Manifest Destiny, Texas Revolution, and Civil War Key Concepts

What is Manifest Destiny?

A set of ideas used to justify American expansion in the 1840s.

What rhetoric was woven together in the concept of Manifest Destiny?

Economic necessity, racial superiority, and national security.

What did the concept of Manifest Destiny imply?

An inevitability of U.S. continental expansion.

Who coined the phrase 'manifest destiny'?

John L. O'Sullivan

What was John L. O'Sullivan's profession?

Influential Democratic editor

What concept did John L. O'Sullivan justify regarding American expansion?

Manifest destiny

What did John L. O'Sullivan believe was given to America for development?

The whole of the continent

What type of government did John L. O'Sullivan refer to in his justification for expansion?

Federative self-government

Who was Stephen Austin?

Leader of American immigration to Texas in the 1820s.

What did Stephen Austin negotiate with Mexico?

Land grants.

What role did Stephen Austin play in the 1830s regarding Texas?

He tried to moderate growing Texan rebelliousness.

What position did Stephen Austin hold after Texas became an independent nation?

Secretary of state.

Alamo

A mission and fort that was the site of a siege and battle during the Texas Revolution, which resulted in the massacre of all its defenders; the event helped galvanize Texas Rebels and eventually led to their victory at the Battle of San Jacinto and independence from Mexico.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

A political opportunist and general who served as the president of Mexico eleven different times and commanded the Mexican army during the Texas revolution in the 1830s and the war with the US in the 1840s.

Sam Houston

He led the Texas Revolutionaries from 1835-1836 and became the first president of the Republic of Texas, later becoming the Senator from Texas and was on the side of Andrew Jackson.

James K Polk

He was the Democratic president from 1845-1849 and was nicknamed "Young Hickory" because of his close political and personal ties with Andrew Jackson who was named "Old Hickory". He went after territory acquisition assertively and and led to the Mexican War, Settlement of the Oregon issue, and The Acquisition of the Mexican Cession.

What was the Mexican American War?

A war between the United States and Mexico.

When did the Mexican American War take place?

From April 1846 to February 1848.

What event led to the Mexican American War?

The United States' annexation of Texas in 1845.

What was the dispute in the Mexican American War regarding Texas?

Whether Texas ended at the Nueces River (Mexican claim) or the Rio Grande (U.S. claim).

Winfield Scott

Arguably the finest military figure in America from the War of 1812 to the Civil War; he distinguished himself in the Mexican War, ran unsuccessfully for president (1852), and briefly commanded the Union armies at the beginning of the Civil War.

Zachary Taylor

Military hero of Mexican War and the last Whig elected president (1848); his sudden death in July 1850 allowed supporters of the Compromise of 1850 to get the measures through Congress.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Agreement that ended the Mexican War; under its terms Mexico gave up all claims to Texas north of the Rio Grande and ceded California and the Utah and New Mexico territories to the United States.

Slave Power

The belief that a slave-holding oligarchy existed to maintain slavery in the South and to spread it throughout the United States, including into the free states.

Free Soil Party

Formed from the remnants of the Liberty Party in 1848; adopting a slogan of 'free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men,' it opposed the spread of slavery into territories.

Wilmot Proviso

Measure introduced in Congress in 1846 to prohibit slavery in all territory that might be gained by the Mexican War; southerners blocked its passage in the Senate.

What is the Mexican Cession?

A region comprising California and parts of the present-day American Southwest that Mexico turned over to the United States.

Which war led to the Mexican Cession?

The Mexican War.

Popular Sovereignty

Political process promoted by Lewis Cass, Stephen Douglas, and other northern Democrats whereby, when a territory was organized, its residents would vote to decide the future of slavery there.

Nashville Convention

Meeting of representatives of nine southern states in the summer of 1850 to monitor the negotiations over the Compromise of 1850; it called for extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific Ocean.

Who proposed the Compromise of 1850?

Henry Clay

What was one key component of the Compromise of 1850?

Admitting California as a free state

What law was made more stringent as part of the Compromise of 1850?

Fugitive Slave Law

What issue did the Compromise of 1850 aim to settle?

The debate over slavery in territories gained from the Mexican War

Ostend Manifesto (1854)

A statement by American envoys abroad to pressure Spain into selling Cuba to the United States; suggested that if Spain would not sell Cuba, the U.S. would be justified in seizing it.

Franklin Pierce

Northern Democratic president with southern principles, 1853-1857, who signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and sought sectional harmony above all else.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, a best-selling novel about the cruelty of slavery; often called the greatest propaganda novel in United States history, the book increased tension between sections and helped bring on the Civil War.

Stephen Douglas

A leading Democratic senator in the 1850s; nicknamed the 'Little Giant' for his small size and great political power, he steered the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act through Congress.

Know-Nothing Party

Influential third party of the 1840s; it opposed immigrants, especially Catholics, and supported temperance, a waiting period for citizenship, and literacy tests.

What year was the Kansas-Nebraska Act enacted?

1854

Who introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

Stephen Douglas

What was one of the main purposes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

To promote a transcontinental railroad

What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act do to the Nebraska territory?

Divided it into two territories

What principle did the Kansas-Nebraska Act use to decide the issue of slavery?

