Studied by 2 people
John Louis O'Sullivan
magazine editor who coined the term "Manifest Destiny"
Zachary Taylor
President who was a Southern slave holder, hero in the Mexican American war
Millard Fillmore
13th President from the Whig Party, was the last president to not be affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic party
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Mexican president who led an army against Texas
James Buchanan
The 15th President. He tried to maintain a balance between proslavery and antislavery factions, but his neutral views angered both North and South, and he was unable to stop the secession of South Carolina
Winfield Scott
United States general who was a hero of the War of 1812 and who defeated Santa Anna in the Mexican War
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Abolitionist and author of the antislavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Dred Scott
Slave who sued his master for keeping him enslaved in a territory where slavery was banned under the Missouri Compromise
Stephen F. Austin
known as the Father of Texas, led the colonization of the Texas by bringing 300 families from the United States.
Henry Clay
United States politician responsible for the Missouri Compromise between free and slave states
Nat Turner
Leader of a slave rebellion in Virginia. Revolt led to the deaths of 20 whites and 40 blacks and led to the "gag rule' outlawing any discussion of slavery in the House of Representatives
Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the Dred Scott decision
William B. Travis
Commander of the Alamo
Daniel Webster
Leader of the Whig Party, originally pro-North, supported the Compromise of 1850
Stephen Douglas
supported idea of popular sovereignty. (people could vote if they wanted slavery or not) Wrote the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States, opposed extension of slavery into territories, but did not call for abolition of slavery in states that already allowed it.
Sam Houston
Commander of the Texas army at the battle of San Jacinto; later elected president of the Republic of Texas
William Seward
Secretary of State who was responsible for purchasing Alaskan Territory from Russia
John Brown
An abolitionist who attempted to lead a slave revolt by capturing Armories in southern territory and giving weapons to slaves, was killed after this for his revolts. Spread the word of abolition with the attention he recieved
John Breckenridge
Believed slavery should be permitted in any U.S. territory. people there could not vote to end slavery
Juan Seguin
Tejano leader at the Battle of the Alamo
John C. Calhoun
Leader of the Fugitive Slave Law, which forced the cooperation of Northern states in returning escaped slaves to the south.
Jefferson Davis
Charles Sumner
Radical Republican against the slave power who insults Andrew Butler, a democrat, and subsequently gets caned by Preston Brooks (Butler's relative)
James K. Polk
11th president wanted to settle oregon boundary dispute with britain. wanted to acquire California. wanted to incorporate Texas into union.
John Tyler
Vice President and became the 10th President of the United States when Harrison died, President responsible for annexation of Mexico after receiving mandate from Polk, opposed many parts of the Whig program for economic recovery
Preston Brooks
A passionate advocate for slavery and the allowing of slavery in states. Responsible for beating radical republican Charles Sumner with his cane
John Bell
Purposely ignored the slavery issue. said that laws established by the Constitution should be obeyed and that the Union must be held together despite sectional differences.
manifest destiny
Idea that it was American's god-given right to expand its land and spread democracy
Mexican-American War
President Polk declared war on Mexico over the dispute of land in Texas. At the end, American ended up with over half of Mexico's land.
Fugitive Slave Act
A law that made it a crime to help runaway slaves; allowed for the arrest of escaped slaves in areas where slavery was illegal and required their return to slaveholders
Pottawatomie
A retaliation attack by John Brown and his followers in Kansas, claimed to be acting out of god's will and mutilated five bodies of pro slavery people
Creek Massacre
Santa Fe Trail
an important trade route going between Independence, Missouri and Santa fe
Bear Flag Revolt
A revolt of American settlers in California against Mexican rule. It ignited the Mexican War and ultimately made California a state.
Great Debate
In this Argument, the senate argued about how to permit California to the Union without upsetting the balance of free and slave states.
Bleeding Kansas
A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.
Oregon Trail
Trail from independence Missouri to Oregon used by many pioneers during the 1840s
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty that ended the Mexican War, granting the U.S. control of Texas, New Mexico, and California in exchange for $15 million
fire-eaters
A group of extremist pro-slavery politicians from the South who urged the secession of southern states into a new nation, which became known as the Confederate States of America.
Lecompton Constitution
The pro-slavery constitution suggested for Kansas' admission to the union. It was rejected.
Donner Party
a group of western travelers who went to California but were stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during winter (cannibals)
Mexican Cession
Lands sold by Mexico to the US following the Mexican War. California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming
Uncle Tom's Cabin
a novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe which portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral. seen as outlandish and was disliked by people in the south
Dred Scott Decision
Supreme Court ruling that declared slaves were not viewed as citizens but as property. (See term Dred Scott for more)
Gadsden Purchase
Agreement w/ Mexico that gave the US parts of present-day New Mexico & Arizona in exchange for $10 million; completed the continental expansion by those who believed in Manifest Destiny.
Tejanos
Mexicans who claimed Texas as their home
Kansas-Nebraska Act
a law that allowed voters in Kansas and Nebraska to choose whether to allow slavery
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown's failed scheme to invade the South w/ armed slaves, backed by North abolitionists sponsers. took the fed. arsenal; Brown and others were caught by Robert E. Lee. Brown was hanged
Empresarios
People who were contracted by the Mexican republic to bring settlers to Texas in the early 1800s
Gold Rush
a period from 1848 to 1856 when thousands of people came to California in order to search for gold.
popular sovereignty
Idea that people could vote and have power in their own government
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over the issue of slavery. Lincoln: Against slavery but didn't want to change states that already had it
Douglas: popular sovereignty
Texas Revolution
War between Texas settlers and Mexico from 1835-1836 resulting in the formation of the Republic of Texas
forty-niners
People who went to California looking for Gold (They left in 1849)
Republican Party (1854)
organized in 1854 by antislavery Whigs, Democrats, and Free Soilers in response to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Freeport Doctrine
Idea authored by Stephen Douglas that claimed slavery could only exist when popular sovereignty said so
The Alamo
a mission and fort in San Antonio, Texas, where Mexican forces massacred rebellious Texans in 1836
Californios
Mexicans who lived in California
Border Ruffians
proslavery gangs from Missouri who often battled antislavery forces in Kansas
Election of 1860
Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won because the Democratic party was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt like it has a voice in politics and a number of states seceded from the Union.
Battle of San Jacinto
the Texans captured Santa Anna and forced him to sign a treaty giving Texas its independence
Wilmot Proviso
Bill that would ban slavery in the territories acquired after the War with Mexico
Free-State Party
Political party formed by anti-slavery settlers in Kansas.
Annexation
The adding of a region to the territory of an existing political unit.
Missouri Compromise
an agreement in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States concerning the extension of slavery into new territories. No states above 36º 30' latitude line could have slavery
Lawrence Raid
mob of citizens who attempted to blow up a fort in Lawrence to show antislavery
Confederate States of America/Confederacy
nation formed by the states that seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861
(Aka the Confederacy)
Oregon Territory Acquisition
Acquired during Manifest Destiny. Polk makes deal with Britian to acquire California and Oregon Territory.
Compromise of 1850
Agreement designed to ease tensions caused by the expansion of slavery into western territories
added CA as a free state
added option for New Mexico and Utah to vote for slavery. as well as any new territory from the Mexican American War
How did westward expansion lead to conflict with Mexico?
Conflicts in land battles with those already settled. American lust for land (manifest destiny) caused this strong desire for land lead to conflict
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Flashcard (23)