📘 APUSH UNIT 5: 1844–1877

Focus: Westward expansion, slavery and sectionalism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.

🟦 I. Why 1844?

Election of 1844: James K. Polk wins on an expansionist platform → signals rise of Manifest Destiny.

🟥 II. Manifest Destiny & Westward Expansion

Manifest Destiny: Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America.

Key Events:

Texas Annexation (1845): Previously independent; sparked tensions with Mexico.
Oregon Territory (1846): Peacefully divided with Britain.
Mexican-American War (1846–1848): U.S. wins and gains vast land in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Gadsden Purchase (1853): Bought land from Mexico to build a southern railroad.
California Gold Rush (1849): Brought massive migration westward.

🟨 III. Sectionalism Intensifies

Wilmot Proviso (1846): Tried to ban slavery in Mexican Cession—didn’t pass, but increased sectional tensions.

Popular Sovereignty: Letting territories vote on slavery (promoted by Stephen Douglas).

Compromise of 1850:

California = free state
Fugitive Slave Act strengthened
Slave trade banned in D.C.
Utah & New Mexico = popular sovereignty

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Repealed Missouri Compromise; let Kansas & Nebraska decide slavery by vote → Bleeding Kansas violence.

🟩 IV. Slavery Debate & Abolition Movement

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852): Stirred Northern anti-slavery sentiment.
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): Supreme Court ruled slaves were property, not citizens; Congress couldn't ban slavery anywhere.
John Brown’s Raid (1859): Failed attempt to start a slave rebellion; South feared more northern aggression.

🟪 V. Rise of the Republican Party

Formed to oppose expansion of slavery.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858): Debated spread of slavery in territories; Lincoln gained national fame.

🟫 VI. Election of 1860 & Secession

Abraham Lincoln (Republican) wins with no Southern votes → triggers secession of South Carolina and 10 more states.
Confederate States of America formed with Jefferson Davis as president.

🟥 VII. The Civil War (1861–1865)

Union vs. Confederacy

Union Advantages: More people, factories, railroads.
Confederacy Advantages: Better generals, home-field advantage.

Major Events:

Fort Sumter (1861): First shots of the war.
Battle of Antietam (1862): Bloodiest day → led to Emancipation Proclamation.
Emancipation Proclamation (1863): Freed slaves in rebelling states; made war about slavery.
Gettysburg (1863): Turning point; Union victory.
Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864): Total war aimed at breaking Southern will.
Appomattox Court House (1865): Lee surrenders to Grant → war ends.

🟨 VIII. Reconstruction (1865–1877)

Lincoln’s Plan: Lenient—10% loyalty oath to rejoin Union.
Radical Republicans: Wanted to punish the South and protect Black rights.

Key Amendments:

13th (1865): Abolished slavery.
14th (1868): Citizenship and equal protection for all born in U.S.
15th (1870): Black male suffrage.

Freedmen’s Bureau: Helped freed slaves with education and basic needs.

Black Codes: Laws to restrict Black freedom in the South.

Reconstruction Acts (1867): Military oversight of South; required ratification of amendments.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Clashed with Congress over Reconstruction → impeached but acquitted.

🟥 IX. End of Reconstruction

Compromise of 1877:

Settled disputed 1876 election: Hayes becomes president.
In exchange, federal troops removed from the South, ending Reconstruction.

Result: Rise of Jim Crow laws and disenfranchisement of African Americans.

📌 ESSENTIAL VOCAB & PEOPLE (1-sentence explanations)

Term/Person	Explanation
Manifest Destiny	The belief that Americans were destined to expand westward across the continent.
James K. Polk	Expansionist president who led the U.S. into the Mexican-American War.
Mexican-American War (1846–48)	War resulting in huge territorial gains for the U.S., like California and the Southwest.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo	Ended the Mexican War; U.S. gained the Mexican Cession.
Wilmot Proviso	Failed proposal to ban slavery in land from Mexico; deepened sectional conflict.
Compromise of 1850	Tried to settle the slavery debate with California’s admission and a harsher Fugitive Slave Law.
Fugitive Slave Act	Required return of escaped slaves; enraged Northerners.
Kansas-Nebraska Act	Allowed territories to vote on slavery; led to violent conflict in Kansas.
Bleeding Kansas	Violent clashes over slavery after Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Dred Scott v. Sandford	Declared slaves were not citizens and Congress couldn't ban slavery anywhere.
John Brown	Radical abolitionist who tried to incite a slave uprising at Harper’s Ferry.
Abraham Lincoln	Republican president elected in 1860; led the Union during the Civil War.
Confederate States of America	Seceded Southern states; fought against the Union in the Civil War.
Fort Sumter	First battle of the Civil War.
Battle of Antietam	Union victory that allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Emancipation Proclamation	Freed slaves in Confederate states and shifted war goals to include abolition.
Battle of Gettysburg	Turning point of the Civil War; huge Union victory.
Ulysses S. Grant	Leading Union general and later U.S. president.
Robert E. Lee	Commander of Confederate forces.
Sherman’s March to the Sea	Union general’s destructive campaign through the South.
Appomattox Court House	Site of Lee’s surrender; end of the Civil War.
Reconstruction	Period after the Civil War focused on rebuilding and integrating the South.
Radical Republicans	Congressmen who pushed for strict Reconstruction and Black rights.
13th Amendment	Abolished slavery.
14th Amendment	Granted citizenship and equal protection to all people born in the U.S.
15th Amendment	Gave African American men the right to vote.
Freedmen’s Bureau	Provided education and aid to freed slaves.
Black Codes	Southern laws limiting the rights of African Americans after the Civil War.
Andrew Johnson	Lincoln’s successor; opposed Radical Reconstruction and was impeached.
Compromise of 1877	Ended Reconstruction in return for Hayes becoming president.

✏ Common AP Exam Prompts:

Evaluate causes of the Civil War: Was it slavery, states’ rights, economics?
Analyze the effectiveness of Reconstruction in changing Southern society.
Compare Lincoln’s and Radical Republicans’ approaches to Reconstruction.
Discuss how territorial expansion affected sectional tensions.