The Mexican War sparked division within the nation, the legitimacy of Manifest Destiny was questioned by northern Whigs, and the motives of the Democrats for war were scrutinized. The war saw high rates of military desertion. In the Midterm Election of 1846, the Whigs gained control of Congress, which was seen as a rejection of the Mexican War.
The Mormons in Mexican Cession
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, founded by Joseph Smith in New York, was a conservative patriarchal society that emphasized community, discipline, and individual hard work. They faced persecution and consistently moved westward, eventually settling in Utah. When Joseph Smith claimed to receive a revelation justifying polygamy, it led to his arrest and subsequent murder by an anti-Mormon mob. Brigham Young then led the Mormons into Utah, where they created Salt Lake City. The standoff with the Federal government eventually led to Utah banning polygamy and joining the Union in 1896.
In January 1848, the discovery of gold by John Sutter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains sparked the influx of 80,000 forty-niners, mostly men, from around the world into northern California. This led to the rapid growth of San Francisco and California as a whole. The gold rush had both positive and negative effects, with businesses that catered to the miners doing well, but with wild mining camps filled with unsavory activities such as gambling and prostitution. The gold rush had a profound impact on the environment and the occupation of Mexican land grants was ignored by many of the miners.
The Impact of the Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush had long-term effects on the state's economy and society. It led to the rapid expansion and growth of San Francisco, but it also had negative effects such as environmental damage and the displacement of indigenous communities. Thousands of forty-niners stayed in California, leading to its rapid development and application for statehood by the end of 1849.
The Wilmot Proviso, proposed by David Wilmot in 1846, advocated for the banning of slavery from any land acquired from Mexico. It passed the House but failed in the Senate, igniting the question of slavery spreading westward. This led to the rise of the Free-Soil Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery and held that it was an institution of aristocratic men and a threat to republicanism. The party attracted various groups such as Conscience Whigs, anti-slavery Democrats, and abolitionists.
In the election of 1848, the Democrats nominated Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan, who advocated for popular sovereignty as the answer to slavery in the western territories. The Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor of Louisiana, a general during the Mexican War who defended the institution of slavery but not its spread into the territories. The Free-Soil Party, led by Martin Van Buren of New York, also played a significant role in the election.
In conclusion, the Mexican Cession, the California Gold Rush, and the issue of slavery during this period had significant and lasting impacts on the development and politics of the United States.
