Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction: Antebellum Flashcards
What did “Manifest Destiny” by John O’ Sullivan do for our country?
-gave the idea that expansion was necessary
-gave the idea that a democratic republic could save the nation
-allowed new forms of transportation and communication
-gave political issues that sparked the Civil War
John Tyler
President who offered Texas statehood
Two issues of allowing Texans into the Union:
-balance between free and slave states?
-would this provoke war with Mexico?
James K. Polk as President
- pro-expansion
-ready for war
The Mexican War
-an easy win
-becomes unpopular (soldiers are treated terribly)
-shows who will be famous in the Civil War
results of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo:
-Rio Grande is the southern border of Texas
-US gets California and New Mexico
California Gold Rush
-causes many people to move West
-California is quickly approaching statehood status
California and New Mexico apply for statehood as free states. Why is that bad for some people?
The unbalance between free states and slave states. Would not be good for those in the Senate and House
Compromise of 1850
-California is a free state
-New Mexico is split into two territories (New Mexico and Utah). These territories decided if they are free or slave states.
-slavery is banned in Washington D.C.
-Fugitive Slave law is adopted
Fugitive Slave Laws
if a runaway slave was caught in a free state, they would be returned back to their home (even if they were free)
Effects of the Fugitive Slave Laws
-shows the South had too much control over the government
-The North could no longer ignore the issues of slavery
-courts denied escaped slaves the right to a free trial by jury
-the Underground Railroad was established
Democratic Party at the time:
dominate politics, slavery is normal, Northern men with Southern sympathies
Whig Party
(R) falls apart over the issue of slavery
Free Soil Party
(R) believes slavery should not be allowed in territories but fine in the south
Know-Nothing Party
(R) believed in nativism (fear of Catholic immigrants)
Republican Party at the time:
-Whig party
-Free Soil Party
-Know-Nothing Party believed in nativism
Popular Sovereignty
people in territories decided (via popular vote) if a state is a free or slave state
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe (white)
African American was the main character, humanized African American slaves to a mass audience
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Douglass proposed to split the Nebraska territory into two parts and allow settlers to act through Popular Sovereignty
result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
-North is outraged
-they repeal the Missouri Compromises on 1820
-Wisconsin-Republican party is formed
Bleeding Kansas
-Pro-Slavery and Abolitionist settle in Kansas and fight over slavery
-Government does nothing about it
Wisconsin-Republican party
opposed the spread of slavery into territories
-not to end slavery itself
What does John C Fremont’s presidential campaign show for the Wisconsin-Republican Party?
It proves the Party can be a national party and compete in elections
What happened when the Missouri Compromise was repealed?
slaves could go anywhere (territory-wise). North was pissed
