Chapter 13: A House Divided (1840-1861) Flashcards
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the “Manifest Destiny” in the 1840s?
1840s:
- Oregon: joined administration US and Britain
- Utah: Part Mexico
Still Americans settling in regions:
1840s: influx belief God intended American reach Pacific Ocean
* “***manifest destiny***” term used describe expansionist spirit
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Describe Mexican California? How did it relate to Mexico’s independence in 1821?
Settlement Oregon:
not directly raise issue slavery
Conquest Mexico: raised questions!
1821: Mexico independence
population: 6.5 million
Northern states (California, New Mexico, Texas) - not very populated
1840: California
- commericially linked US
- New England ships in region
1846: Life in California
- Alfred Robinson
> why not extend “area of freedom” by annexation of Caliornia
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Describe Texas and why did the Spanish government encourage American migration to the region in its initial development?
- First part Mexico → settled large amounts of Americans*
- non-Indian population: 2000
Why: Spanish government wanted develop region
accepted offer from Moses Austin = colonise with Americans
1820: Austin large land grant
- after death: Stephan Austin continque plan
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What coused the Texas Revolt?
Mexican government alarmed weakening grip in area
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What happened during the Texas Revolt in 1830?
- annulled land contracts
- barred further emigration from US
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the result of the Texas Revolt?
Response: Americans demanded greater authonomy within Mexico
leader: Stephan Austin
Who:
- Tejano elite joined
- farmers → welcomed economic boom
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did slavery exasturebate the issue with the Texan revolt?
Slavery → exacerbated issue
Mexico: abolished slavery
Local authorities: allowed Americans bring slaves with
1835: (Mexican ruler) General Antonio López de Santa Anna → send army impose authority
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Explain the events of the Texas Revolt:
- March 6, 1836
- April 1836
- 1837
- 1845
Santa Anna’s armies in Texas: Texas Revolt 💣
Rebels:
- formed provinsional government
- called independence
March 6 1836:
Santa Armies: stormed Alamo
- killed 187 Americans & Tejano
April 1836: Battle of San Jacinto
leader: Sam Houston (former governor Tennessee)
What: forced Anna recognize Taxan independence
1837: Texas Congress called union with US
Van Buren: shelved question
- why: feared political issues adding another slave state
1845: American population 150,000
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did the John Tyler administration view Texas, how did it change in 1844?
Texas annexation → back burner
1844: revived
who: President John Tyler
why: rescue administration securing southerner support
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What letter leaked in April 1844 and how did it relate to slavery?
April 1844: letter leaked
who: John C. Calhoun (secutary state)
> linked idea of absorbing Texas directly to the strengthening of slavery in US
Southern hopes:
- Texas smaller states
- more representation House
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What decision did Henry Clay and Matrin Van Buren come up with regarding the annexation of Texas in April 1844?
Later April 1844:
who: Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren
where: Clay’s Kentucky plantation
what:
> agreed issue letters rejecting immediate annexation on grounds provoking war with Mexico
Result:
- Clay: Whig nomination
- Van Buren letters = disaster
< >southerners rejected Van Burenfailed receive 2/3 majority votechose: James K. Polk
called “reannexation” Texas
- texas part of Louisiana Purchase & belonged to US*
3. “reoccupation” of Oregon
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did James K. Polk view the annexation of Texas in 1844?
had to soothe angry Northern Dems:
- called “reannexation” Texas
* texas part of Louisiana Purchase & belonged to US* - “reoccupation” of Oregon
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What happened in the Election of 1845 with James K. Polk?
First “dark horse” candidate
- nomination unexpected
- Defeated Clay
March 1845: (one day before inauguration) Texas part Union
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What were Polk’s 4 presidential goals? How did they play out?
Goals:
- reduce tariffs
- reestablish Independent Treasury system
- Settle disputes over ownership of Oregon
- bring California into Union
Results:
- soon enacted by Congress
- soon enacted by Congress
- Divide Oregon: 49th Parallel
- more difficult
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did Polk try to aquuire California in 1846?
