Key Events and Legislation in U.S.-Mexico Border and Slavery Conflicts

Mexican Independence (1821)

Mexico gained independence from Spain, ending Spanish control in North America. Created new border tensions with the U.S.

Texas Revolution (1835-1836)

Conflict where American settlers in Texas fought for independence from Mexico.

Battle of the Alamo (1836)

Texas soldiers lost to Mexico, but it became a rallying cry ("Remember the Alamo!").

Battle of San Jacinto (1836)

Texas defeated Mexico and won its independence. Sam Houston became president of the Republic of Texas.

Republic of Texas (1836-1845)

Independent nation before joining the U.S. as a slave state.

Texas Annexation (1845)

Texas joined the U.S., angering Mexico and increasing slavery tensions.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

War between U.S. and Mexico caused by Texas annexation and border disputes.

James K. Polk

U.S. President who supported Manifest Destiny and led during the Mexican-American War.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Ended the Mexican-American War; U.S. gained California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Mexican Cession

Land gained from Mexico after the war, greatly expanding U.S. territory.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent to the Pacific Ocean.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Proposed banning slavery in new western territories; it failed but increased sectional tension.

Compromise of 1850

Agreement that made California a free state, allowed popular sovereignty in other territories, and included the Fugitive Slave Act.

Popular Sovereignty

Idea that people in each territory should decide whether to allow slavery.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Law forcing citizens to return escaped enslaved people; angered Northerners.

Underground Railroad

Secret network helping enslaved people escape to freedom in the North.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

Anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that increased Northern opposition to slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Allowed popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, leading to violence over slavery ("Bleeding Kansas").

Bleeding Kansas

Violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Republican Party (1854)

Political party formed to oppose the spread of slavery in western territories.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court case ruling that African Americans were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney

Wrote the Dred Scott decision, which favored slavery and angered abolitionists.

Impact of Dred Scott Case

Increased sectional conflict and pushed the nation closer to the Civil War.