Period 5 (1844-1877)

. Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

• Manifest Destiny, coined by John O'Sullivan, was the belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent.

• President James K. Polk supported expansion: “54°40′ or Fight!” referred to Oregon, but the U.S. settled with Britain at the 49th parallel.
  
  

• Texas was annexed in 1845, sparking tension with Mexico and leading to the Mexican-American War (1846–1848).
  
  

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): the U.S. gained California and the Southwest (Mexican Cession), expanding its territory to the Pacific.
  
  

• The Wilmot Proviso sought to ban slavery in new territories, but it failed—highlighting sectional tensions.
  
  

2. Slavery and Sectional Tensions Intensify

• The Compromise of 1850 (by Henry Clay):
  
  

  • California entered as a free state.
    
    

  • Popular sovereignty decided slavery in Utah and New Mexico.
    
    

  • Slave trade banned in D.C.
    
    

  • Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened, angering Northerners.
    
    

• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) repealed the Missouri Compromise line by allowing popular sovereignty—led to “Bleeding Kansas.”
  
  

• The Republican Party was formed to oppose the expansion of slavery.
  
  

3. Abolitionism and Southern Defense of Slavery

• Underground Railroad, led by Harriet Tubman, helped enslaved people escape.
  
  

• Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin turned Northern opinion against slavery.
  
  

• Southerners like George Fitzhugh defended slavery by comparing it favorably to Northern wage labor.
  
  

• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): Supreme Court ruled African Americans weren’t citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in territories.
  
  

4. Road to Civil War

• John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859) attempted to spark a slave rebellion—he was executed but became a Northern martyr.
  
  

• Election of 1860: Abraham Lincoln won with no Southern electoral votes. In response, South Carolina seceded, followed by six more states, forming the Confederate States of America.
  
  

5. Civil War (1861–1865)

• Advantages:
  
  

  • North: Larger population, more industry, more railroads, stronger navy and finances.
    
    

  • South: Defensive war, better generals like Robert E. Lee, and strong motivation to preserve their way of life.
    
    

• Major Battles:
  
  

  • Fort Sumter (1861): War begins.
    
    

  • Antietam (1862): Union victory gives Lincoln the chance to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
    
    

  • Gettysburg (1863): Turning point—Lee’s invasion of the North fails.
    
    

  • Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864): Total war devastates Southern morale and infrastructure.
    
    

  • Appomattox (1865): Lee surrenders to Grant—war ends.
    
    

6. Lincoln’s Leadership

• Suspended habeas corpus to maintain order.

  •  a judicial order forcing law enforcement authorities to produce a prisoner they are holding, and to justify the prisoner's continued confinement.
    
    

• Emancipation Proclamation (1863): Freed slaves in rebelling states—made the war about ending slavery.
  
  

• Gettysburg Address: Redefined the war in terms of freedom and equality.
  
  

7. Reconstruction (1865–1877)

• Lincoln’s 10% Plan aimed for quick reconciliation.
  
  

• After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson’s Plan pardoned many Confederates but lacked protections for freedmen.
  
  

• Radical Republicans pushed for military reconstruction and full rights for African Americans.
  
  

• Freedmen’s Bureau helped former slaves with food, education, and medical care.
  
  

8. Reconstruction Amendments

• 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery.
  
  

• 14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship to all born in the U.S., including former slaves.
  
  

• 15th Amendment (1870): Prohibited voting discrimination based on race (though not gender or wealth).
  
  

9. Reconstruction Successes and Failures

Successes:

• African Americans held public office (e.g., Hiram Revels).
  
  

• Southern infrastructure and education improved.
  
  

Failures:

• Rise of white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
  
  

• Black Codes, poll taxes, literacy tests, and Jim Crow laws restricted Black freedom and rights.
  
  

• Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction: Rutherford B. Hayes became president, and federal troops withdrew from the South, ending protections for African Americans.