Amsco unit 5

Manifest Destiny

Our God given right to expand to the west coast

Great American Desert

Arid region between the Mississippi valley and pacific coast. Referred as the Great American Desert from the 1850s and 60s

Mountain Men

Fur traders in the Rockies

Far West

Area in which mountain men settled and commenced with their fur trade

Overland Trails

Large groups making trails when migrating west

Mining Frontier

Gold and silver were discovered in the west, influencing many to settle to make wealth

Gold Rush

Discovered gold in California in 1848 made many go over and try and get some

Silver Rush

Also newly discovered silver in Colorado, Nevada, and the Dakotas

Farming Frontier

Pioneer families moved west due to Preemption Acts making it cheap to buy land out west

Urban Frontier

Cities arose due to railroads, mineral wealth, and farming

John Tyler

President of the US who was a Southern Whig, and worked to annex Texas

Oregon Territory

Had both American and British settlers, with both trying to make claims why it’s theirs

“Fifty

Four Forty or Fight”

James K. Polk

President elected in 1844, coined the term “Fifty

Texas

Originally a Mexican territory, Texas was taken by American settlers and was annexed into statehood

Stephen Austin

Brought 300 families to Texas, creating a steady migration into this frontier

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Dictator of Mexico that tried to enforce immigration laws for American immigrants

Sam Houston

A leader of Texan settlers that revolted against Mexico, and declared Texas independent

Alamo

A battle which was led by Santa Anna, killing every American defender at San Antonio

Webster

Ashburton Treaty

Foreign Commerce

Growth of manufacturing and farming in the US allowed for more trade with foreign nations

Exports and Imports

Either buying or selling products to foreign countries

Mathew C. Perry

Commodore who was sent to Japan which made Japan sign the Kanagawa Treaty

Kanagawa Treaty

Let US use two Japanese ports to take on coal, leading to more trade agreements

Mexican

American War

California

Area that was owned by Mexico, which was later taken by the US as a result of the Mexican

Nueces River

Mexico argued this was the border between Mexico and Texas

Rio Grande

The US argued this was the Mexican

Zachary Taylor

A general who was ordered by Polk to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico. A Mexican army later captured a group of Americans, killing 11. This was a justification for Polk to declare war, but Northerners doubted this affair happened on American soil, as that is what Polk argued

Stephen Kearney

A general who captured New Mexico and Southern California

John C. Fremont

Overthrew Mexican rule in California along with very few people

Bear Flag Republic

California’s flag has a bear on it, coining “Bear Flag Republic”

Winfield Scott

General who was ordered by Polk to invade central Mexico. He took the city of Vera Cruz along with Mexico City

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1. Mexico

Mexican Cession

The US gets California and New Mexico in exchange for $15 million dollars

Wilmont Proviso

David Wilmont, a Pennsylvania Congressman, proposed that slavery is not permitted in territories claimed in the Mexican Cession. Passed in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate

Popular sovereignty

Proposed by Lewis Cass, popular sovereignty is when the people settled in the state or territory decide on whether slavery is allowed or not

Zachary Taylor

Whig presidential nominee, who didn’t have a position on slavery

Henry Clay

A senator from Kentucky who proposed the Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850

1. Make California a free state, 2) Divide the rest of the Mexican Cession into Utah and New Mexico, allowing them to have popular sovereignty, 3) Give the land disputed between New Mexico and Texas to new territories in return for Government to assume Texas debt, 4) Ban slave trade in DC, but allow original slaveholders in DC to keep their slaves, and 5) Adopt and enforce new Fugitive Slave Laws

Ostend Manifesto

President Franklin Pierce dispatched three diplomats to Ostend, Belgium, where they secretly negotiated purchasing Cuba from Spain. This got leaked to the press, and it upset antislavery members of Congress, as this would expand slavery due to Cuba’s location

Walker Expedition

William Walker tried to take Baja, California. After this unsuccessful attempt, he traveled to Nicaragua, where he took over along with a small group of Southerners. Then, a group of Central American governments invaded and defeated him

Clayton

Bulwer Treaty

Gadsden Purchase

President Pierce purchased a small area of land from Mexico in 1853 for $10 million and this is present

Free

Soil Movement

Free

Soil Party

Irish

Mostly tenant farmers, poor, little skill, Roman Catholic, moved due to famine. Native

Roman Catholic

Religion that is looked down upon by Americans, as the US is majority protestant

Germans

Some skilled labor, left because of a failed revolution. Native

Tammany Hall

Originally a Democratic organization in New York that excluded

Nativism

Hostility towards Irish and German immigrants because of their religion and that they will take their jobs. These ideals created the American/Know

