Antebellum South + Manifest Destiny

1. “King Cotton”

Cotton wasn’t just a crop — it was the South’s entire personality 🌾😤.
Because cotton was 57% of ALL U.S. exports, the South became an agrarian kingdom where cotton ruled everything. Plantations took up so much land that the South literally had to import food 💀.
Add the cotton gin, and BOOM 💥 — slavery expanded massively.
Symbol of the Antebellum South: economy built on cotton + enslaved labor.

2. Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831)

Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher, believed God told him to rise up — so he did 😳.
He led a revolt in Virginia that killed around 60 white Virginians.
This terrified Southern whites → they cracked down with brutal slave codes and paranoia skyrocketed.
Turner’s rebellion = biggest slave uprising in the South + massive backlash.

3. The Liberator

🔥 The MOST radical abolitionist newspaper of its time (founded 1831).
Written by William Lloyd Garrison, who was basically like:
“Slavery is evil. End it NOW. No compromises.”
Southerners banned it immediately. Garrison even called the Constitution “pro-slavery.”
Started the hardcore abolitionist movement.

4. William Lloyd Garrison

The dramatic abolitionist king 👑.
Believed slavery was a moral evil, not just a political issue.
Wanted immediate emancipation WITHOUT compensation for slaveholders (they hated that).
Helped create the American Anti-Slavery Society.
Radical, loud, passionate — the South’s villain and the North’s moral alarm clock.

5. Abolitionists

People who said, “Hey, maybe we shouldn’t have human beings enslaved?” 🤨
They ranged from radical (Garrison) to political (Liberty Party), from peaceful helpers to writers to activists.
Fought against slavery through newspapers, speeches, helping enslaved people escape, and activism.
Divided into “gradualists” vs “immediatists.”
Still a minority in the North early on — but their voices grew LOUD.

6. Frederick Douglass

The definition of “main character energy” ✨.
Born enslaved, escaped, and became a brilliant speaker and writer.
Published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) and ran the paper The North Star.
More political/pragmatic than Garrison — wanted to work through the system.
Influential, charismatic, unstoppable.

7. Sojourner Truth

Legendary formerly enslaved woman → abolitionist + women’s rights queen 👑.
Famous for her speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” (1851), which dragged sexism AND racism at the same time.
Told her life story in The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850).
Powerful storyteller who fought for justice with pure charisma.

8. Manifest Destiny

America’s 1840s delusion that “God wants us to own everything from the Atlantic to the Pacific” 😭🇺🇸.
Coined by John O’Sullivan.
Based on 3 beliefs:
1⃣ The U.S. is morally special ✨
2⃣ We must spread self-government + “American values”
3⃣ God said so (apparently)
Used to justify expansion → and conveniently ignoring Native + Mexican land rights 🙃

9. Mexican Cession (1848)

HUGE chunk of land the U.S. won from Mexico after the Mexican-American War.
Included California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.
U.S. paid $15 mil but basically got 1/3 of Mexico 💀.
Most important: It reopened the nightmare debate over whether new states should be free or slave.
This is where the road to Civil War gets REAL messy.

10. James K. Polk

America’s most productive president — like the guy had a to-do list and DESTROYED it 😤.
His 3 goals:
✔ Get Texas 🌵
✔ Solve the Oregon border dispute 🌲
✔ Grab California + New Mexico 🏜
Andddd he did it all in one term.
Also basically provoked the Mexican-American War on purpose 💀.

11. Manifest Destiny (again… but with more details)

If you need a second definition (because the list repeats it):
The belief that westward expansion was obvious and inevitable — and that Americans had a God-given right to push west.
Shown in art like American Progress (woman floating west with telegraph wires, lol).
Used to hype settlers to Oregon, Texas, and California.

12. Zachary Taylor

“Old Rough and Ready” — the general who looked like he needed a nap 24/7 😭.
Major hero of the Mexican-American War (Palo Alto, Monterrey).
His war fame basically YEETED him into the presidency.
Not super political, but loved by the people for being a tough frontier soldier.

13. Mexican-American War (1846–1848)

Started because Polk was like: “Let’s ‘accidentally’ put troops in disputed land and see what happens” 😬.
Mexico + U.S. disagreed on where the border was (Rio Grande vs. Nueces River).
Shots fired → Polk says it’s war time.
The U.S. wins fast thanks to generals Taylor and Scott.
Results: U.S. gains the Mexican Cession + Mexico is humiliated.
Also: EXPLOSIVE debate over slavery in new territories.

14. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Ended the Mexican-American War ✍.
Terms:
✔ Rio Grande = official Texas border
✔ Mexico hands over the Mexican Cession
✔ U.S. pays $15 million (and settles American claims)
This treaty helps fulfill Manifest Destiny — but also lights the fuse for the Civil War 😬.