APUSH Time Period 5

manifest destiny

Americans believe they have a God-given right to expand westward and occupy the territory all the way into the Pacific coast

Texas Independence

1836 rebellion of Texan settlers and Tejanos against Mexico, creating the republic of Texas

Tejanos

Mexican Texans

Republic of Texas

result of Texas Independence, officially recognized by Andrew Jackson

Texas Annexation

Texas admitted into the union as a slave state. led to tensions between the US and Mexico

Oregon Country

disputed territory by Britain and the US. the US took the southern half, and Britain took the northern half

54 40 or fight

phrase used by supporters of the Manifest Destiny ideology saying that the US should have the Oregon territory.

election of 1844

James K Polk defeats Henry Clay on promises of western expansion

James K Polk

acquires more territory than any other US president. originally a dark horse candidate. runs on a platform of western expansion. promises to acquire california territory.

young hickory

nickname for Polk, he was an Andrew Jackson protege

Mexican - American War

conflict largely over the annexation of Texas and a border dispute over the United States and Mexico.

US territory once part of Mexico

includes California, Texas, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of California

Sidell Mission

US attempt to buy Mexican territories, Mexico says no

Spot Resolutions

proposed by Abraham Lincoln. asks Polk to show the exact spot where Mexico attacked the US. if it is in disputed territory then the war isn’t justified

Wilmot Proviso

law proposed in congress that never passes. it says that slavery would not be allowed in any territory taken from Mexico. violates the 36-30 line of the Missouri compromise. 

Ostend Manifesto

US attempt to annex Cuba. would be good for the south because slavery is already present there and sugar farming. would expand, boost and diversify the southern economy.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo

treaty forced on Mexico after they lost the war. the Rio Grande becomes the Mexican-American border. US gives Mexico $15,000,000 for the land acquired so that Mexico can’t say they stole it.

Mexican Cession

all the land the US acquires as a result of the Treaty of Guadalup-Hidalgo and the end of the Mexican-American war.  

Gadsen Purchase

small area of land near Mexico, completes the territory in the 48 contiguous states.

Free Soil Party

wanted “free soil, free speech, free men, free labor” opposed the extension of slavery into the new western territories. not abolitionists. not abolitionists.

california gold rush

gold found at sutters mill, triggering a massive movement to california by people hoping to find gold. reinforces maifest destiny, as it must have been God’s will for the US to have the land, because they found gold where Mexico didn’t. 

result: california is ready to be a state way faster than expected

sutters mill

where gold was first found in california

49ers

men who get to california to mine for gold during the year 1849 (travel during 1848)

compromise of 1850

compromise passed by Henry Clay that was supposed to fix the sectionalism/slavery issue. was just another bandaid on the issue, not a real solution.

• california admitted to union as a free state

• sale of slaves banned in DC

• popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico

• fugitive slave law

Henry Clay’s last big thing

fugitive slave law

forces people in the north to help capture runaway slaves

popular sovereignty

allows the people to decide whether slavery is allowed or not

underground railroad

a sometimes organized, sometimes unorganized system of safehouses, paths, and people from the south to the north, taking slaves to freedom. the most safe destination was canada

Harriet Tubman

abolitionist, spy and nurse in the civil war, first woman to lead a US army raid, and most famous conductor on the underground railroad. her bold defiance of the fugitive slave law gives people hope.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that is widely published and read in the north. it is about an enslaved family’s attempts to reunite after being separated and the abuses they suffer. it is highly criticized in the south but has a positive impact on the north. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe

author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Kansas Nebraska Act

declared popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska territories. Passed by Stephen Douglas.

Stephen Douglas

senator who supports popular sovereignty. allows him to go with whatever most people do without actually expressing an opinion, which makes him popular.

Bleeding Kansas

violent outbreaks over whether Kansas will be a slave or free state. people from Missouri move to Kansas to vote pro-slavery, and attempt to violently force people to vote certain ways.

John Brown

the most radical abolitionist. forms a militia during bleeding Kansas. breaks into homes of slave owners and kills them in the night. likely mentally unstable. depending on who you ask, he is a madman, martyr, or a hero.

