apush unit 5

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. was destined by God to expand westward to the Pacific Ocean and spread democracy and capitalism.

Great American Desert

A 19th-century term describing the arid Great Plains, initially thought unsuitable for farming.

mountain men

Independent fur traders and trappers who explored the American West and often acted as guides for settlers.

Far West

Refers to the westernmost regions of the United States, including California and Oregon, during westward expansion.

overland trails

Wagon trails like the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails that thousands of settlers used to move west.

mining frontier

The regions in the West opened by gold and silver discoveries where miners established boomtowns.

gold rush

A mass migration to areas where gold had been discovered, especially California in 1849.

silver rush

A rush of prospectors to the western U.S. following the discovery of large silver deposits, notably in Nevada.

farming frontier

The movement of settlers into western territories where they established farms, often with federal land incentives.

urban frontier

Western cities that grew rapidly due to commerce, transportation hubs, and resource extraction like mining.

John Tyler

Tenth U.S. president who annexed Texas and supported states’ rights; often at odds with his own Whig Party.

Oregon Territory

Area jointly occupied by the U.S. and Britain until it was divided at the 49th parallel in 1846.

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!”

A slogan supporting U.S. expansion into the Oregon Territory, referring to the northern latitude line.

James K. Polk

Expansionist Democratic president who oversaw the annexation of Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican Cession.

Texas

Territory that declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and was annexed by the U.S. in 1845, leading to war.

Stephen Austin

Founder of the first American colony in Texas; known as the "Father of Texas."

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Mexican general and dictator who fought to suppress the Texas Revolution and later the U.S. invasion.

Sam Houston

Leader of the Texas Revolution and first president of the Republic of Texas.

Alamo

A key battle in the Texas Revolution where Mexican forces killed all Texan defenders, becoming a symbol of resistance.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

1842 treaty resolving the U.S.-British boundary dispute in Maine and improving Anglo-American relations.

foreign commerce

International trade, which expanded significantly in the mid-19th century with new markets and treaties.

exports and imports

Goods sold to (exports) and bought from (imports) other countries; crucial to the U.S. economy.

Matthew C. Perry

U.S. naval officer who opened Japan to Western trade with the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854.

Kanagawa Treaty

1854 treaty that opened Japan to American trade and ended Japan’s period of isolation.

Mexican-American War

War between the U.S. and Mexico (1846–1848), sparked by territorial disputes after Texas annexation.

California

Mexican territory taken by the U.S. during the Mexican-American War; later became a state in 1850.

Nueces River

Mexico’s claimed border for Texas, which conflicted with the U.S. claim of the Rio Grande.

Rio Grande

River that the U.S. claimed as the southern boundary of Texas, leading to conflict with Mexico.

Zachary Taylor

U.S. general who led troops in the Mexican-American War and later became the 12th president.

Stephen Kearney

U.S. general who captured New Mexico and helped conquer California during the Mexican-American War.

John C. Frémont

Explorer and military leader who helped seize California and established the short-lived Bear Flag Republic.

Bear Flag Republic

Briefly independent California before it was annexed by the U.S. during the Mexican-American War.

Winfield Scott

U.S. general who captured Mexico City during the Mexican-American War, leading to U.S. victory.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

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

Mexican Cession

Lands Mexico ceded to the U.S. in 1848, including present-day California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposed ban on slavery in territory acquired from Mexico; failed but intensified sectional debate.

Ostend Manifesto (1852)

Secret plan to purchase or take Cuba from Spain; rejected due to Northern opposition.

Walker Expedition

Unofficial military ventures led by William Walker to take control of Latin American countries; failed.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

1850 U.S.-British treaty agreeing neither nation would control a canal in Central America.

Gadsden Purchase

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

free-soil movement

Political movement opposing the expansion of slavery into western territories.

Free-Soil Party

Political party formed in 1848 to prevent the spread of slavery in the western territories.

“barnburners”

Anti-slavery Democrats whose defection split the party and helped the Whigs win in 1848.

Lewis Cass

Democrat who proposed popular sovereignty as a solution to the slavery issue in new territories.

popular sovereignty

Idea that people in a territory should vote directly on whether to allow slavery.

industrial technology

Innovations like sewing machines and telegraphs that fueled U.S. industrial growth in the mid-1800s.

Elias Howe

Inventor of the sewing machine, which revolutionized garment production.

Samuel F. B. Morse

Inventor of the telegraph, transforming long-distance communication.

railroads

Rapidly expanded during the 1850s, linking regions and transforming the economy.

