apush unit 5

Manifest Destiny

the ideology of expansion that proclaimed a God given duty to extend American territory to the Pacific Ocean

why did “oregon fever” develop?

Oregon Fever developed due to letters from farmers journeying along the Oregon Trail telling of a mild climate and rich soil

election of 1844

key issues:

• slavery

• potential annexation of Texas

• manifest destiny

James K. Polk won the Democratic Party because he advocated for expansion which resonated with voters who supported the nation’s growth. Whig candidate Henry Clay opposed the immediate annexation of Texas, afraid it will lead to war with Mexico. Later in the campaign however, he softened his stance which alienated voters.

Reasons why Polk provoked the Mexican War

• strong believer of manifest destiny

• tried to buy California & New Mexico

• sent troops under Zachary Taylor to the disputed Rio Grande territory, which Mexico saw as their territory. When Mexican forces attacked, Polk used it as justification to declare war even though the land was still in dispute

The U.S had a border dispute with Britain at the same time over Oregon. Why did we not fight Britain also?

Polk wanted to avoid a simultaneous war with Britain

wilmot proviso

called for a ban on slavery in any territories gained from the war

• this law was rejected by senate as the southern states had more power and blocked it to protect slavery

why did some americans oppose the mexican war?

• some northern whigs saw it as “careless, wicked, and unjust”

• other conscience whigs (anti slavery) accused Polk of waging a war just to add new slave states

main causes of the mexican war:

• mexico’s refusal to sell california and new mexico

• the desire for the US to expand under manifest destiny

Abolitionism vs Free Soil Party

• abolitionism wanted to end slavery everywhere because it was morally wrong

• the free soil movement only wanted to stop slavery from expanding into new territories. they focused on protecting opportunities for white workers

provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• mexico ceded nearly half it’s territory to the U.S. (California, New Mexico, Arizona, etc.)

• The Rio Grande was recognized as the border between Texas and Mexico

• the U.S. assumed 3.25 million in Mexican debts to American citizens

• Mexicans living in the new U.S. territory were ‘promised’ rights and land

Mexican Cession

Mexico ceded California and New Mexico for $15 million

what states were formed from the Mexican Cession?

California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico

election of 1848

Zachary Taylor won for the Whig Party because he ran as a military hero

Mexican War —> Civil War

The Mexican War helped lead to the Civil War due to intensifying the debate over slavery and the acquisition of new territories led to debates over whether the new areas should permit slavery.

James K. Polk

• gained significantly territorial expansion of the U.S.

• victory in the Mexican - American War

• aggressive expansionist policies

Compromise of 1850

• California entered as a free state

• popular sovereignty was introduced in New Mexico and Utah

• The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened

Did not end the dispute over slavery, just eased the tensions.

Fugitive Slave Law

(part of the Compromise of 1850)

• required runaway slaves found in free states to be returned to their owners in the South

The Northerners resisted it by helping the fugitives or refusing to enforce it (such as protecting/hiding them).

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

• Southerners thought it was an unfair portrayal of slavery

• Northerners became even more aware of the brutality

Ostend Manifesto

created by U.S. diplomats in Belgium to urge Pierce to seize Cuba

• Northerners saw it as an attempt to expand slavery

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

(Made by Stephen Douglas)

• created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed the settlers in these territories to decide whether to allow slavery through popular sovereignty

• this act repealed the Missouri Compromise

The Northerners was infuriated because the act allowed slavery to expand into areas where it had been previously banned, increased tensions

Destruction of the Second Party System

The Kansas Nebraska Act completed the destruction of the Second Party System (Whig Party).

• Northern Whigs opposed the expansion of slavery so they joined the Republican Party

• Southern Whigs supported it so they became Democrats

The new Republican Party

• opposed slavery (should not spread into new territories)

• praised a society based on the middle class and social mobility

Was composed of various groups such as abolitionists, free soilers, and conscience whigs

American / “Know Nothing” Party

• mobilize native born Protestants against the “alien menace” of Irish and German catholics

• prohibit further immigration

• institute literacy tests for voting

Lecompton Constitution

• pro slavery constitution proposed for Kansas in 1857

This would have allowed them to enter as a slave state. However, it was rejected because the majority of settlers in Kansas were against slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

• both sides turned to violence and a pro slavery force, burned and looted the free soil town of Lawrence

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

• black people were not citizens

• Congress could not ban slavery in the territories

• The Constitution states that Congress cannot deprive any citizen of property (slave owners can take slaves anywhere they wanted)

This infuriated the North as it invalidated efforts to limit slavery’s expansion and made it clear the government was siding with the South

Abraham Lincoln

• won the Election of 1860 as a Republican

• believed slavery was morally wrong but focused on stopping it from spreading rather than immediately ending it

Lincoln-Douglas debates

• Douglas declared his support for white supremacy

• Lincoln argued free blacks should have equal economic opportunities but not equal political rights

John Brown’s raid

• John Brown and his followers attempted to seize federal armory to arm enslaved people

Southerners noticed Northerners support on slave uprisings and angry that abolitionists would use violence in order to end slavery

Contrabands

escaped or captured enslaved people who sought refuge with the Union forces

Emancipation Proclamation

Declared all enslaved people in Confederate territory to be free

• took away the Confederate’s source of labor

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan

• granted amnesty to most ex Confederates

• allowed each rebellious state to return to the Union as soon as 10% of its voters had taken a loyalty oath and the state had approved the 13th Amendment

Johnson’s Plan

• even more forgiving than Lincoln’s Plan

• granted easy pardons to former Confederates and allowing them to rejoin without protecting black rights

• let Southern leaders return to power

Black Codes

designed to force former slaves back to plantation labor

Freedmen’s Bureau

established to aid displaced blacks and other war refugees

Civil Rights Act of 1866

• made by Congress declaring formerly enslaved people to be citizens and granted equal protection and rights of contract

• was vetoed by Johnson but Congress got 2/3 majorities and overrode it

Reconstruction Act of 1867

The South was divided into five military districts controlled by the Union army to enforce laws in order to rejoin the Union:

• grant black men the right to vote

• write new constitutions

• ratify the 14th Amendment

Radical Republicans

• civil rights for African Americans

• equal protection under the law

• prevent former Confederate leaders from regaining power

Compromise of 1877

• ended Reconstruction

Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending reconstruction, and the Democrats allowed Hayes to become president

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

law that prevented the president from removing certain government officials without Senate approval

• passed to limit Johnson’s power when he fired Stanton