American History - Expansion and Civil War

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Great American Desert

The arid Great Plains region once thought too dry for farming or settlement.

Oregon Territory

Northwestern region jointly occupied by the U.S. and Britain until 1846.

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight”

Slogan of Polk supporters demanding U.S. control of Oregon up to latitude 54°40′.

James K. Polk

11th U.S. president; expanded U.S. territory through the Mexican-American War.

Stephen Austin

Leader of American settlers in Texas; known as the 'Father of Texas.'

Sam Houston

Commander of Texan forces; led Texas to independence and became its first president.

Alamo

1836 battle where Texan defenders were defeated by Mexican troops; became a rallying cry for independence.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

1842 agreement between the U.S. and Britain settling the Maine-Canada border.

Matthew C. Perry

U.S. naval officer who opened Japan to trade with the West in 1854.

Mexican-American War

1846–1848 conflict between the U.S. and Mexico; led to major territorial gains for the U.S.

Rio Grande

River that became the southern border of Texas after the Mexican-American War.

Zachary Taylor

U.S. general in the Mexican-American War; later became the 12th president.

John C. Fremont

Explorer and leader in California’s independence movement during the Mexican-American War.

Winfield Scott

U.S. general who captured Mexico City in 1847, ending the Mexican-American War.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1848 treaty ending the Mexican-American War; Mexico ceded vast lands to the U.S.

Mexican Cession

Territory Mexico gave to the U.S., including present-day California and the Southwest.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposal to ban slavery in territories gained from Mexico; never passed.

Gadsden Purchase

1853 U.S. purchase of land from Mexico for a southern transcontinental railroad.

Free-Soil Party

Political party opposing the expansion of slavery into western territories.

Popular sovereignty

Policy letting settlers in a territory vote on allowing slavery.

Henry Clay

Senator known as the 'Great Compromiser' for brokering major sectional agreements.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws admitting California as a free state and strengthening the Fugitive Slave Law.

Panic of 1857

Economic downturn that hit Northern manufacturers harder than Southern farmers.

Nativism

Anti-immigrant sentiment favoring native-born Americans.

Tammany Hall

Democratic political machine in New York City, known for corruption.

Fugitive Slave Law

Required citizens to assist in returning escaped enslaved people.

Underground Railroad

Network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the North.

Harriet Tubman

Former enslaved woman and conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

1852 anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that stirred Northern opposition to slavery.

Impending Crisis of the South

Book by Hinton Helper arguing slavery hurt the Southern economy.

Sociology of the South

Pro-slavery book by George Fitzhugh defending slavery as beneficial.

“Bleeding Kansas”

Violent conflict over slavery in Kansas Territory after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Pottawatomie Creek Massacre

1856 killing of pro-slavery settlers by John Brown and followers.

Lecompton Constitution

Pro-slavery Kansas constitution rejected by Congress.

Stephen A. Douglas

Illinois senator who promoted popular sovereignty; debated Lincoln.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 law allowing territories to decide on slavery; repealed the Missouri Compromise.

Know-Nothing Party

Anti-immigrant political party of the 1850s.

Republican Party

Political party formed in the 1850s to oppose slavery's expansion.

James Buchanan

15th U.S. president; failed to prevent Southern secession.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857 Supreme Court case ruling enslaved people had no rights as citizens.

Roger Taney

Chief Justice who issued the Dred Scott decision.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

1858 Illinois debates focusing on slavery and sectional issues.

Abraham Lincoln

16th president; led the Union during the Civil War and ended slavery.

House-Divided Speech

Lincoln’s 1858 speech stating the U.S. could not endure half slave and half free.

Sumner-Brooks Incident

1856 attack on Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks over slavery.

John Brown

Abolitionist who used hella violencein his fight against slavery, famously leading the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, which aimed to initiate an armed slave revolt.