APUSH Unit 5 Review Notes

Manifest Destiny

• Prevailing idea of the time (1844-1877).

• Belief that Americans had a God-given right to possess the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

• Reasons for embracing manifest destiny:

  • Access to more natural and mineral resources.

  • More economic opportunities for settlers.

  • Religious refuge for those seeking such freedom.

Texas

• Americans settled in Texas since the 1820s when it was still Mexican territory.

• By 1830, Americans outnumbered Mexicans three to one in Texas.

• Most settlers were Southern, Protestant, and brought slavery with them.

• In 1829, the Mexican government decreed:

  • Mandatory conversion to Roman Catholicism.

  • Outlawed slavery.

• American settlers rejected these terms, and the Mexican government shut down the border to further immigration.

• In 1835, Texans revolted and eventually captured the leader of the Mexican troops, forcing him to sign a treaty recognizing Texan independence.

• The Mexican government refused to recognize the treaty's legitimacy.

• Texas applied to become a state but was initially rejected due to the potential for war with Mexico.

Oregon Territory

• Both the British and Americans claimed rights to the territory.

• The British had a profitable fur trade but relatively few settlers.

• American settlers, mainly missionaries and farmers, were more numerous.

• Americans claimed the territory due to their presence and the idea of manifest destiny.

Election of 1844

• James K. Polk, a strong believer in manifest destiny, won the election.

• Polk made campaign promises regarding Texas, Oregon, and California.

• Outgoing President John Tyler annexed Texas before Polk took office.

• Polk split the Oregon Territory with the British at the 49th parallel.

Mexican-American War

• Annexation of Texas led to the Mexican-American War.

• Dispute over the southern border of Texas: Americans claimed the Rio Grande, while Mexicans claimed the Nueces River.

• The war began on 04/25/1846 after Mexican troops killed 11 Americans.

• American troops captured Mexico City in 1847.

• The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848:

  • Established the southern border of the United States at the Rio Grande.

  • Granted the Mexican Cession (including California and New Mexico) to the United States.

Wilmot Proviso

• Proposed amendment during the first year of the Mexican-American War.

• Stipulated that any land gained from the war would be ineligible for the spread of slavery.

• The amendment was struck down in the Senate.

• Symbolized the growing tension over westward expansion and slavery.

California Gold Rush

• Gold discovered in California in 1848, leading to a massive influx of settlers.

• California's population increased from about 14,000 in 1848 to just under 400,000 by 1860.

Arguments on Expansion of Slavery

• Southern Position:

  • Slavery was a constitutional right.

  • The Missouri Compromise line should extend to the Pacific.

  • Any attempt to curtail slavery was seen as a move towards its entire destruction.

• Free Soil Position:

  • Northern Democrats and Whigs wanted all land gained in the West to be free territory.

  • Vision for Western lands was one of white opportunity and prosperity.

  • Many didn't want enslaved or free blacks in the West.

  • Abolitionists wanted to ban slavery everywhere.

  • Some formed the Free Soil Party, which advocated for the cessation of slavery.

• Popular Sovereignty:

  • The people living in the territories would decide whether to be a free state or a slave state.

Compromise of 1850

• Proposed by Henry Clay to address the question of admitting California and New Mexico.

• Key provisions:

  • The Mexican session would be divided into the Utah and New Mexico territories, and each of them would decide the slavery question by popular sovereignty.

  • California would be admitted as a free state.

  • The slave trade would be outlawed in Washington, D.C.

  • Congress would pass a stricter Fugitive Slave Act.

• The Fugitive Slave Act caused serious problems because it made Northerners legally responsible for reporting runaway slaves and facilitating their return.

Underground Railroad

• A series of trails and safe houses by which Southern slaves were given safe passage to the North.

• Escalated tensions due to the consternation of plantation owners.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

• A fictionalized depiction of Southern slavery by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

• Exposed the brutal and paternalistic nature of the institution.

• Became a best-selling book in America.

• Helped stoke the Northern fires of abolition.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Divided the Nebraska territory into Kansas and Nebraska.

• Decided that the slavery question would be decided by popular sovereignty.

• Overturned the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in the western territories above the southern border of Missouri.

• Led to fighting between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions known as "Bleeding Kansas."

• Resulted in the establishment of rival legislatures.

Republican Party

• Formed as a coalition of free soilers and antislavery Whigs and Democrats.

• Main goal was to stop the spread of slavery.

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

• Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom after living in a free state.

• Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled against Scott:

  • Slaves were not citizens and could not sue in federal court.

  • Slaves were property, and the Constitution protects property rights.

  • Slavery could exist anywhere in the United States.

