About This Chapter
Who's It For?
Anyone who needs help learning or mastering Manifest Destiny material will benefit from the lessons in this chapter. There is no faster or easier way to learn about Manifest Destiny. Among those who would benefit are:
- Students who want to learn a broad topic in a short amount of time
- Students who are looking for easy ways to identify the most important information on the topic
- Students who have fallen behind in memorizing events and people associated with Manifest Destiny
- Students who prefer multiple ways of learning American history (visual or auditory)
- Students who have missed class time and need to catch up
- Students who have limited time to study for an upcoming exam
How It Works:
- Watch each video in the course to review all key topics.
- Refer to the video transcripts to reinforce your learning.
- Test your understanding of each lesson with a short quiz.
- Complete your review with the Manifest Destiny chapter exam.
Why It Works:
- Study Efficiently: The lessons in this course cover only information you need to know.
- Retain What You Learn: Engaging animations and real-life examples make topics easy to grasp.
- Be Ready on Test Day: Take the Manifest Destiny chapter exam to make sure you're prepared.
- Get Extra Support: Ask our subject-matter experts any American history question. They're here to help!
- Study With Flexibility: Watch videos on any web-ready device.
Students Will Review:
This chapter summarizes the material students need to know about Manifest Destiny for a standard American history course. Topics covered include:
- The Oregon Trail
- Manifest Destiny
- Accomplishments of Presidents Tyler and Polk
- The Mexican-American War
- The California Gold Rush
1. The Oregon Trail: Westward Migration to the Pacific Ocean
Throughout the first half of the 19th century, the United States expanded its borders all the way to the Pacific Ocean, fulfilling its manifest destiny. Find out about the reasons people wanted this land, the path that took them there and the politicians who supported it all.
2. Manifest Destiny's Texas Annexation Problem
Find out why it took five presidents (Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler and Polk) to get Texas annexed into the U.S. and added as a state during the era of Manifest Destiny.
3. President John Tyler: American Expansion and Sectional Concerns
In the presidential election of 1840, 'Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!' prevailed. But with President Harrison's death just a month later, Vice President John Tyler took the oath of office. Was 'His Accidency' really as bad a president as some critics suggest?
4. President James K. Polk's Accomplishments in the Lower 48 States
President James Polk may be obscure, but he wasn't insignificant. Learn about his controversial territorial acquisitions that define most of what Americans today call the 'Lower 48' states.
5. The Mexican-American War, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo & the Wilmot Proviso
The controversial Mexican-American War lasted from 1846-1848. In this lesson, discover how the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo expanded the southern part of the United States all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
6. Election of 1848 and the California Gold Rush
General Zachary Taylor was elected president in 1848, hoping to see the peaceful addition of land from the Mexican cession. 'Old Rough and Ready' wasn't prepared for the California gold rush.
7. Primary Source: New York Daily Herald Article on Gold Discovery in California
Perhaps the most famous event in the history of California was the discovery of gold in 1848. The subsequent gold rush saw huge numbers of Americans venture across North America in search of riches.
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Other chapters within the American History to 1877 Study Guide course