the people who were for limiting slavery we're not like on racist admirably whiskered Martin Van Buren for the presidency what ignominy who is cast then split the northern vote allowing the Afra mention Zachary Taylor to window in 1850 when California finally did ask to be admitted into the Union it was as riesterer's freaked out because they saw the beginning of the end of slavery but then to the rescue came Henry Clay for his last hurrah I said we can kick this problem turn the road once more and brokered a four-part plan that became known rather anti-climactic Lee as the Compromise of 1850 historians can you name nothing before points were on California would be admitted as a free state to the slave trade but not slavery would be outlawed in Washington DC three and new super harsh Fugitive Slave would be enacted in for popular sovereignty Mexico the local white inhabitants could decide for themselves whether the state would be play for free when it applied to be part of the United States the Compromise of 1850 a great reminder that nothing protects the rights of minorities like the tyranny of the majority plate over the building which noted at that John C Calhoun was so sick that he had to have his pro-slavery anti compromise remarks read by a colleague on the other side New York Senator William where did abolitionists also argued against compromise based on slavery being you no wrong a greater crisis for 10 hole Waldo Emerson predicted the United States acquired part of Mexico it would be like swallowing arson indeed arsenic can be as slow-acting poison now I don't think Ralph Waldo when was a good enough writer to a thought that far ahead but he was right people say that Manifest Destiny made the Civil War inevitable play the story of manifest destiny the underlying problem the United States didn't govern according to its own ideals it didn't extend a Liberties to Native Americans or Mexican Americans were in play populations or slaves are watching and we'll see you next week when things will get much worse crash course is produced and directed by Stan Miller our script supervisor is married at the shows set my high school history teacher role Meyer and myself are associate producer is Danica Johnson and our Graphics team is thawed Cafe play comments were they will be answered by our team of historians thank you for watching crash course in this we say in my hometown don't forget to be awesome

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Crash Course US History Episode 17 - War and Expansion

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