page_title: History of U.S. foreign policy, 1829–1861
hierarchical_section_title: History of U.S. foreign policy, 1829–1861
context_page_description: The history of U.S. foreign policy from 1829 to 1861 concerns the foreign
  policy of the United States during the presidential administrations of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. During this era, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas, acquired the Mexican Cession by defeating Mexico in the Mexican–American War and partitioned Oregon Country with Great Britain. The period began with the inauguration of Jackson in 1829, while the onset of the American Civil War in 1861 marked the start of the next period in U.S. foreign policy.
  Jackson's foreign policy focused on expanding trade and settling spoliation claims, and he reached an agreement with Britain to open Canadian and Caribbean ports to U.S. trade. After gaining independence from Mexico in 1835, the Republic of Texas sought annexation by the United States, but President Jackson and President Van Buren both opposed annexation due to fears of stirring up sectional unrest.
context_section_description: The history of U.S. foreign policy from 1829 to 1861 concerns the foreign
  policy of the United States during the presidential administrations of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. During this era, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas, acquired the Mexican Cession by defeating Mexico in the Mexican–American War and partitioned Oregon Country with Great Britain. The period began with the inauguration of Jackson in 1829, while the onset of the American Civil War in 1861 marked the start of the next period in U.S. foreign policy.
  Jackson's foreign policy focused on expanding trade and settling spoliation claims, and he reached an agreement with Britain to open Canadian and Caribbean ports to U.S. trade. After gaining independence from Mexico in 1835, the Republic of Texas sought annexation by the United States, but President Jackson and President Van Buren both opposed annexation due to fears of stirring up sectional unrest. Texas had been settled by many American slave-owners, and many anti-slavery Northerners were opposed to adding a new slave state; others opposed annexation because they believed it would lead to war with Mexico. Nonetheless, President Tyler made the annexation of Texas the chief goal of his presidency, and it became a major campaign issue in the 1844 presidential election. After Polk's victory in the election, the United States annexed Texas, and tensions at the Texas-Mexico border led to the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846. The U.S. defeated Mexico in the war, and gained control of the Mexican provinces of Alta California and the New Mexico through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
  Tensions with Britain escalated after the outbreak of the Canadian Rebellions of 1837–1838, but President Van Buren and General Winfield Scott avoided war despite several incidents. In 1842, Britain and the United States agreed to the Webster–Ashburton Treaty, thereby resolving several border issues. The two countries agreed to partition Oregon Country at the 49th parallel north in the 1846 Oregon Treaty. In 1853, the borders of the present-day contiguous United States took their current shape when the United States and Mexico agreed to the Gadsden Purchase. The Polk, Pierce, and Buchanan administrations sought to gain control of the Spanish colony of Cuba, but opposition from both Spain and domestic anti-slavery elements ensured that it remained part of Spain. The United States expanded its influence in the Pacific Ocean throughout the 1840s and 1850s, and in 1842 President Tyler announced that the U.S. would oppose European colonization of the Hawaiian Islands. The Perry Expedition of 1853–1854 opened trade with Japan and ultimately set the Meiji Restoration in motion.
caption: President James K. Polk directed U.S. foreign policy from 1845 to 1849
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