A Profile in Courage

"Always do what is right, regardless of whether it is popular.  Ignore the pressures, the temptations, the false compromises."

                           ~ John F. Kennedy

       In 1957, Senator John F. Kennedy published Profiles in Courage which examined the lives of eight U.S. Senators who had served during crucial times in American history.  Kennedy's objective was to show how not all those who serve in government are politicians who are only looking out for their own best interest, but dedicated individuals who are willing to sacrifice their own political careers for the sake of the United States.  Kennedy's book would bring him national attention, winning the Pulitzer Prize and becoming a best seller.  The Profiles in Courage Award was set up by members of the Kennedy family.  The award is presented to "a public official... whose actions best demonstrates the qualities of politically courageous leadership in the spirit of Profiles in Courage." 

   During the winter of 1850, Daniel Webster was nearing the end of a remarkable political career. He had been in the federal government since 1813, serving as a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the entire time falling short of his ultimate goal: the presidency.  Webster was both admired and reviled by his peers.  He had a brilliant mind, and was able to recite his speeches entirely from memory.  While not as philosophical as John C. Calhoun, Webster was able to Webster would be approached by his colleague and sometimes foe, Henry Clay from Kentucky for help on some legislation that Clay had been working on.

       The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had been able to hold the country together for thirty years, but the nation was being torn apart again.  Clay had developed a compromise that he hoped would prevent the Union from breaking. He knew that he would need help getting his legislation passed.  He was concerned that members of the Senate would feel that the Compromise would only benefit the South.  If he could get the support from a Northern Senator it would make his plan more legitimate.

      Webster faced a major moral dilemma.  He was one of slavery's harshest critics and was representing a state that was the home to the nation's leading anti-slavery newspapers as well as numerous abolitionist groups. Supporting Clay's plan would alienate his supporters at home and could cost him his law practice in Boston as well as any chance of re-election.  Webster agreed to help Clay and would agonize over his decision for the next three months. 

   In February of 1850, several Southern Senators and Congressmen would meet in Nashville.  There, they discussed the possibility of leaving the Union.  The Southern politicians felt that the federal government was threatening their way of life.  If California was to be admitted as a free state, then the balance of power had now shifted in the Senate in favor of the North.  

   By the time the Senate hearing on the compromise was set to take place in early March, the anticipation had escalated.  Politicians, diplomats, writers, and tourists all descended on Washington to hear Daniel Webster's speak.  The Senate Gallery was filled two hours before the hearing was to take place, and many members of the Senate had given up their seats to women.

   When Webster began his most famous speech he looked around the Senate Chamber.  Some of the most talented men who had ever served where now sitting, waiting to hear him speak.  Sam Houston, Henry Clay, Thomas Hart Benton, Stephen Douglas, and Jefferson Davis all sat out in the crowd, anticipating what Webster's speech would be like.  Absent was John C. Calhoun, who had been suffering for months various ailments.  

      In his opening remarks, Webster declared that he was speaking to the Senate "not as a Massachusetts man, but as an American."  Suddenly, John C. Calhoun appeared in the Senate Chamber.  Dressed in a thick black overcoat, he was helped into his seat by an assistant.  In less than two years, Clay, Webster, and Calhoun would all be dead. This was their last moment in history, and all three were personally invested in this issue, many Southern politicians looked at Calhoun's actions during the Nullification Crisis admirably, and a way to justify their own beliefs on slavery.  Webster acknowledged the Senator from South Carolina and throughout his speech, Calhoun would look at Webster sphinx like.

        Wesbter's speech would go on for 3 hours and 11 minutes, rarely using his notes on his desk.  He stressed the importance of preserving the Union at all costs.  When his speech was over, the Chamber was silent.  For those that witnessed Webster's speech they would go on to say that it was the greatest speech that they had witnessed.  The Compromise of 1850 would pass both the House and Senate.   The newspapers of the South praised Webster while the papers from the North compared him to Benedict Arnold.  Webster would lose the nomination for President months later, northern Whigs refused to cast their vote for him.  Back in Boston, many clients left his law firm and he would not be nominated again for the Senate.

Webster sacrificed his personal beliefs for the sake of the Union, a decision that would end up being very costly for him.

   

The Missouri Compromise

"Step with care and great tact, and remember that life is a great balancing act"

                          ~ Dr. Seuss

  As the nation expanded after the War of 1812, a very delicate balancing act was taking place.  The number of slave holding states in the South wad equal to the number of free states in the North.  The Northern states had a larger population and therefore had more members in the House of Representatives but in the Senate there was the same number of Senators from the North and the South.  With this balance in place it met that no law could be passed that would ban slavery.  An unsteady truce would remain in Washington until 1820.

