Mexican War & Manifest Destiny

These terms, events, and people are tied to the "Countdown to Conflict: Mexican War & Manifest Destiny" podcast.

Manifest Destiny

This was the belief held by many Americans in the 19th century that the United States was destined to expand across North America to the Pacific Ocean.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea of letting the people living in a territory vote on whether or not to allow slavery. This concept was applied to the territories of Utah and New Mexico as part of the Compromise of 1850

Fugitive Slave Act

A law that made it easier to capture and return runaway slaves. It was strengthened as part of the Compromise of 1850, which aimed to appease the South.

Bleeding Kansas

Refers to the violence that broke out in Kansas when pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers clashed over the issue of slavery in the territory.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

This treaty ended the Mexican-American War. Mexico recognized the Rio Grande as the Texas border and ceded a large territory to the U.S., including California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

This proposal aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. It passed in the House but failed in the Senate.

Compromise of 1850

This compromise was an attempt to address the issue of slavery in the newly acquired territories and included provisions like California entering as a free state and a stronger Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

This act allowed for popular sovereignty in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery north of a certain line.

President Polk

He sent U.S. troops to the Rio Grande, which was disputed territory, leading to the start of the Mexican-American War.