Video Notes: Westward Expansion and Sectional Tensions (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering major concepts, events, and figures from westward expansion and the lead-up to Civil War era policies.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent from Atlantic to Pacific, guided by ideals of democracy and liberty.

Oregon Trail

The overland route used by settlers migrating west to Oregon Country in the mid-1800s.

Oregon boundary dispute

Dispute between the United States and Britain over the Oregon Country’s border, resolved by a 1846 treaty at the 49th parallel.

Buchanan–Pakenham Treaty (Oregon Treaty, 1846)

Treaty that settled the Oregon boundary dispute, establishing the boundary along the 49th parallel.

49th parallel

Latitude chosen as the boundary line between the United States and British North America in the Oregon Country.

Texas Annexation

1845 incorporation of Texas into the United States, driven by Manifest Destiny; contributed to tensions with Mexico.

Mexican Cession

Territories ceded by Mexico to the United States after the Mexican-American War (part of present-day Southwest) for about $15 million.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1848 treaty ending the Mexican-American War; Mexico ceded large territories to the U.S. and the Rio Grande was established as the border.

Wilmot Proviso

1846 proposal to prohibit slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico; passed the House but failed in the Senate.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws admitting California as a free state, allowing popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, banning slave trading in D.C., and strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act.

Fugitive Slave Act

Part of the Compromise of 1850; required authorities to assist in the recovery of escaped enslaved people.

Popular sovereignty

Principle that residents of a territory should determine whether slavery would be legal there via voting or territorial legislature.

California admitted as a free state

Admission of California as a free state in 1850 under the Compromise of 1850.

Nueces River

River near the contested Texas–Mexico border, central to the dispute that helped trigger the Mexican-American War.

Slidell mission

Diplomatic effort by John Slidell to persuade Mexico to sell California and New Mexico; ultimately failed, contributing to the start of war.

Little Hickory

Nickname for James K. Polk, emphasizing his connection to Andrew Jackson.

Whigs

Political party favoring a strong central government, national bank, protective tariffs, and a broad interpretation of the Constitution.

Democrats

Political party that distrusted centralized authority and favored states’ rights and Jeffersonian/Jacksonian democratic principles.

Hamiltonian tradition

Philosophical lineage favoring order, economic planning, and national cohesion through a strong central government.

Jeffersonian/Jacksonian tradition

Democratic tradition emphasizing expanded democracy, suspicion of elites, and limited federal power.