AMSCO Unit 5 APUSH

UNIT 5 - Period 5: 1844-1877

Topic 5.1: Contextualizing Period 5

  • Learning Objective: Explain the context in which sectional conflict emerged from 1844 to 1877.

  • The U.S. expanded to the Pacific Ocean, creating tensions over the expansion of slavery.

  • Civil War (1861-1865): resulted in over 750,000 deaths and significant federal government power.

  • Post-war led to a "new birth of freedom"; however, racism persisted.

Growth in Land and Population

  • 1844-1877: Expansion westward due to belief in Manifest Destiny.

  • Acquisitions through negotiations, purchases, and wars (e.g. Mexican War).

  • Economic opportunities attracted immigrants from Ireland and China.

  • Nativism arose in response to immigration, leading to political movements.

Political Conflicts over Slavery

  • Rising sectionalism intensified differences over politics, economics, and slavery.

  • Slaveowners demanded federal laws for returning escaped slaves; abolitionists fought for an end to slavery.

  • The Free-Soil movement argued against slavery's expansion into new territories.

Topic 5.2: The Idea of Manifest Destiny

  • Learning Objective: Explain the causes and effects of westward expansion from 1844 to 1877.

  • Manifest Destiny: the belief in a divine mission to expand across North America.

  • Expansion driven by nationalism, economic development, and technology; however, critics pointed to the ambition of spreading slavery.

Key Conflicts Over Territory

  • Texas and Maine boundary disputes arose from U.S. expansionist interests.

  • Mexican War (1846-1848): led to significant territorial gains for the U.S.

  • The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): ended the war and ceded California and New Mexico to the U.S.

Notable Events

  • 1844: Election of Polk, pro-Manifest Destiny policies.

  • 1863: Emancipation Proclamation issues, shifting focus to slavery in the war.

Topic 5.3: Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War

  • Learning Objective: Explain the causes and effects of the Mexican-American War.

  • Annexation of Texas led to conflict with Mexico.

  • President Polk's objectives: acquire California and know AP review trends with Mexico were a prelude to war.

  • Treaty terms: U.S. pays $15 million for significant territories.

Wilmot Proviso

  • 1846: Attempted to ban slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, increasing sectional tensions.

Topic 5.4: The Compromise of 1850

  • Learning Objective: Explain the similarities and differences in how regional attitudes affected federal policy after the Mexican-American War.

  • The Compromise aimed to address the escalation of conflicts over slavery.

  • Southern interests pushed for expansion of slavery; Northern states mostly opposed.

  • Popular sovereignty proposed as a solution to determine slavery's status in new territories.

Topic 5.5: Sectional Conflict: Regional Differences

  • Learning Objectives: Effect of immigration on American culture from 1844-1877 and conflict from slavery.

  • Immigration led to political and economic changes, often inciting nativist sentiments.

  • Tensions accentuated by increased anti-slavery sentiment and literature (e.g. Uncle Tom's Cabin).

Topic 5.6: Failure of Compromise

  • Learning Objective: Explain the political causes of the Civil War.

  • Political instability heightened by sectional divisions around the slavery issue.

  • The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to increased violence and conflict ("Bleeding Kansas").

Topic 5.7: Election of 1860 and Secession

  • Learning Objective: Describe the effects of Lincoln's election.

  • Fear of abolitionism motivated Southern states to secede.

  • John Brown's Harpers Ferry raid served as a catalyst for Southern fears.

  • Lincoln's election resulted in the formation of the Confederate States of America.

Topic 5.8: Military Conflict in the Civil War

  • Learning Objective: Explain factors contributing to the Union victory.

  • The Union leveraged its larger population and resources against the Confederacy's defensive tactics.

  • Achievements of key battles: Antietam, Vicksburg, and overall strategies shaped the warfare.

Topic 5.9: Government Policies During the Civil War

  • Learning Objective: Explain how Lincoln's leadership impacted American ideals.

  • Lincoln took decisive actions including the Emancipation Proclamation and suspension of habeas corpus.

  • Transformation of the ideological landscape around government and human rights.

Topic 5.10: Reconstruction

  • Learning Objective: Explain effects of government policy during Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877.

  • Post-war Reconstruction aimed to integrate freed slaves and rebuild the Southern economy.

  • Lincoln's and Johnson's varied approaches reflect complex political realities and conflicts with Congress.

  • The Freedmen's Bureau efforts aimed to assist formerly enslaved individuals in their transition to freedom.