APUSH - Chapter 12

Manifest Destiny

Popular belief that the United States had a divine mission to extend its power and civilization across the breadth of North America

Railroads

transportation system that revolutionized the movement of people and goods, playing a crucial role in the nation's industrialization and westward expansion, largest industry in America

Panic of 1857

Prices rose sharply for Midwestern farmers and unemployment in Northern city increased; South was not really affected because cotton prices were still high, made them believe their economy was superior and continued union with Northern economy was not needed

Great American Desert

Arid area between Mississippi Valley and Pacific Coast; emigrants passed over it to reach more inviting lands in the west

Mountain men

Fur traders who were the earliest non-native individuals to open the Far West; provided much of the early information about trails and frontier conditions to later settlers

Overland trails

transportation system that revolutionized the movement of people and goods, playing a crucial role in the nation's industrialization and westward expansion (ex. Oregon Trail)

Mining frontier

the western territories of the United States that were rapidly settled due to the discovery of mineral wealth like gold and silver, beginning with the California Gold Rush

Gold rush

Discovery of gold in California brought tens of thousands of settlers to the western mountains (nationally and internationally); mining towns and camps popped up, greatly increased California’s population - 1/3 of the miners were Chinese

Silver rush

a series of migrations of prospectors to the American West following the discovery of silver (like Gold Rush)

Farming frontier

expansion of American agriculture into the western territories, driven by factors like the availability of new land, new technologies, and the promise of economic opportunity

Federal land grants

a parcel of public land given by the U.S. government to individuals, companies, or institutions for a specific public purpose, such as encouraging settlement, building railroads, or establishing universities; encouraged settlers to move out west

Urban frontier

the rapid growth of Western cities that emerged from a combination of factors like railroad construction, mineral wealth (such as gold and silver), and farming

Oregon territory

a vast, disputed region in the Pacific Northwest, jointly occupied by the U.S. and Great Britain until the Oregon Treaty of 1846 set the boundary at the 49th parallel

John Tyler

Southern Whig worried about growing influence of British in Texas; tried to annex it but Senate denied it

James K. Polk

Democratic U.S. President from Tennessee who favored the annexation of Texas, reoccupation of Oregon, and acquisition of California

“Fifty-four Forty or Fight!”

Polk’s presidential slogan, appealed to westerners and southerners who wanted to expand

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal that an appropriations bill be amended to forbid slavery in new Mexican territories; passed in the House twice but defeated in the Senate

Ostend Manifesto

Scheme by President Franklin Pierce where he sent 3 diplomats to Ostend, Belgium to secretly negotiate buying Cuba from Spain; manifesto leaked to press and angered anti-slavery Congress members

Franklin Pierce

U.S. President who adopted pro-Southern policies and created the Ostend Manifesto scheme

Texas

Originally a Mexican province, eventually annexed by U.S. which led to the Mexican-American War

Stephen Austin

Succeeded in bringing 300 families into Texas; brought steady migration of American settlers

Sam Houston

Leader of a group of American settlers who revolted and declared Texas to be an independent republic

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Dictator of Mexico who abolished nation’s federal government system, attempted to enforce Mexico’s laws in Texas; his army attacked the Alamo, captured and forced to sign a treaty granting Texan independence

Alamo

Fortress in San Antonio attacked by Santa Anna’s army

Aroostook War

Border conflict between U.S. lumberjacks and British-Canadian authorities over the undefined boundary between Maine and New Brunswick

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Disputed territory in Aroostook War was split between Maine and British Canada; settled boundary of Minnesota territory

Rio Grande

Where Polk and Slidell asserted that the Mexico-Texas border lay (more southern)

Zachary Taylor

General who moved his army toward Rio Grande across Mexican territory; won a major victory at Buena Vista

Mexican War

a conflict between the United States and Mexico fought over territorial disputes and fueled by American expansionism, particularly the concept of Manifest Destiny; resulted in Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

John C. Fremont

Overthrew Mexican rule in northern California and proclaimed it to be an independent republic

Bear Flag Republic

Fremont proclaimed California to be an independent republic with a bear on its flag

Winfield Scott

General selected by Polk to invade central Mexico; army succeeded in capturing Vera Cruz and Mexico City

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Mexico recognized Rio Grande as southern border of Texas and U.S. took possession of Mexican Cession (paid $15 million and assumed responsibilities for claims of American citizens against Mexico)

Mexican Cession

Former Mexican provinces of California and New Mexico, possessed by U.S. after Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago

Walker Expedition

series of private military invasion attempts by William Walker in the 1850s, most notably an attempt to conquer Baja California in 1853; grand (failed) scheme was to develop a pro-slavery empire in Central America

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

Provided that neither the U.S. or Great Britain would attempt to take exclusive control of any future canal route in Central America; continued until the end of the century

Gadsden Purchase

Made by Pierce; Mexico sold thousands of acres of semi-desert land to the U.S. for $10 million; southern sections of present-day New Mexico and Arizona

Matthew C. Perry

Commodore sent to Japan to pressure their government to sign the Kanagawa Treaty 

Kanagawa Treaty

Allowed U.S. vessels to enter two Japanese ports (which had been closed to most foreigners for over two centuries) to take on coal