apush chapter 18 American pageant

Zachary Taylor

The winner of the 1848 presidential election, an honest and popular hero of the Mexican War, who owned many slaves.

Martin Van Buren

Candidate of the Free Soil Party in the 1848 election who made slavery a key issue.

Lewis Cass

Democratic candidate in the 1848 election known as the father of popular sovereignty.

Popular Sovereignty

The concept that political power rests with the people, allowing them to decide on issues such as slavery through voting.

Free Soil Party

Political party that opposed the extension of slavery into the territories and favored internal improvements and free government homesteads for settlers.

Wilmot Proviso

An amendment proposed to ensure that any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican War would be free of slavery, symbolizing the intense disputes over slavery.

Constitution of 1849

Document outlining California's governance which prohibited slavery, provoking anger from the South.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The agreement that ended the Mexican War in 1848, resulting in U.S. acquisition of California and New Mexico for $15 million.

Gadsden Purchase

The 1853 treaty in which the U.S. acquired parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico to facilitate the southern transcontinental railroad.

Underground Railroad

A network aiding escaped slaves in their flight to freedom, leading to increased calls in the South for tougher Fugitive Slave Laws.

Twilight of the Senatorial Giants

Refers to a period marked by significant political figures like Clay, Calhoun, and Webster addressing issues related to slavery and union.

Stephen A. Douglas

Illinois senator who wrote the Kansas-Nebraska Act and ran for president against Abraham Lincoln.

Seventh of March Speech

Webster's final address advocating for the Union over the issue of slavery, seen as traitorous by abolitionists.

Compromise of 1850

A legislative package that included the Fugitive Slave Act, admitted California as a free state, and instituted popular sovereignty in the Mexican Cession.

Millard Fillmore

Vice President who succeeded Zachary Taylor and helped pass the Compromise of 1850.

Election of 1852

Presidential election where the Democrats nominated Franklin Pierce, winning due to divisions in the Whig Party.

Clayton Bulwer Treaty

1850 agreement between the US and Great Britain concerning non-exclusive rights to a canal across Panama.

Ostend Manifesto

1854 declaration stating the U.S. would justify seizing Cuba if Spain did not sell it; never acted upon.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad proposed to connect the east and west coasts of the continental U.S., with debate over its route.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 Act that established Kansas and Nebraska as territories using popular sovereignty to decide on slavery, leading to violence.

Omnibus Bill

A series of laws proposed as a single package to facilitate the passage of the Compromise of 1850.