    By 1820, there were 11 slave holding states and 11 free states in the Union.  There would be 22 Senators representing the South and 22 Senators representing the North.  The Missouri Territory had required enough residents to be eligible for statehood.  Since there were already over 2,000 slaves living in Missouri, it seemed logical that it would be admitted as a slave holding state.  Senators from the North did not like this idea.  If Missouri was admitted as a slave state that meant that the South would now have the advantage in the Senate and be able to dictate the issue of slavery.

   As the debate wore on in the Senate, one Senator proposed a Compromise.  Senator Henry Clay from Kentucky came up with a solution to solve the issue of Missouri's statehood that would satisfy both the North and the South.  He proposed that Missouri be admitted as a slave state but that Maine be admitted into the Union as well but as a free state.  This would return the balance of power so that neither the North nor the South had control over the Senate.  The second part of the Compromise would be to draw a line at the 36, 30 latitude line (the southern border of Missouri).  Any territory from the Louisiana  Purchase that was north of that line would be designated as free territory. No resident of that land would be permitted to own slaves.  Land from the Louisiana Purchase that was South of that line would be designated as "slave-holding" territory.

Which side do you think got the better part of that deal?

Many Senators from the South were eager to see if the line from the Missouri Compromise would be extended to the Pacific Ocean.  Prior to the Mexican-American War, many Congressmen and Senators were eager to go to war with Mexico to obtain lands west of Texas.  

The Missouri Compromise was far from perfect and did not resolve the issue of slavery, but only prolonging the issue for another time.  Henry's Clay's attempt at preserving the Union would last for 30 years before it was declared un-constitutional.  Many settlers felt as though the Federal Government did not have the right to decide if lands were open to slavery or not.  

The balancing act would continue for a three more decades.  When Arkansas was eligible for statehood in 1836, it could only be admitted into the Union after Congress declared that Michigan would become a state in 1837.  When Congress allowed Florida to become a state in 1845, the law also said that free state Iowa would be allowed to enter the Union. 

It would be when California was ready for statehood that the balancing act would come to an end.

Test on Tuesday

For the exam there will be 30 questions, 25 of them need to be answered.  

Here are some helpful hints:

1.) Study the people from the Study Guide.  Try and remember one important fact from their life.

2.) Understand the people from the Mexican-American War.  Be able to tell me if they were for or against the Mexican-American War.

3.) Why did the U.S. originally not want to annex Texas?  

4.) Why were many people from the North against the Mexican-American War?

5.) Why were many people from the South for the Mexican-American War?

6.) Take some time to look at the Gold Rush and Into the West Readings.

7.) Do Not Wait Until Monday Night to start Studying!

Extra help before and after school tomorrow.

GO Pittsburgh

The Donner Party

    One of the most famous and tragic stories to come out of the American West is the tale of the Donner Party.  After traveling over 2,3000 miles, a  group of emigrants became stranded in the Sierra Mountains less then 150 miles from their destination.  

      The story of the Donner Party begins in Springfield Illinois, where three families set out in April 1846 to begin a new life in California.  The families of George Donner, his brother Jacob, and James F. Reed all traveled to Independence Missouri.  There they stocked up on supplies and joined a larger wagon train heading to California.

        The families from Illinois stayed with the large wagon train for two months.  They stayed close to schedule crossing through the Great Plains.  The route to California was well known and well traveled.  Wagons wheels had created ruts in the ground, some several feet deep.  Along the trail were assortments of belongings that were left behind by the emigrants.  Men and women walked alongside their wagons, while children and the elderly stayed inside.  On a good day a wagon could travel between eight and ten miles a day. 

   George Donner carried with him "An Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California" by Lansford Hastings.  In  this guidebook, Hastings described a shortcut to California by going south of the Great Salt Lake and through a desert to get to California.  Hastings had never attempted the route himself until after several groups had set out to try his theory.  

      The Donners and several other families decided to split from the larger wagon train and attempt to use the "Hastings Cutoff".  The group elected George Donner captain of the wagon train and became known as the Donner Party.  The "short cut" would add an extra 125 miles, adding an extra three weeks to their journey  The desert that Hastings said could be crossed in two days, was 80 miles and wide and took the Donner Party 5 days to cross.  By the time they crossed the desert, one member of the Party had died and all were suffering from dehydration and some were near death. 

   Following the Humboldt River proved to be a challenge as well.  Several wagons broke down and dozens of oxen, cattle, and mules died or ran away.  By the time the wagons had gotten to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, they were all weakened from the journey.  It was decided to rest for five days in the valley before embarking on the final dangerous push up the mountains.

    On the fourth day it began to snow on the summit of the mountains.  The emigrants attempted to scale the summit but over five feet had fallen already and the wagons could not make it up.  It was decided to return to the valley and make a winter camp.  It was October 28th, the snow would not melt until mid-May.  