Polk: emissary try to purchase region → refusal
Spring 1846: planning military action
April 1846:
leader: Zachary Taylor
what: moved into region between Nueces River and Rio Grande
* claimed land between Taxes and Mexico
made war inevitable & Polk called declaration of war
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What of Polk’s actions made war with Mexico inevitable?
Polk: emissary try to purchase California region → refusal
Spring 1846: planning military action
April 1846:
leader: Zachary Taylor
what: moved into region between Nueces River and Rio Grande
* claimed land between Taxes and Mexico
made war inevitable & Polk called declaration of war
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
When was the Mexican War?
1846 - 1848
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How was the Mexican War an American “first?”
- American conflict on foreign soil
- American troops occupied foreign capital
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Who wrote On Civil Disobedience and why?
1846: Henry David Thoreau jailed
- refused pay taxes
- protest war
wrote: On Civil Disobedience
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did Lincoln view the Mexican War?
Critic
- 1846: elected to Congress from Illinois
- whig
Questioned:
> did the Mexicans inflict casualties on American soil?
Lincoln’s stance: unpopular
1848: Dems took seet in Congress → critisim war
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How do historic views on the American-Mexico war differ between the USA and Mexico?
American view: only footnote in history
Mexican view:
- central event
- source resentment
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What took place (regarding the Mexican War) happened in June 1846?
- band insurrectionists
- proclaimed California freed Mexico
- new ruler: Captain John C. Fremont
wanted: California into Union
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What took place (regarding the Mexican War) happened in February 1847, Battle of Buena Vista?
leader: Zachary Taylor
what: defeated army
- Mexicans still refuse negotiate
- Polk send armies inland
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What took place (regarding the Mexican War) happened in September 1847?
Occupied Capital
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What took place (regarding the Mexican War) happened in February 1848?
February 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
- confired annexation Texes
- ceded California & New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Describe the Mexican Cession in 1848?
Mexican Cession
when border split: families shattered
- 75,000-100,000 Spanish & 150,000 Indians inhabited annexed land
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo:
-
males = “rights of Americans”
* tried protect Mexicans landowners* - Indians: referred “savages” whom US must prevent from starting incursions into Mexico
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
When did Texas gain independence?
1836
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What happened with Texas’s independence in 1836?
Anglos & Tejanos faught together = soon tension
[1] Americans expelled Mexicans:
former allies (believed to be “loyalists to Mexico”)
Juan Seguín:
- Mayor San Antonio
- active role in revolt
1842: (still mayor) driven from town
[2] Tejanos = confined agriculture or urban labor
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What Dispute territory between Nueces River and Rio Grande
- claimed Texas and Mexico
- controlled Comanche Indians
- power broken 1860s-70s*
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did the territorial expansion in 1840 reinforce the connection between race and americanism?
1840s: territorial expansion proof innate superiority of “Anglo-Saxon race”
- literature: link between American freedom and qualities of Anglo-Saxon Protestants
- (some) expansionists said:
> annex all Mexico failed due fear nation could not assimilate its large non-white Catholic population
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
how were Spanish Mexicans classified in former Mexican territory?
Racial definition of former Mexican territory:
“Spanish” Mexicans = white
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was Sutter’s Mill? What happened there in 1848?
California non-Indian pop: 15,000
1840s: 5x many emigration to Oregon than California
January 1848: GOLD RUSH
why: gold discovered
where: Sierre Nevada Mountains; sawmill;
* Swiss immigrant: Johann A. Sutter
Result: poured into California
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Describe the nature of the Gold-Rush population and women:
diverse:
- Mexico and South America
- Americans
- Irish, Germans, Italians, Australians
- Chinese
Women:
- running resaurants & boardinghouses
- laundresses, cooks, prostitutes
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What type of mining was used during the Gold-Rush in 1848 and how did it fuel racial tention?
early: surface mines exhausted
Required large capital investment
result: worsened competition among races
- white miners: organizers expell “foreign miners”
- state legistatures: taxes on foreign miners
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What were the three disasterous consequences of the Gold-Rush?