Caning of Sumner

Charles Sumner is nearly caned to death in the capital building after giving a speech offending southern slave owners.

Republican Party

opponents of the Kansas Nebraska Act join together against it. believe in the non-extension of slavery into the new western territories. 

• northern whigs

• northern democrats

• know nothings

election of 1856

James Buchanon wins this election to become president

Dred Scott vs Sanford

first time the federal government openly speaks out on the slavery issue. dred scott claims to be free because his master died while he was in a free state. ruling:

• overruled

• slaves are property, not people

• African-Americans are not citizens

• Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

race for Illinois senate, debate over the extension of slavery.

Lincoln: non extension of slavery

Douglas: popular sovereignty

Winner: Douglas

makes Lincoln popular with northern republicans

Raid at Harper’s Ferry

John Brown attempts to steal weapons to organize slave rebellions. He is instantly captured, and is eventually tried and executed. Turns him into a martyr and a sympathetic figure in the north.

election of 1860

Abraham Lincoln (republican) defeats Stephen Douglas. last major event before southern secession.

southern secession (1860)

south carolina goes first, followed by the rest of the deep south (the ones most tied to plantation agriculture). border states don’t, and remain slave states in the union. 

justification: they feel as if they are rebelling against a repressive government. 

civil war

conflict between the north and south over slavery (1861-1865)

Abraham Lincoln

president during the civil war

Ulysses S Grant

union general during the civil war

Robert E Lee

confederate general during the civil war

Jefferson Davis

confederate president

Alexander Stephens

confederate vice president

crittenden compromise

last ditch effort to restart the missouri compromise in order to avoid civil war. fails.

goals of confederacy

• protect themselves

• gain sovereignty

• keep slavery

goals of the union

• preserve the union

• abolish slavery

northern advantages

more tangible. factories, industrial economy, weapons, ammunition, supplies, larger population

southern advantages

more intangible. motivation to fight for freedom. homefield advantage (only have to fight a defensive war)

Anaconda Plan

naval blockade on southern ports by the union. prevents european imports to get in, and the southern economy struggles as a result.

emancipation proclamation

executive order signed by Abraham Lincoln. as the union conquers southern territory, they free the slaves there. very gradual process. adds a moral component to the war.

preserving the union and abolition are now linked.

Battle of Antietam

in the middle of the war, when the south was winning more than expected. the union doesn’t loose because this ends in a stalemate. gives Lincoln the platform to make the emancipation proclamation. 

Gettysburg Address

speech given by Lincoln following the battle of gettysburg. first time Lincoln publicly acknowledges the new purpose of the war in public.

battle of gettysburg

south attempts to invade the north and fails. very bloody.

due process

the right to a trial, hearing, and a lawyer in America

suspension of habeus corpus

Lincoln does this to discourage disloyalty in the north. thousands of northern confederate sympathizers are detained without trial to teach them a lesson.

emergency powers clause

the president has access to much more power than normal in times of national emergency. justification for the suspension of habeus corpus.

copperhead democrats

northerners against the war that are widely detained.

William Sherman

union general famous for marching through the south all the way to savannah, leaving a path of destruction behind him, providing major northern victories

Sherman’s march to sea

path of William Sherman through the south down to Savannah

election of 1864

Abraham Lincoln narrowly defeats George McClellan

George McClellan

Lincoln’s northern democrat opponent in 1864

Great Britain in the civil war

southern cotton fuels their textile industry, but because of the Anaconda plan, they can’t get to it. they consider intervening. if they did, the scales would be tipped in favor of the south. when the emancipation proclamation is passed, they don’t because they do not want to support slavery.

the draft

in the second half of the war, the north is able to take advantage of their advantage (people) the wealthy could pay out, leading to lots of controversy

13th amendment

ratified in 1865, officially abolishes all forms of slavery in the united states

2nd inaugural address

Lincoln asks the nation to heal and move forward as one united country in order to achieve a permanent, lasting peace.