Elias Howe

Created the sewing machine

Samuel F.B. Morse

Created telegraph machine

Railroads

Brought a lot of jobs, and improved commerce

Panic of 1857

Financial panic caused a drop in agricultural prices in the Midwest and caused unemployment in the North

Fugitive Slave Law

Helped owners track down fugitive slaves that had escaped to the North

Underground Railroad

Network of activists that helped enslaved people get to the North

Harriet Tubman

A famous “conductor” of the Underground Railroad who helped free over 300 slaves escape and was also a former slave herself

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

A story that reflected the cruel and inhumane actions of slaveholders, and this book was banned in the southern states, while was an eye

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Writer of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Impending Crisis of the South

A nonfiction book that showed how slavery hindered the economy in the South

New England Emigrant Aid Company

A Northern organization that encouraged anti

“Bleeding Kansas”

A period of violent conflict in Kansas between pro

Pottawatomie Creek

Site of a massacre where abolitionist John Brown and his followers killed five pro

Lecompton Constitution

A pro

Stephen A. Douglas

Senator from Illinois who championed the Kansas

Kansas

Nebraska Act

Know

Nothing Party

Republican Party

Founded in 1854, it was a coalition of anti

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Supreme Court case where Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that African Americans were not citizens and Congress had no power to regulate slavery in territories

Roger Taney

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who authored the Dred Scott decision, inflaming sectional tensions

Lincoln

Douglas Debates (1858)

Abraham Lincoln

Prominent Illinois politician and Republican who opposed the expansion of slavery. His election as president in 1860 led to Southern secession

“House

Divided” Speech (1858)

Freeport Doctrine

Stephen Douglas’ argument during the Lincoln

Sumner

Brooks Incident

John Brown

A radical abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrow of slavery. He led the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 and the earlier Pottawatomie Creek massacre. His execution made him a martyr in the North

Harpers Ferry

John Brown's failed attempt to initiate a slave revolt by seizing the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. It intensified sectional tensions and alarmed the South

Election of 1860

A pivotal election that resulted in Abraham Lincoln's victory as the Republican candidate. His anti

John C. Breckenridge

The Southern Democratic candidate in the Election of 1860 who supported the protection of slavery in the territories. He represented the pro

Constitutional Union Party

A political party formed in 1860 that sought to avoid secession and the Civil War by focusing on preserving the Union. It nominated John Bell for president

John Bell

The Constitutional Union Party’s candidate in the Election of 1860. He tried to appeal to moderates by advocating for the Union and the Constitution as compromises between North and South

Secession

The withdrawal of Southern states from the Union following Lincoln's election. South Carolina was the first to secede in December 1860, followed by several others, forming the Confederacy

Crittenden Compromise

A last

Border States

Slaveholding states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri) that remained in the Union during the Civil War. Their loyalty was critical to Union strategy

Fort Sumter

A Union fort in Charleston, South Carolina, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Confederate forces attacked after Lincoln attempted to resupply the fort, marking the war's official start

Confederate States of America

The seceded states formed the Confederate States of America. Their constitution was similar to the USA’s but denied their Congress’s power to levy protective tariffs

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy

Alexander H. Stephens

Vice President of the Confederacy

Second American Revolution

The Civil War, which was between the Union and the Confederacy. This resulted in the death of 750000 people, the freedom of 4 million slaves, and accelerated industrialization in the North while destroying the South

Bull Run

The Battle at Bull Run Creek in Virginia was a Confederate win as General Jackson countered the Union, making them retreat

Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson

General of the Confederacy, who had a notable win at the battle of Bull Run, in which he stood like a stone wall

Winfield Scott

General in Chief who created a three

Anaconda Plan

Blockading the Southern Ports to cut off supplies for the Confederacy

George B. McClellan

Commander of the Union army in the east. Known for stalling to train his army, he ended up losing in Virginia to Robert E. Lee anyway. He was later replaced due to his hesitant behavior

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general who commanded the Southeast forces

Antietam

Bloodiest day of the war, with more than 22k dead or wounded. This was at Antietam Creek, Maryland, in which Lee couldn’t pass Union lines, making him retreat. McClellan was given his power back in this battle, but because he didn’t pursue Lee while they retreated, he was finally replaced for good

Fredericksburg

A battle in Virginia with 12k Union losses with an aggressive strategy led by Ambrose Burnside

Monitor Vs. Merrimac

First battle between two metal ships which ended in a draw. This led to the use of metal ships

Ulysses S. Grant

Commander of Mississippi campaign. Captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. This imprisoned 14k Confederate soldiers