APUSH P5

What was Manifest Destiny and how did it influence U.S. expansion?

The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward justified expansion into Texas, Oregon, and California, supported by earlier expansion like the Louisiana Purchase and policies like the Indian Removal Act.

Why did the U.S. go to war with Mexico and what were the results?

The U.S. annexed Texas, which Mexico did not recognize; disputes over the border (Rio Grande vs Nueces River) led to war. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) gave the U.S. California and the Southwest (Mexican Cession) for $15 million.

How did government policies, environmental resources, and religion accelerate westward expansion?

The Homestead Act (1862) gave free land; the Oregon Treaty (1846) secured territory; the California Gold Rush (1849) attracted settlers; Mormons migrated to Utah for religious freedom; and Commodore Perry opened trade with Japan.

How did American views of immigration change in the 19th century?

Increased Irish and German immigration led to nativism and the Know-Nothing Party; immigrants were seen as a threat to jobs and Protestant culture.

How did the Mexican Cession reignite debates over slavery?

The Wilmot Proviso (1846) attempted to ban slavery in new territories, sparking conflict between North and South and strengthening the Free Soil movement.

How did different views on slavery increase sectional tension?

Abolitionists (Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator) opposed slavery morally; Free Soilers opposed its expansion; Southerners defended slavery as a “positive good” (King Cotton, Hammond’s Mudsill Theory).

What four plans were proposed to address slavery in new territories?

Popular sovereignty (Stephen Douglas), extending the Missouri Compromise line, banning slavery (Wilmot Proviso), or allowing slavery everywhere as a constitutional right.

How did the Compromise of 1850 attempt to resolve sectional conflict?

California admitted as free state; popular sovereignty in Mexican Cession; stronger Fugitive Slave Act required return of escaped enslaved people; slave trade banned in DC.

How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act increase sectional tensions?

It repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed popular sovereignty, leading to violence in “Bleeding Kansas” (Pottawatomie Massacre, Border Ruffians).

How did the Dred Scott decision worsen sectional tensions?

The Supreme Court ruled enslaved people were not citizens and struck down the Missouri Compromise, strengthening pro-slavery forces and angering the North.

What were the immediate causes of the Civil War?

Lincoln’s election in 1860 led Southern states to secede; formation of the Confederacy under Jefferson Davis; conflict began at Fort Sumter (1861).

How was the Civil War a total war?

Both sides mobilized entire economies and populations; drafts were implemented; Lincoln suspended habeas corpus; industries produced war materials; civilians were directly impacted.

Why did the Union win the Civil War?

Larger population, industrial economy, Union blockade, leadership (Lincoln, Grant), key victories (Vicksburg, Gettysburg), and Emancipation Proclamation preventing foreign support for the South.

What were the major Reconstruction plans?

Lincoln’s 10% Plan, Radical Republicans’ Wade-Davis Bill (50% loyalty), and Andrew Johnson’s lenient plan toward the South.

How did the South respond to Reconstruction?

Black Codes restricted freedoms; rise of KKK; violence against Black citizens; sharecropping system kept many in poverty.

What gains were made during Reconstruction?

13th Amendment ended slavery; 14th granted citizenship and equal protection; 15th gave Black men voting rights; Freedmen’s Bureau provided education and aid.

Why did the 15th Amendment divide the women’s movement?

It granted Black men the right to vote but not women, splitting leaders like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton from others like Lucy Stone.

How did Congress take control of Reconstruction?

Radical Republicans passed Reconstruction Acts, divided the South into military districts, and enforced civil rights laws after overriding Johnson’s vetoes.

What challenges led to the end of Reconstruction?

Violence (KKK, Colfax Massacre), Supreme Court rulings limiting the 14th Amendment, economic issues (Panic of 1873), and Compromise of 1877 removing federal troops.