John Brown's Raid (1859)

• John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry to seize weapons and incite a slave uprising.

• The rebellion was quickly squashed, and John Brown was hanged.

• Southerners feared the true intentions of the North were to dismantle the South with slave rebellion.

Election of 1860

• Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas.

• Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln.

• Lincoln did not oppose slavery in the South but wanted to prevent its spread.

• Lincoln won the presidency without a single Southern electoral vote.

• Southern states seceded from the Union.

Confederate States of America

• South Carolina was the first state to secede in December 1860.

• Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana soon followed.

• The Confederate States of America wrote a constitution similar to the United States Constitution but with limitations on federal power and the enshrinement of slavery.

Civil War

• Began after the shooting at Fort Sumter.

• Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas joined the Confederacy.

• Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland were slave states that did not secede.

Goals and Strategies

• Lincoln's initial goal was to save the Union, not to abolish slavery.

• The North had a larger population, a robust navy, and an economic advantage.

• The South had better generals and was fighting a defensive war.

• The Union's Anaconda Plan involved blockading Southern seaports and controlling the Mississippi River.

• The Confederate strategy relied on help from foreign countries, mainly Britain and France, due to their dependence on Southern cotton.

Emancipation Proclamation (1862)

• Issued on 09/22/1862, to take effect on 01/01/1863.

• Declared that all enslaved people in rebellious territories would be free.

• Did not free slaves in the border states.

• Enlarged the purpose of the war to include the abolishment of slavery.

Battle of Vicksburg

• The Union victory granted the North control over the entire Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in half.

Battle of Gettysburg

• After the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln made an effort to unite the country and portray the struggle against slavery as the fulfillment of America's founding ideals by emphasizing that all men are created equal and a government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Ulysses S. Grant

• Became the commanding general of the Union army.

• Pressured the Confederates hard and never let up.

William Tecumseh Sherman

• Invaded Georgia, captured Atlanta, and led his men on a march to the Georgia coast, burning and devastating the land as they went.

End of the Civil War

• General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House on 04/09/1865.

Reconstruction

Presidential Reconstruction

• Lincoln favored leniency towards the South with the belief that the South never legally left the union.

• He proposed the 10% plan: if 10% of the population swore an oath of allegiance to the Union and the Constitution, then those states could reestablish their state governments.

• Each state was required to ratify the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

• After Lincoln's assassination on 04/14/1865, Vice President Andrew Johnson attempted to carry out his plan.

Congressional Reconstruction

• Johnson clashed with the Radical Republicans in Congress.

• The radical Republicans pushed for racial equality, whereas the moderate Republicans were mainly concerned about economic gains for whites.

• Civil Rights Act of 1866:

  • Proclaimed that all blacks were officially citizens of the United States.

  • Overturned the Dred Scott decision.

  • Johnson vetoed the act, but Congress overrode his veto.

• Fourteenth Amendment:

  • Stated that all persons born or naturalized in the United States were citizens.

  • No state could deny a citizen of any race equal protection of the laws.

• Reconstruction Act:

  • Divided the South into five zones subject to military occupation.

  • Increased the requirements for states rejoining the Union, including ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment and providing for universal male suffrage.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

• Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, which stated that the president could not remove a member of his cabinet without congressional approval.

• Johnson fired his secretary of war, violating the act.

• Congress drew up articles of impeachment but failed to remove him from office by one vote.

Fifteenth Amendment

• Ratified in 1870.

• Protected the voting rights of former slaves.

Summary

• Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery.

• Fourteenth Amendment: Made all persons born or naturalized in the United States citizens and guaranteed them equal protection of the laws.

• Fifteenth Amendment: Protected the voting rights of former slaves.

Society in the South during Reconstruction

• Newly freed blacks established schools and institutions of higher learning.

• Some blacks were elected to political office.

• Sharecropping:

  • Landlords provided seed and farm supplies in exchange for a share of the harvest.

  • Many sharecroppers remained indebted to landowners.

  • Became a new form of servitude for blacks and poor whites.

White Supremacy

• The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed in 1867 to terrorize blacks into submission.

• Southern legislatures adopted black codes:

  • Prevented blacks from borrowing money to buy land or owning land.

  • Prohibited blacks from testifying against whites in court.

  • Established racial segregation of Southern society.

End of Reconstruction

*Compromise of 1877:
* In the 1877 presidential election, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden were the contenders.
* Tilden won the majority of the popular vote, but three states' votes were contested.
* A special commission decided in favor of Hayes, but Democrats threatened to filibuster.
* The Compromise of 1877 resulted in Democrats allowing Hayes to have the presidency in return for the removal of all federal troops from the South.
* Without federal troops, Southern states were free to run their society as they pleased.