I've uploaded year 1847 to the TSP Wiki...
http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1847
Here are some one liners...
The 'Wicked War' and Manifest Destiny -- This is the Mexican-American war.
The Germans Have Landed in Texas -- This is immigration with a purpose but without enough money.
All Is Well in the Utah Territory -- The LDS'ers walk into the Salt Lake Valley. Some of the dialog seems contrived so I talk about how real events can seem contrived... because they often are contrived and also real.
In Other News -- The first chocolate bar, the Necco Wafer and peanut brittle!
The 'Wicked War' and Manifest Destiny
Mexico City has fallen to US forces under the command of Winfield Scott as the Mexican-America War draws to a close. Santa Anna has been defeated again. It has been an ugly business... a wicked war... because it didn't have to happen. Few leaders wanted it. Henry Clay tried to ignore it, but war has a certain momentum... a "manifest destiny" as they put it. It started over the annexation of Texas by the United States and a fear that Mexico would retaliate. Troops were sent under the command of "Old Rough and Ready" Taylor... the future President Zachery Taylor. The real dispute was over a strip of land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. When hostile troops are within shouting distance from each other, bad things happen. War was declared and fast as you can say "Bob's your uncle", thousands lie dead on the field of battle and the US Marines are marching into the "Halls of Montezuma". By early next year, solemn oaths will be declared, treaties will be signed and Mexico will become a lot smaller. [1] [2]-
- "I do not think there was ever a more wicked war than that waged by the United States on Mexico. I thought so at the time, when I was a youngster, only I had not moral courage enough to resign."
- --Ulysses S. Grant, 1879 [3]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
OK. Manifest Destiny is a phrase coined in 1845 as a argument in favor of annexing Texas, but it became a popular idea only long after the Mexican-American War was over. Manifest Destiny originally meant that the next step was obviously provided by Providence which meant that it was OK to take Texas from Mexico because it was all part of God's plan. In later years, Manifest Destiny became something like... if I can beat you up and take all your stuff, it is because I was meant to beat you up and take all your stuff. In contrast, I believe in using general principles to inform my actions, so even though it seems manifestly obvious that Alaska and Washington state should meet somewhere along the Pacific Coast, I will not force a war with Canada simply to make that happen. My principles won't allow it. The Canadians are safe around me. Did the Mexican-American War have to happen? No. Texas was long gone and California would have broken away in any case. Mexico was too weak to hold those territories. [4] [5]
OK. Manifest Destiny is a phrase coined in 1845 as a argument in favor of annexing Texas, but it became a popular idea only long after the Mexican-American War was over. Manifest Destiny originally meant that the next step was obviously provided by Providence which meant that it was OK to take Texas from Mexico because it was all part of God's plan. In later years, Manifest Destiny became something like... if I can beat you up and take all your stuff, it is because I was meant to beat you up and take all your stuff. In contrast, I believe in using general principles to inform my actions, so even though it seems manifestly obvious that Alaska and Washington state should meet somewhere along the Pacific Coast, I will not force a war with Canada simply to make that happen. My principles won't allow it. The Canadians are safe around me. Did the Mexican-American War have to happen? No. Texas was long gone and California would have broken away in any case. Mexico was too weak to hold those territories. [4] [5]
The Germans Have Landed in Texas
The first major waves of German immigrants have hit Texas. It has been a rough start. The migration is purposeful. It simply hasn't been well funded. (An old story.) The Nobility Society was established for the purpose of creating a New Germany in Central Texas. Germans have already purchased land in Texas, but as the new colonists arrive, many of those land deals fall through. The mass migration is stalled as German immigrants wait along the Texas coast. Many die of coastal diseases such as malaria. Prince Solms is heading the push into Texas on behalf of the Society. He is well-meaning if not always wise. He has established the town of New Braunfels which will grow into the 4th largest city in Texas by 1850. Fredericksburg is also growing and will one day be the home of US Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. But with the project near bankruptcy, the new colonists take out advertisements in their hometown newspapers telling their fellows of their plight. The Nobility Society is shamed into arranging a line of credit for the new arrivals. It won't be enough, but it will help. The Germans are going to be a driving force in Texas history from this time forward. [6] [7]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
