apush | period 5 vocab

taken from AMSCO book | 5.4-5.7: slides 37-94

Manifest Destiny

the popular belief that the United States had a divine mission to extend its power and civilizations across the breadth of North America

Great American Desert

the arid region between the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Coast

mountain men

also known as fur traders

Far West

an empty land awaiting settlement and civilization, a place of wealth, adventure, and opportunity

overland trails

the Overland Trail was the route taken by nineteenth-century travelers who left the Mississippi Valley to settle on the Pacific Coast, going either to California or the Willamette Valley in Oregon. the wagon trip took at least six months.

mining frontier

due to the discovery of golf in CA in 1848 that set off migrations in search of gold. the mining boom brought thousands of people and immigrant miners into the western mountains in search for gold

gold rush

the mass migration of Americans and others to California in search of gold

silver rush

miners rushed to Colorado, Nevada, the Black Hills of the Dakotas and the other Western states

farming frontier

the period of time in which hundreds of thousands of citizens moved west to farm the frontier and create rural communities

urban frontier

western cities that arose as a result of railroads, mineral wealth, and farming attracted a number of professionals and business owners. cities include San Francisco & Denver (gold & silver rushes) and Salt Lake City (offered fresh supplies to travelers)

John Tyler

the 10th president of the United States. worked to annex Texas, but the U.S. Senate rejected his treaty of annexation in 1844

Oregon Territory

claimed by Spain, Russia, Great Britain, and the United States. the U.S. believed that taking possession of Oregon Territory was a way to fulfill Manifest Destiny. the U.S. based it claim on the exploration of the Columbia River, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the trading post and fort in Astoria, Oregon

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!”

the Democratic slogan appealed strongly to American Westerns and Southerners who were in an expansionist mood to the “reoccupation” Oregon Territory all the way to the border with Russia Alaska at latitude 54° 40’

James K. Polk

the 11th president of the United States. was a protegé of Andrew Jackson, and was the “dark horse” for the Democratic party

Texas

also known as the "Lone Star Republic'', and was an independent sovereign in North America from 1836 to 1846 as a result of the Texan Revolution. the annexation of Texas would later be a major factor of the Mexican-American War.

Stephan Austin

Moses Austin’s son. succeeded in bringing 300 families into Texas and thereby beginning a steady migration of American settlers into the vast frontier territory

Antonio López de Santa Anna

the Mexican general who made himself the dictator of Mexico and abolished that nation’s federal system of government and attempted to enforce Mexico’s laws in Texas

Sam Houston

led American settlers against Mexico’s outlaw of slavery. he and other settlers revolted and declared Texas an independent republic in March 1836

Alamo

in 1836 Mexican forces under Santa Anna captured the town of Goliad and attacked this location in San Antonio, killing every one of its American defenders

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

in 1842, it split the disputed territory between Maine and British Canada. also settled the boundary of the Minnesota territory, leaving the iron-rich Mesabi Range on the U.S. side of the border

foreign commerce

commerce or travel between any part of the United States and any place outside the United States

exports and imports

grew due the growth of U.S. manufactured goods and agriculture products

Matthew C. Perry

he was the military leader who convinced the Japanese to sign a treaty in 1854 with the U.S. the treaty allowed for a commercial foot in Japan which was helpful with furthering a relationship with Japan

Kanagawa Treaty

Japan opened trade with American vessels in some Japanese ports, protection for American sailors and vessels in Japan, and the formation of a US consulate in Japan

Mexican-American War

a conflict between the United States and Mexico that took place between 1846 and 1848. the war was sparked by a dispute over the annexation of Texas by the United States and a long-standing dispute over the border between Texas and Mexico

California

territory from Mexico that was proclaimed to be an independent republic by American settlers

Nueces River

where the Mexican government insisted that Texas’s southern border was on

Rio Grande

where Polk and Slidell asserted that Texas’s border should lay, further south along this river

Zachary Taylor

as a general, he was ordered by President Polk to move his army towards the Rio Grande, part of the territory that was claimed by Mexico. nominated by the Whigs in the Election of 1848 and took no position on slavery. won and became the 12th President of the United States

Stephan Kearney

succeeded in taking the New Mexico territory and southern California

John C. Frémont

overthrew Mexican rule in the region of the New Mexico territory and southern California in 1846. proclaimed California to be an independent republic

Bear Flag Republic

also known as California. called this due to the republic’s flag that included a California grizzly bear

Winfield Scott

selected by President Polk to invade central Mexico. succeeded in doing so by capturing Mexico City in September 1847

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

negotiated terms favorable to the US. terms are: 1) Mexico recognizing the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas, 2) the Mexican Cession

Mexican Cession

the US taking possession of California and New Mexico for $15 million and claiming all responsibility for any claims of US citizens against Mexico

