APUSH U4

Manifest Destiny

the idea that the US had a God-given right to expand westward. coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845

Texas Independence

became its own country (separate from MX) after a rebellion led by Sam Houston & Steven Austin

Annexation of Texas

the process of TX joining the union as a slave state, led to tensions between the US and Mexico

Oregon Dispute

the debate between the US and the British on who own the Oregon Territory

54.50 or Fight

a phrase often used by supports of Manifest Destiny to declare that the US should at least own part of Oregon Country

James K Polk

elected president in the election of 1844; acquired more territory than any other US president

Mexican-American War

a conflict between the US and Mexico from 1846-1848, largely over the annexation of Texas and a border dispute of where the border between Texas and Mexico was

Sidell Mission

US diplomat attempted to purchase Mexican territories, but Mexico said no

Wilmot Proviso

law proposed in congress, but never passed, that said slavery wouldn’t be allowed in any territory acquired from Mexico

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

Ended the Mexican-American War, essentially forced onto Mexico; acknowledged the Rio Grande as the US-Mex border; US received all of what is now the SW (esp. CA)

Spot Resolutions

proposed by Abraham Lincoln, asked Polk to show the exact “spot” where American blood was shed.

Gasden Purchase

Gave the US sovereignty over what are now the southern tips of AZ & NM; last territorial acquisition of the continental 48 states

Osden Manifesto

US’s attempt to annex Cuba; saw the potential freeing of Cuba slaves as a threat to southern interest (esp. those of southern plantation owners/slaveholders)

Free Soil Party

wanted “free soil, speech, labor, and men”; aka barnburners; opposed the extension of slavery into new territory (NOT abolition)

Zachary Taylor

Elected president in 1848 as a whig but didn’t actually have a political loyalty as generals were traditionally apolitical; acted more like a southern dem than a whig.

Sutter’s Mill

Location where gold was found in 1848, starting the CA gold rush

49er’s

gold-seeking pioneers who arrived in CA in 1849

Compromise of 1850

accepted CA as a free state into the union; declared popular sovereignty in UT & NM; introduced the fugitive slave law; last major thing from Henry Clay

Fugitive Slave Law

forced Northerners to capture/turn in runaway slaves, even if they were in free territory

Underground Railroad

a secret network of routes and safehouses that allowed enslaved people to escape to free states, then later, Canada

Harriet Tubman

most famous “conductor” of the Underground Railroad

Harriet Beecher Stowe

published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

abolitionist book banned in the south

Republican Party

replaced the Whigs as the 2nd major party; made up of northern democrats and former whigs; platform → anti-spread of slavery & anti-KN-NE act, but NOT abolitionists

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Effectively repealed the MO compromise, declared popular sovereignty in Kansas & Nebraska

Popular Sovereignty

the idea that the legality of slavery in a given territory should be left up to the white settlers in that territory

Bleeding Kansas

violent conflict over popular sovereignty in KN between southerners from MO and northerners in KN

John Brown

radical, violent abolitionist; he & his sons formed a militia which orchestrated the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre & raided Harper’s Ferry in 1859; executed for treason

The Crime Against Kansas

speech given in congress by Sen. Preston Sumner (R); personally insulting to many southern congresspeople, including Andrew Butler

Caning of Charles Summer

Andrew Butler’s nephew (Butler was insulted by Crime against KN) was v. upset over the insulting of his uncle and nearly beat Charles Sumner to death

Dred Scott Case

slave claiming he should be free bc his master took him to a free state; supreme court made 3 rulings: (1) slaves do not have the rights of citizens and are considered property, (2) Scott had no claim to freedom, and (3) the MO Compromise was unconstitutional

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

a debate during the electoral race for Illinois’ senate seat; focused on slavery; “a house divided against itself cannot stand”

Election of 1860

Lincoln (R) v Stephen Douglas (D); these two had faced off before during an Illinois senate race; this was the tipping point for many powerful/respected southerners

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy

South Carolina Secession

Occurred on Dec. 20^th, 1860, during the period where Lincoln had been elected, but not yet inaugurated

Abraham Lincoln

1st Republican President; President during the Civil War; Signed the Emancipation Proclamation

Habeas Corpus

the legal principle protecting an individual’s right to a trial/the right to not be unlawfully imprisoned; suspended during the civil war

Emancipation Proclamation