Popular sovereignty

What is nativism?

An ideology that prioritizes the interests of native-born or long-established residents over those of immigrants.

What does nativism typically advocate for?

Restrictions on immigration.

What type of policy is nativism considered?

A governmental policy or political stance.

What was the Second Party System?

The political party system in the United States that lasted from 1828 to 1852.

What were the dominant parties during the Second Party System?

The Whig Party and the Democratic Party.

What characterized the Second Party System?

Rapidly rising levels of voter interest.

When was the Republican Party formed?

1854

What event prompted the formation of the Republican Party?

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Which parties combined to form the Republican Party?

Whig, Free Soil, and Know-Nothing Parties, as well as disgruntled Democrats

John Fremont

Explorer, soldier, politician, and first presidential nominee of the Republican Party (1856); his erratic personal behavior and his radical views on slavery made him controversial and unelectable.

Who led the Supreme Court during the Dred Scott decision?

Chief Justice Roger Taney

What year was the Dred Scott decision made?

1857

What was the Supreme Court's ruling regarding Dred Scott's citizenship?

Scott was not a citizen

What constitutional amendment did the Dred Scott decision claim protected slavery?

Fifth Amendment

What position did the Supreme Court uphold in the Dred Scott decision?

The extreme southern position on slavery

John Breckinridge

Vice president under James Buchanan and Democratic presidential nominee in 1860 who supported slavery and states' rights; he split the Democratic vote with Stephen Douglas and lost the election to Lincoln.

John Brown

Violent abolitionist who murdered slaveholders in Kansas and Missouri (1856-1858) before his raid at Harpers Ferry (1859), hoping to incite a slave rebellion.

James Buchanan

Weak, vacillating president of the United States, 1857-1861; historians rate him as a failure for his ineffective response to secession and the formation of the Confederacy.

Who won the Election of 1860?

Republican Abraham Lincoln

Who was the Southern Democrat candidate in the Election of 1860?

John C. Breckinridge

Who was the Democrat candidate in the Election of 1860?

Stephen A. Douglas

Who was the Constitutional Union candidate in the Election of 1860?

John Bell

Secession

The voluntary withdrawal of one or more states from the Union that constituted the United States.

American Civil War

The conflict fought from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern states (Union) and Southern states (Confederacy).

Who was President of the United States from 1861 to 1865?

Abraham Lincoln

What was Abraham Lincoln known for?

His leadership in restoring the Union,

When was Abraham Lincoln assassinated?

April 14, 1865 before he could implement his Reconstruction Program

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who led the final campaign against Robert E. Lee, bringing the war to an end in April 1865; later elected president in 1868.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865, a leading southern politician who believed in the expansion of slavery.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general who declined command of the Union armies and surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant on April 9, 1865.

Border States

Slave states including Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri that remained in the Union and were crucial to Lincoln's strategy.

Cotton Diplomacy

A failed southern strategy to embargo cotton from England to gain British support for the Confederacy.

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order issued on January 1, 1863, granting freedom to all slaves in states in rebellion, using Lincoln's authority as commander-in-chief.

Gettysburg Address

Speech delivered by Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, emphasizing human equality and the preservation of the Union.

Copperheads

Northerners, mostly Democrats, who supported the southern cause, particularly strong in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

George McClellan

Union general known for his reluctance to attack Lee; fired twice by Lincoln and ran unsuccessfully for president in 1864.

William Seward

Lincoln's secretary of state and former rival for the Republican nomination in 1860, known for his controversial comments on slavery.

Reconstruction

The period that followed the American Civil War during which attempts were made to redress the inequities of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy.

Ten-percent plan

Reconstruction plan of Lincoln and Johnson; when 10 percent of the number of voters in 1860 took an oath of allegiance, a southern state could form a government and elect congressional representatives.

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

Harsh Congressional Reconstruction bill that required the president to appoint provisional governments for conquered states until a majority of voters took an oath of loyalty to the Union.

Ku Klux Klan

Terrorist organization active throughout the South during Reconstruction, dedicated to maintaining white supremacy through violence and intimidation.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who went South to participate in Reconstruction governments, often viewed as opportunistic, poor whites hoping to exploit the South.

Scalawags

White southerners who cooperated with and served in Reconstruction governments; generally considered traitors to their states.

Andrew Johnson

Vice president who took over after Lincoln's assassination; his battles with Radical Republicans resulted in his impeachment in 1868.

Radical Republicans

Republican faction in Congress who demanded immediate emancipation of the slaves at the war's beginning and favored racial equality after the war.

Charles Sumner

Senator from Massachusetts who was attacked for an antislavery speech; he authored the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Thaddeus Stevens

Uncompromising Radical Republican who wanted to revolutionize the South by giving equality to blacks and was a leader in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

Thirteenth Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery everywhere in the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

Granted citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States and protects citizens from abuses by state governments.

Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

Granted black males the right to vote, splitting former abolitionists and women's rights supporters.

Freedmen's Bureau

A U.S. government-sponsored agency that provided food, established schools, and tried to redistribute land to former slaves.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

Radical attempt to diminish Andrew Johnson's authority by providing that the president could not remove any civilian official without Senate approval.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement that ended the disputed election of 1876 between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden, marking the end of Reconstruction.