     By mid-December, supplies were running low, and 15 volunteers (10 men and 5 women) attempted to cross the mountains and find help in California.  They called themselves "The Forelorn Hope".  As members of this group began to die of starvation the surviving members resorted to eating their fallen volunteers.  2 men and all of the women would survive the ordeal and arrived in present day Sacramento on January 18, 1847.

   The First Relief Team set out from California and found  that 14 emigrants had died and that the survivors had been living off of boiled leather, tree bark, and pine needles.  21 survivors set out from the camp on February 22nd.

   Three more Relief Team came to the aid of the Donner Party victims.  Each time a new team arrived they found the camp in further disarray.   As the weeks dragged on between rescues more and more people died and were then eaten by the surviving emigrants.

   By the time the Fourth Relief reached the camp on April 14th, there was only one surviving member of the Donner Party to be found.  He was found alone in a cabin with several partially eaten bodies around him.  

   Of the original 87 members of the Donner Party: 39 died and 48 survived. 

Stories of the Donner Party traveled across the United States.  For a time travel to California slowed down to a trickle, many people back East afraid of meeting a fate like those of the Donners.  It was not until the discovery of gold that California would begin to have large amounts of people emigrating there. 

    

Saint Patrick's Battalion

   During the Mexican-American War roughly 9,000 American soldiers deserted the army.  Many had only signed up for the promise of free land and an advanced 3 months pay.  Some felt that the war was unjust and wanted no part of it.  The government of the United States imposed harsh punishments for those that left the army before their enlistments expired, and officers were very strict on those that were caught leaving.  

    The conditions in the military during the War were rough.  Thousands of soldiers died from drinking contaminated water.  Cholera and malaria spread very quickly through military camps.  Commanding officers were often well educated men from West Point and the Virginia Military Institute who had difficulties disciplining their men. At times Mexican homes and villages were looted by drunken American soldiers while innocent civilians were murdered and women raped. 

     Irish and German soldiers found military life very challenging.  The immigrants were often persecuted by officers as well as other enlisted men.  Catholics were forbidden to worship while they were serving.  Some immigrants began to feel that the war was only being fought to expand slavery and make the plantation owners of the South richer.  

     The Irish saw the similarities between the treatment of the American treatment of the Mexican and how the British treated the Irish in Ireland.  The British were a Protestant nation like the United States, that took Catholic property and destroyed Catholic Churches in Ireland.  Some Irish and German soldiers felt that they should come to the assistance of Catholic Mexico.

      The Mexican government had been actively seeking support from American deserters.  Mexican soldiers were often militia who were drafted into serving the government.  These men were mostly farmers, not professional soldiers.  The Mexican government also made promises of land and money for those who fought.  Mexican priests had published pamphlets encouraging Catholics to come to Mexico's assistance against the Protestant U.S.

   John Riley, an Irish immigrant from Galway had encouraged his fellow Irishmen to abandon the U.S. and fight for Mexico.  Riley's soldiers became known as the Saint Patrick's Battalion or San Patricos.  The Battalion was considered to be one of the best for the Mexican army, earning a large amount of medals for various battles.  Santa Anna himself was to have said that he could have won the war if he only had 100 more Irish soldiers.   

             The Battalion was captured following the battle of Churubusco, outside Mexico City.  48 men that were captured were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.  General Taylor ordered that the execution take place on September 12th at dawn, just as the American flag was being raised above the city of Churubusco.  Taylor wanted the sight of the American flag to be the last image the traitors would see, brining that image to hell with them.  Typically, soldiers who were found guilty of treason were executed by firing squad, a more honorable death then hanging.  Hanging was only reserved for spies, the worst type of punishment for the lowest class of soldier. The deserters were branded with the letter "D" on their cheek.  A punishment that they were to carry for the rest of their lives. 

   The U.S. military did not formally acknowledge the Saint Patrick's Battalion until 1916.  The actions of the Irish and German immigrants was considered a black mark in the history of the U.S. army.  The members of the battalion that were not executed disappeared from history.  Appearing only in records regarding the purchase of land.  In Mexico and Ireland they are considered martyrs, dying for a cause.  On September 12th, in Galway, the flag of Mexico is flown above city hall in honor of those that gave their lives for Mexico.  In Mexico City the day is remembered with bagpipes and the laying of a wreath on a memorial dedicated to the Irish martyrs. 

"We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God"

In 1845, a group of American soldiers under General Zachary Taylor was ordered by President Polk to patrol the land bordering the Rio Grande.  As the troops set out to secure the border with Mexico, Polk was well aware that the military presence of the United States might provoke Mexico into fighting.