Wilmot Proviso

an appropriation bill proposed by David Wilmot that would forbid slavery in any territory from Mexico. passed in the House twice (northern advantage), but it failed in the Senate (southern advantage)

Ostend Manifesto (1852)

a secret negotiation between American diplomats to buy Cuba from Spain in Ostend, Belgium. however, when Congress members found out, they forced President Polk to drop the scheme

Walker Expedition

William Walker failed to take Baja California. however, he led a force of Southerners and seized power in Nicaragua in 1853. Walker wanted to develop a proslavery Central American empire, but failed when a coalition of Central American countries invaded his country

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

an agreement between Great Britain and the US to build a canal together through Central America, as an effort to avoid seizing the opportunity from each other

Gadsden Purchase

the purchase of a small strip of land from Mexico in 1853 for $10 million under President Pierce

free-soil movement

a movement founded by Northern Democrats and Whigs who wanted to keep the West a land of opportunity for Whites only

Free-Soil Party

a party organized by Northerners who opposed allowing slavery in the territories. adopted the slogan “free soil, free labor, and free men”. advocated free homesteads (public land grants for farmers) and internal improvements (roads and harbors)

“barnburners”

what antislavery Democrats members of the Free-Soil Party who were known as since their defection threatened to destroy the Democratic Party

Lewis Cass

proposed a compromise solution that soon won considerable support from moderates across the country

popular sovereignty

Lewis Cass’s approach to western states voting to allow slavery in their territory. also known as squatter sovereignty

Henry Clay

proposed the Compromise of 1850 for solving the political crisis to preserve the union.

Compromise of 1850

what Henry Clay proposed. added to the North’s political power and deepened the commitment of many Northerners to saving the Union from secession. terms were: 1) admit California as a free state, 2) divide the Mexican Cession into two territories and let them vote on allowing slavery, 3) give the disputed land between Texas and New Mexico to the new territories, 4) ban the slave trade in D.C. but allow Whites to still own slaves, & 5) adopt and enforce a Fugitive Slave Law

industry technology

increased factory production in the Northeast. factories produced shoes, sewing machines, ready-to-wear clothing, firearms, precision tools, and iron products for railroads

Elias Howe

invented the sewing machine that took much of the production of clothing out of homes and into factories

Samuel F. B. Morse

invented the electric telegraph that helped speed up communication across the country

railroads

its growth sped up transportation across the country

Panic of 1857

caused a sharp decrease in prices for Midwestern agricultural products and increased unemployment in Northern cities. cotton prices still remain high, so Southern believed that their plantation economy was better than the Northern’s economy

nativism

the act of being hostile to immigrants. led sporadic rioting in big cities due to the rise of Irish and German immigrants

Irish

were tenant farmers that were driven away from their homelands. faced discrimination due to them being Roman Catholic. developed strong communities in Northern cities (Boston, New York, Philadelphia)

Roman Catholic

Christians who believe that the authority of the Pope and believe that Communion (eating bread and wine) is literally eating Jesus’s body

Germans

sought refuge in the US due to economic hardships and democratic revolutions. had skills of being farmers and artisans. established homesteads (farmhouses) in western territories. were Roman Catholic or Lutheran. strongly opposed slavery and supported public education

Tammany Hall

the New York City’s Democratic organization. initially excluded the Irish, but eventually the Irish controlled the organization

Fugitive Slave Act

required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves

Underground Railroad

a loose network of activists who helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the North or Canada. the helpers were usually free African Americans or White abolitionists.

Harriet Tubman

an African woman who had escaped slavery. helped up to 300 people escape. worked for emancipation and supported Black soldiers during the Civil War

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about the conflict between an enslaved man and his brutal White slave owner. moved a generation of Northerns to regard slave owners as cruel and inhuman. Southerns condemned the “untruths” in the novel and viewed it as a way for the North to attack their way of life

Harriet Beecher Stowe

an American writer and abolitionist who wrote the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Hinton R. Helper

wrote the nonfiction book Impending Crisis of the South. attacked slavery using statistics to demonstrate to his Southern peers that slavery weakened the South’s economy

Impending Crisis of the South

argued that slavery was incompatible with economic progress using statistics

George Fitzhugh

the best-known proslavery author who wrote Sociology for the South. questioned the principle of equal rights for “unequal men” and attacked the wage system as being worse than slavery

Sociology for the South

challenged the notion of a free society and a free market. according to its writer, a free society without slavery was inherently flawed without slavery. claims that free trade would only benefit the rich and would eventually lead to war

New England Emigrant Aid Company

the Northern abolitionists and Free-Soilers organization that paid for the transportation of antislavery settlers to Kansas during 1855

“bleeding Kansas”

when fighting broke out between proslavery and antislavery groups in Kansas

Pottawatomie Creek

at this settlement, John Brown and his sons attacked a proslavery farm, and killed five people. this was due to proslavery forces attacking the free-soil town of Lawrence, killing two people and destroying homes and businesses

Lecompton Constitution

a proslavery state constitution for Kansas that was submitted by the Southern legislature at Lecompton. president Buchanan asked Congress to accept the document and admit Kansas as a slave state. however, it was rejected due to the Democrats holding the majority of the Congress

Stephen A. Douglas

a senator who proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act

Kansas-Nebraska Act

the proposed building of a transcontinental railroad through the center of the country. to win support of the South, it would divide the Nebraska territory in half and allow settlers to decide whether to allow slavery. gave Southerns the opportunity to expand slavery into lands that were previously closed off (due to the Missouri Compromise). was passed and signed into law by President Pierce.

