John Charles Frémont and “Manifest Destiny”

John Charles Frémont and “Manifest Destiny”. . , Conflicting Views on Human Worth , In 1842, US Army Captain John Charles Frémont led a westem expedition to explore and map the Oregon Trail. He would become known as "The Pathfinder,” the man who mapped the West. His wife, Jessie Frémont, compiled accounts of his adventures stirring the nation's fervor for a coast-to-coast empire that was the United States "Manifest Destiny.” This destiny would eradicate the cultures of indigenous peoples across the continent., During his expeditions, Fremont was responsible for the brutal killing of native peoples including the slaughter of up to 1,000 Wintu in the Sacramento River area in 1846. Yet John Frémont, who was elected as US Senator from the new state of California, supported numerous bills against the extension of slavery. In 1856, he was selected (over Abraham Lincoln) as the first presidential candidate of the Republican Party running on an anti-slavery platform., What are two seemingly contradictory views that you might hold?, (Captions:) , Jessie Fremont looks towards Alcatraz from the porch of the home that she shared here with John. The cottage, which stood on the bluff below you, was confiscated by the US Army during the Civil War to make way for a gun battery. , John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) John Frémont gave the Golden Gate its name in 1846. That same year he assisted American settlers in a revolt against Mexican rule and declared California an independent republic after raising the Bear Flag. He was a Senator and presidential candidate before serving the Union as a general during the Civil War. But he is most remembered as an explorer of the West., Jessie Benton Frémont (1824-1902) joined John in California in 1849 traveling with their young daughter by ship and crossing Panama. Jessie befriended Reverend Thomas Starr King, a Unitarian minister known for his powerful sermons and advocacy for the right of free Blacks. At her Black Point home, Jessie invited King to write his fiery abolitionist speeches in her study, and the two hosted literary and political salons with influential figures of the period, including Bret Harte and Herman Melville. ,