   In April, Colonel Cross, an assistant to General Taylor was reported missing after he was ordered to ride up the Rio Grande.  Eleven days later, his body was found with severe head wounds.  It was assumed that Mexicans had crossed the river and attacked him.  On April 25th, a patrol was attacked by Mexican soldiers.   Sixteen soldiers died, others were wounded, and all the rest were captured.  General Taylor sent a message to President Polk: "Hostilities may now be considered as commenced."  This attack would be the opening shots of the Mexican-American War, a conflict that would forever alter the histories of Mexico and the United States.  

   The circumstances surrounding the attack on Taylor's troops are suspicious and cloudy.  Did the attack take place on Mexican soil or American soil?  To the Mexicans living in that area, the United States had invaded their territory and started the fighting.  For many Americans, the attack was a sign of open hostility towards the United States and an insult to American integrity and honor.  

I want you to think of the reading as a book or a movie.  The reading was filled with characters who had their own motivations and beliefs.  In class, we took a closer look at some of the people who were living during the Mexican-American War.  Some, like Walt Whitman, were very eager to go to war with Mexico.  Whitman wrote, "Mexico must be throughly chastised (punished)! ...Let our arms now be carried with a spirit which shall teach the world  that, while we are not forward to a quarrel, America knows how to crush as well as how to expand!"

   Whitman, a poet and author, seems very eager for the U.S. to punish Mexico.  He feels that the world will learn that the United States is not going to seek out trouble, but will defend itself if there is the need.  Many Americans were caught up in  this patriotic fever of the time.  

   Some politicians, like Congressman Joshua Giddings were against the war.  Giddings referred to the war as being "unholy, aggressive, and unjust."  Giddings feared that the war will allow the evils of  slavery to expand across the continent.  

A young politician from Illinois doubted the validity of Polk's claim that the United States was attacked.  He challenged the President to show him the spot where American blood was shed.  His "spot resolutions" gained him some early recognition in his young political career.  While serving in the House of Representatives he would declare that while "the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced" Abraham Lincoln would vote for supplying the American soldiers with supplies.  Not denying those serving of weapons, food, and clothing. 

Texan Revolution or How to Lose Texas in Four Months

    Six different flags have flown over the Texas: France, Spain, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States.  Out of all the states in the Union, Texas has one of the most storied and richest histories.  During the 1820s, many Americans would travel to Texas seeking cheap land and the ability to start a new life.    Texas owes a great amount credit for its existence to a person who did not even live there. 

      Moses Austin was born in Dureham Connecticut. Austin owned a lead mine and company in Virginia.  He was not the most business savvy man, and would eventually lose his fortune and be sued by his former partner, his brother.  Austin eventually settled out in Missouri where he tried his luck in lead again.  His business thrived and was very successful and he began to look for a way of investing his money.  

    In 1821, he received special permission from the Spanish crown to establish a colony in Texas.   Austin's goal was to rent the land that he purchased from Spain to Americans and act as a landlord.  Austin would die before his expedition would set out but would give control of the enterprise to his son Stephen.

   Stephen F. Austin had reluctantly agreed to join his father's land business.  His father's contract with Spain was no longer valid, Mexico would gain independence from Spain a few months after Moses Austin died.  Stephen traveled to Mexico and attempted to get the new government to honor the contract that his father had made with Spain.

   Mexico was in a difficult position in 1821.  The new government was facing the challenging task of ruling a nation that was larger then the present day United States.  Many Mexican officials were concerned that Texas would be lost to the British, Comanche Indians, or even taken over by their American neighbors.  In an attempt to populate the area, they began to offer land at a cheap price to anyone who would move there.  These new residents would not have to pay taxes for a few years as an added bonus.

    The Mexican government agreed to let Austin lead some Americans into Texas but they must agree to follow several stipulations.  The three important ones were: 1.) Residents of Texas must become Mexican citizens and pay taxes to Mexico, 2.) They must follow all Mexican laws and 3.) Residents must convert to Catholicism.     Austin and his emigrants agreed to these rules, and by 1825, 300 Americans moved into Texas.

    Over time thousands of Americans, many from the South would travel to Texas.  For many Mexicans this was an un-welcomed sight.  Americans ignored Mexican laws, including the ban on slavery and refused to assimilate.  The Mexican government became concerned that these Americans would begin to dominate Texas.  Mexico passed a law making it illegal for anyone from the U.S. to emigrate to Texas. 

   Mexico became under the control of General Atonio de Padua Maria Severino Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron. (or Santa Anna if you do not have the time for all that)  Santa Anna began to crack down on Texas and enforce Mexican laws that had been neglected for a period of time.  When Mexican officials attempted to collect taxes from residents of Texas, many Texans felt that their rights were being trampled on.  

Talks of breaking away from Mexico and joining the United States circulated around Texas.  The U.S. did not want to annex Texas out of fear of fighting a war with Mexico.   If Texans wanted to break away from Mexico it would have to be done on their own.