Franklin Pierce

the presidential Democratic nominee of the 1852 election. was an acceptable choice to people in all regions. supported the Fugitive Slave Act.

Know-Nothing Party

a secretive antiforeign society that evolved into this party. members often responded to political questions with “I know nothing”, which resulted in its name. consisted of nativists and it gained popularity in New England and Mid-Atlantic states. as the significance of immigration declined, the Know-Nothing Party decreased

Republican Party

was founded in Wisconsin as a reaction to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. composed of Free-Soilers and antislavery Whigs and Democrats. was meant to oppose the spread of slavery, not end slavery entirely. became the second largest party in the country

John C. Frémont

the California senator, explorer, and “Pathfinder” who was the first presidential nominee for the 1856 election.

Millard Fillmore

the Know-Nothings presidential nominee for the 1856 election. won 20% of the popular vote

James Buchanan

the Democratic presidential nominee for the 1856 election. won the majority of the popular and electoral vote. became the 15th president of the United States

Dred Scott v. Sandford

a case where an enslaved man from Missouri escaped to Wisconsin and returned two years later. argued that his residence on free soil had made him a free citizen. the Supreme Court decided against Scott due to 1) he couldn’t sue because the US Constitution didn’t intend for African Americans to be citizens, 2) if slaves were a form of property, then Congress could not exclude slavery from any federal territory, & 3) the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional since is bared slavery in Northern territories. the ruling delighted Southern Democrats and infuriated Northern Republicans.

Roger Taney

a Chief Justice who was a Southern Democrat. helped decide against Dred Scott in Dred Scott v. Sandford

Lincoln-Douglas debates

a series of seven debates between the Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas and Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign, largely concerning the issue of slavery extension into the territories

Abraham Lincoln

the Republican candidate for the senator election in Illinois. wasn’t an abolitionist, but was against the expansion of slavery and had moral issues with slavery. was unknown nationally but became the 16th president of the United States

house-divided speech

helped Abraham Lincoln gain his fame. Lincoln said that “I believe this government, cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” this statement made Southerners view him as a radical

Freeport Doctrine

when Lincoln challenged Stephen Douglas to reconcile popular sovereignty with the Dred Scott decision. Douglass responded that slavery could not exist in a community if the local citizens did not pass laws (slave codes) maintaining it. Douglas’s views angered Southern Democrats since he didn’t go far enough in supporting the implications of the Dred Scott decision

Sumner-Brooks incident

the violence in Kansas spilled over into the halls of the US Congress. Charles Sumner attacked the Democratic administration in an extremely critical and bitter speech. this speech included personal attacks on Andew Butler. His nephew, Preston Brooks defended his uncle’s honor by entering the Senate chamber and beating Sumner on his head with a cane. Brooks' actions outraged the North, and the House voted to censure (condemn) him while Southerns applauded the deed. was a sign of growing passions on both sides.

John Brown

tried to start an uprising of enslaved people in Virginia. attacked the federal arsenal (collection of weapons), Harpers Ferry. wanted to use guns to arm Virginia’s enslaved African Americans to rise up in revolt. failed, and was convicted and hanged

Harpers Ferry

a federal arsenal (collection of weapons) that was raided by John Brown in October 1859. its raid created widespread fear in Southerns as they believed that the North was going to use slave revolts to destroy the South

John C. Breckenridge

was nominated as the Southern Democratic presidential nominee. his party called for the unrestricted extension of slavery in the territories and the annexation of Cuba

Constitutional Union Party

a party created by moderate Democrats. nominated John Bell and pledged enforcement of the laws and the Constitution, and the preservation of the Union

John Bell

the presidential nominee for the Constitutional Union Party

secession

the action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state

Crittenden Compromise

John Crittenden’s proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to hold slaves in all territories south of the old Missouri Compromise line (36°30’). wasn’t accepted by Lincoln because it violated the Republican position against the extension of slavery into the territories

border states

slave states that did not secede from the Union when the Confederacy formed. Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

Fort Sumter

a federal fort in Charleston, SC that was cut off by Southern control of the harbor. Lincoln announced that he would send out provisions of food to a small federal garrison. SC’s guns decided to fire, thus starting the Civil War on April 12, 1861. was captured after two days as a result of the Northerns to save the Union