Panic of 1857

Economic downturn caused by over-speculation and declining international demand for American goods.

nativism

Anti-immigrant sentiment, especially against Catholics and Irish during the 1840s and 1850s.

Irish

Immigrants who came to the U.S. in large numbers due to the Potato Famine; settled in cities and faced discrimination.

Roman Catholic

Religion practiced by many Irish and German immigrants, which provoked nativist backlash.

Germans

Immigrants who often settled in the Midwest, contributing to farming and political reform movements.

Tammany Hall

Democratic political machine in New York that gained power through immigrant support.

Fugitive Slave Law

Law requiring the return of escaped slaves; enraged Northerners and increased abolitionist sentiment.

Underground Railroad

Secret network that helped enslaved people escape to free states and Canada.

Harriet Tubman

Former enslaved woman who helped hundreds escape slavery via the Underground Railroad.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Antislavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that galvanized Northern opinion against slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a powerful condemnation of slavery.

Hinton R. Helper

Author of The Impending Crisis of the South, arguing slavery hurt the Southern economy.

Impending Crisis of the South

Book by Hinton R. Helper that criticized slavery from an economic perspective.

George Fitzhugh

Proslavery sociologist who defended slavery as a positive good for both whites and Blacks.

Sociology for the South

Fitzhugh’s book defending slavery as beneficial and natural in society.

New England Emigrant Aid Company

Antislavery group that sent settlers to Kansas to ensure it would become a free state.

“bleeding Kansas”

Violent conflict between pro- and anti-slavery forces in Kansas following the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Pottawatomie Creek

Site where John Brown and followers killed pro-slavery settlers in retaliation for violence in Kansas.

Lecompton Constitution

Proslavery constitution proposed for Kansas statehood; rejected by Congress.

Stephen A. Douglas

Illinois senator who championed popular sovereignty and authored the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 law that allowed settlers in those territories to vote on slavery, repealing the Missouri Compromise.

Franklin Pierce

14th U.S. president who supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act and was criticized for favoring Southern interests.

Know-Nothing Party

Nativist political party opposing immigration and Catholic influence; also called the American Party.

Republican Party

Formed in the 1850s to oppose the spread of slavery into the territories; included former Whigs, Free-Soilers.

John C. Frémont

First Republican presidential candidate in 1856; war hero and explorer.

Millard Fillmore

13th president; supported the Compromise of 1850 and later ran as a Know-Nothing candidate.

James Buchanan

15th president; failed to prevent the secession of Southern states before Lincoln took office.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857 Supreme Court decision ruling African Americans were not citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in the territories.

Roger Taney

Chief Justice who wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

Series of debates in 1858 Illinois Senate race focused on slavery and popular sovereignty.

Abraham Lincoln

Republican politician who opposed the spread of slavery and became the 16th president in 1860.

house-divided speech

Lincoln’s 1858 speech asserting the U.S. couldn’t endure permanently half slave and half free.

Freeport Doctrine

Douglas’s statement that territories could effectively exclude slavery by not adopting laws to protect it.

Sumner-Brooks incident

Violent beating of Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks in the Senate chamber.

John Brown

Radical abolitionist who led violent actions in Kansas and the raid on Harpers Ferry.

Harpers Ferry

Federal arsenal raided by John Brown in 1859 in an attempt to start a slave uprising.

John C. Breckenridge

Southern Democrat who ran for president in 1860 on a pro-slavery platform.

Constitutional Union Party

Moderate party in the 1860 election that sought to avoid secession over slavery.

John Bell

1860 presidential candidate of the Constitutional Union Party who wanted to preserve the Union.

secession

Withdrawal of Southern states from the Union, beginning with South Carolina in 1860.

Crittenden Compromise

Failed proposal to appease the South by protecting slavery in territories south of 36°30′.

border states

Slaveholding states that remained in the Union during the Civil War (e.g., Kentucky, Missouri).

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in South Carolina where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in 1861.

Confederate States of America

Nation formed by seceding Southern states with Jefferson Davis as president.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States during the Civil War.

Alexander H. Stephens

Vice president of the Confederacy; gave the "Cornerstone Speech" defending slavery.

Second American Revolution

Term describing how the Civil War transformed the U.S., especially in national government and civil rights.

Bull Run

First major battle of the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.

Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson

Confederate general known for his stand at Bull Run and key role in Southern victories.

Winfield Scott

Union general who devised the Anaconda Plan to blockade and divide the Confederacy.

Anaconda Plan

Union war strategy to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River.