The real estate agents acting on behalf of the Germans hadn't actually seen the properties in Central Texas. They assumed that Central Texas is similar to East Texas. Big mistake. Generally speaking, Central Texas is a massive flat rock with a few inches of dirt covering the surface and those things that look like bushes are called "trees". When tornado season hits, people ask why Texans don't have basements to ride out the storms. The answer is that digging in Central Texas usually involves explosives, jackhammers or some sort of heavy grinding machine. Farming is tough, so the early German immigrants had their hands full, but their population growth proves that they worked through those problems fairly quickly. My only question is why so many Germans moved to Texas at all. There was overpopulation in Germany but that was a minor consideration. My guess is that the German nobility had greater opportunities for growth in Texas. As Germany consolidated, there were too many nobles for too few slots. Prince Solms was a good example. He was the younger son of the younger son of a minor nobleman. His chance at land ownership lay in a place like Texas, but when his wife refused to leave Germany that put an end to it and he returned home. [8]
The real estate agents acting on behalf of the Germans hadn't actually seen the properties in Central Texas. They assumed that Central Texas is similar to East Texas. Big mistake. Generally speaking, Central Texas is a massive flat rock with a few inches of dirt covering the surface and those things that look like bushes are called "trees". When tornado season hits, people ask why Texans don't have basements to ride out the storms. The answer is that digging in Central Texas usually involves explosives, jackhammers or some sort of heavy grinding machine. Farming is tough, so the early German immigrants had their hands full, but their population growth proves that they worked through those problems fairly quickly. My only question is why so many Germans moved to Texas at all. There was overpopulation in Germany but that was a minor consideration. My guess is that the German nobility had greater opportunities for growth in Texas. As Germany consolidated, there were too many nobles for too few slots. Prince Solms was a good example. He was the younger son of the younger son of a minor nobleman. His chance at land ownership lay in a place like Texas, but when his wife refused to leave Germany that put an end to it and he returned home. [8]
All Is Well in the Utah Territory
Brigham Young sees the Salt Lake Valley spread out before his eyes and says, "this is the place." He has been leading his band of Latter Day Saint pioneers over the Oregon Trail and California Trail until he branches onto the Mormon Trail. (I doubt it was called the Mormon Trail initially. These are the early days.) 148 Pioneers walk into the Salt Lake Valley and make it their own. Young marks the spot where the Salt Lake Temple is to be built and he is elected President of the Church. When he began this journey he was leading his people into Mexico. After he arrived, it came under United States jurisdiction due to the treaty that ended the Mexican American War. In the midst of the wilderness, fine distinctions are lost. After suffering the murder of their founder, Joseph Smith, and the abandonment of their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois, they have found their place. Next year, Pioneer Day will be celebrated and so it will be celebrated every year thereafter... often accompanied by the hymn "All is Well" or as it will come to be known, "Come, Come Ye Saints." ([Click here.]) [9] [10]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
OK. I'm skeptical that it all happened exactly like that but then again, when the participants in an event realize that what they are doing is historical in nature and will be recorded for posterity, everyone acts unnaturally. Someone shouting "Act natural!" doesn't help. Even recorded events can seem unreal. Neil Armstrong stepped off the Lunar Lander of Apollo 11 onto the surface of the Moon and said, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." I heard the words myself. The words were recorded as he said them, but the world conspired to make that event seem so unnatural that some people still believe that it never really happened. (FYI, guys. It happened.) So if someone says that such-and-such an event seems contrived, remember that the event could have happened EXACTLY that way and still feel contrived. There are times when one cannot avoid it. [11]
OK. I'm skeptical that it all happened exactly like that but then again, when the participants in an event realize that what they are doing is historical in nature and will be recorded for posterity, everyone acts unnaturally. Someone shouting "Act natural!" doesn't help. Even recorded events can seem unreal. Neil Armstrong stepped off the Lunar Lander of Apollo 11 onto the surface of the Moon and said, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." I heard the words myself. The words were recorded as he said them, but the world conspired to make that event seem so unnatural that some people still believe that it never really happened. (FYI, guys. It happened.) So if someone says that such-and-such an event seems contrived, remember that the event could have happened EXACTLY that way and still feel contrived. There are times when one cannot avoid it. [11]
In Other News
- Production begins on the Necco Wafer candy. It's called a "hub wafer" at first. They look like large, flat pills and they will become very popular with soldiers during the Civil War. [14]
- Peanut brittle is invented this year... or maybe not. Candy makers will "stumble-upon" or "accidentally" create several candy confections over the next few years. The explanations will all sound like the stories someone's crazy uncle would tell about how he invented the Enchirito for Taco Bell. "You wouldn't believe it!" [15]
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