Manifest Destiny and Sectional Conflict

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the North American continent.

John L. O'Sullivan

Journalist who coined the term "Manifest Destiny."

American Exceptionalism

The belief that the United States has a unique mission to spread freedom.

John Tyler

10th President who favored the annexation of Texas.

James K. Polk

11th President committed to westward expansion and Manifest Destiny.

Texas Annexation (1845)

The incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States.

Texas Revolution (1835-1836)

Conflict where Texas fought for independence from Mexico.

Republic of Texas (1836-1845)

Independent nation created after the Texas Revolution before U.S. annexation.

Stephen Austin

Leader who brought the first American settlers to Texas.

General Santa Anna

Mexican general and political leader during the Texas Revolution.

Sam Houston

Commander of the Texan army and first president of Texas.

Battle of the Alamo (1836)

Famous siege where Mexican forces defeated outnumbered Texan defenders.

Oregon Territory

Vast Pacific Northwest region disputed by the U.S. and Britain.

Oregon Fever

Mass migration of settlers along the Oregon Trail in the 1840s.

Oregon Trail

2000-mile historic wagon route connecting the Missouri River to Oregon.

"Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"

Polk's 1844 campaign slogan demanding the entire Oregon Territory.

Oregon Treaty (1846)

Treaty with Britain that established the U.S. border at the 49th parallel.

Aroostook War

Undeclared confrontation over the Maine-New Brunswick border.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

Treaty resolving the Maine boundary dispute and U.S.-British issues.

California Gold Rush (1848)

Massive migration to California following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill.

Preemption Act (1841)

Law allowing squatters to stake claims on federal land before survey.

Squatters

Settlers who occupied unoccupied land without legal title.

Homestead Act (1862)

Law offering 160 acres of free public land to farmers.

Indian Territory

Region designated by the U.S. government for displaced Native tribes.

Comanche Nation

Powerful Indigenous nation of the Southern Plains that dominated Texas.

Mormons

Religious group founded by Joseph Smith that migrated west to Utah.

Joseph Smith

Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Brigham Young

Leader who led the Mormons to settle in the Utah Territory.

utah

Destination and settlement area for migrating Mormons.

Matthew C. Perry

Naval officer who forced Japan to open trade with the U.S.

Treaty of Kanagawa (1854)

Agreement opening Japanese ports to American trade.

Industrial Technology

Advancements in manufacturing and machinery during the mid-19th century.

Elias Howe

Inventor of the sewing machine, accelerating the textile industry.

Samuel F. B. Morse

Inventor of the telegraph and Morse code.

Railroads

Rapidly expanding transportation network connecting East and West.

Panic of 1857

Financial panic that hit the North harder than the South.

Great American Desert

19th-century term for the arid region west of the Mississippi River.

Mountain Men

Fur trappers and explorers who opened up trails in the West.

Far West

Region beyond the Rocky Mountains settled during the mid-19th century.

Overland Trails

Routes like the Oregon and Santa Fe trails used by migrants.

Mining Frontier

Rapid settlement and economic booms driven by precious metal discoveries.

Farming Frontier

Movement of settlers to the plains to establish agricultural lands.

Federal Land Grants

Government gifts of land to railroad companies and states.

Urban Frontier

Rapid growth of Western cities like San Francisco and Chicago.

Ostend Manifesto (1852)

Secret proposal to acquire Cuba from Spain.

Stephen Kearney

General who captured New Mexico and California during the Mexican-American War.

Bear Flag Republic

Short-lived California republic established by American settlers.

Winfield Scott

General who captured Mexico City during the Mexican-American War.

Walker Expedition

Failed filibustering attempts by William Walker in Central America.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850)

U.S.-British agreement regarding a Central American canal.

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

Strip of land purchased from Mexico for a southern railroad.

Exports and Imports

International trade goods that grew during mid-19th-century expansion.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

Conflict between the U.S. and Mexico over Texas and western territories.

Anglo-Americans

English-speaking white settlers who migrated into Mexican Texas.

Tejanos

Mexicans living in Texas who supported the Texas Revolution.

Nueces River / Rio Grande border dispute

Disagreement over the true southern boundary of Texas.

Zachary Taylor

General whose troops at the Rio Grande sparked the war; later President.

Spot Resolutions (1846)

Lincoln's challenge demanding proof of where American blood was shed.

Abraham Lincoln

Illinois congressman who challenged Polk's justifications for the war.

Anti-war Whigs

Political faction that opposed the Mexican-American War.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Treaty ending the war, ceding the Mexican Cession to the U.S.

Mexican Cession

Vast territory acquired by the U.S. from Mexico in 1848.

New Mexico Territory

Region acquired from Mexico that later became the American Southwest.

David Wilmot

Congressman who proposed banning slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Failed proposal to prohibit slavery in Mexican Cession lands.

John C. Calhoun

Pro-slavery senator who argued Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

Kiowa Nation

Indigenous Plains nation impacted by encroaching white settlers.

Juan Cortina

Tejano rancher who led armed resistance against Anglo land-grabbing.

Cortina Wars

Armed conflicts led by Juan Cortina along the Texas border.

Texas Rangers

Paramilitary force established to protect the Texas frontier.

California Statehood (1850)

Admission of California as a free state, sparking a sectional crisis.

Free Soil Movement

Political movement to prevent slavery expansion into western territories.

Slave Power

Term for the disproportionate political influence of southern slaveholders.

Henry Clay

Senator known as the "Great Compromiser," author of the 1850 Compromise.

Lewis Cass

Democratic senator who promoted popular sovereignty.

Stephen A. Douglas

Senator who helped pass the Compromise of 1850 and Kansas-Nebraska Act.

James Buchanan

15th President whose presidency preceded the Civil War.

Millard Fillmore

13th President who signed the Compromise of 1850.

Popular Sovereignty

Doctrine allowing territory residents to vote on permitting slavery.

Missouri Compromise (1820) / 36°30′ Line

Line dividing future free and slave states in the Louisiana Purchase.

Compromise of 1850

Package admitting California as free and enacting a strict fugitive slave law.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Federal law requiring the return of escaped enslaved people.

Personal Liberty Laws

Northern state laws designed to impede the Fugitive Slave Act.

Judicial Nullification

State-level refusal to enforce federal laws considered unconstitutional.

Ableman v. Booth (1859)

Supreme Court case upholding the Fugitive Slave Act.

Wisconsin Supreme Court

State court that declared the Fugitive Slave Act unconstitutional.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

Antislavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Irish Potato Famine

Starvation crisis driving massive Irish Catholic immigration to the U.S.

Irish and German Immigration

Mid-19th-century immigration waves transforming American demographics.

Revolution of 1848

European uprisings resulting in German political refugees migrating to the U.S.

Ethnic Enclaves

Urban neighborhoods settled by immigrant groups.

Nativism

Hostility and political movement against immigrants and Catholics.

Know-Nothing Party

Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic political party of the 1850s.

Conscience Whigs

Antislavery faction of the Northern Whig party.

Barnburners

Antislavery faction of the New York Democratic Party.

Abolitionist Movement

Social and political campaign to end slavery immediately.

Martin Delany

Black nationalist leader who promoted emigration to Africa.

American Colonization Society / Liberia

Organization that relocated free African Americans to West Africa.

Frederick Douglass

Former enslaved person who became a leading abolitionist.