- Overran Indian communities
killed thousands Indians
-
launch strikes on state’s Indians
- state officials paied millions bounties private militias
wanted reduce population
-
Slavery
- orphan Indians = sold slaves
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What were the best harbors in the USA during the 1840s?
How did trade with foreign nations increase over this time?
Result: American possess magnificent harbors
- San Diego
- San Franciso
1848-1860: Chinese trade trippled
1850s: started trade Japan
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was Commondore Matthew Perry’s contribution in sea trade?
1853-1854: American warship under command sailed Tokyo Harbor
- japanese agreed to trade
- 1854: opened 2 ports to American shippping
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Wilmot Proviso of 1846?
who: Congressman David Wilmot (Penn)
> Resoltion prohibiting slavery for all territory aquired from Mexico
Result: Party lines crumbled:
- Northerners: Wilmot Proviso
- Southerners: opposed it
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Why did tention over slavery escalate after 1846?
Aquisition of new land
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Free Soil Party (1848) and what was their part in the election of 1848?
Opponents of slavery: Free Soil Party
- Nominated: Martin Van Buren
- Running Mate: Charles Francis Adams
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What happened during the Election of 1848?
Opponents of slavery: Free Soil Party
- Nominated: Martin Van Buren
- Running Mate: Charles Francis Adams
Dems: nominated Lewis Cass
> Decision left to settlers in new terriroty → “popular sovereignty”
Election of 1848:
Van Buren:
- motivated by events in 1844
- 300,000 votes from abolitionists
Winner: Zachary Taylor
- Whig candidate
- national hero Mexican War
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Why were the Free Soil Party appealing to the Northerners in the 1840s?
popular appeal: North
- exceeded:
- abolitionists’ demand for immediate emancipation
- equal rights black
- many resented southern domination of federal government
not want more slave states
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Free Soil Platform of 1848 and how did they difffer from the abolitionists?
Northerners: ability move west → economic opportunity
views: merge easily with opposition to expansion of slavery
Free Soil Platform of 1848:
- Barring slavery
- federal government provide free homestreads to settlers
Difference from abolitionism:
- apeal to racism widespread in north
- Wilmot: Controversial proviso → cause for rights for white men & preventing complete with black labor
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did northerners view westwards expansion?
northerners: westwards expansion essential economic development
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the “Springtime of nation” of 1848?
1848: remembered “Springtime of nation”
- time democratic uprisings (Europe)
- demands by ethic minorities
American ideals popular old world
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What developments in Europe took place during the early 1800s?
Developments in Europe:
- Chartist movement (Great Britain)
- French: monarychy → republic
- Hungarians independence from Austrian rule
- Italy and Germay: divide multiple states
Receded…
- Chartist faded away
- Napoleon restored monarchy
- Hungarian revoltes crushed
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
When did California try to be accepted into the Union?
1850: California admitted Union - FREE STATE
opposed many southerners
- feared upset sectional balance
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Compromise of 1850?
1850: California admitted Union - FREE STATE
opposed many southerners
- feared upset sectional balance
Henry Clay → Compromise of 1850
- California enter free state
- Slave trade (not institution) abolished nation’s capital
- Stringent new law = southerners reclaim runaway slaves
- Rest territory aquired Mexico: slavery up white citizens in region (***Wilmot Proviso***)
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did the following men view the Compromise of 1850?
- Daniel Webster
- John C. Calhoun
- William H. Seward
- Zachary Taylor
- Millard Filmore
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Fugative Slave Act (1850)?
> Federal government authority cases involving runaway slaves
Controversial:
- able determine fate runaway slaves
- no jury trail or no testimony form witness
- called upon citizens capture figitives if called upon
South: supported measures brought federal agents into North
- slaves more important than state-rights
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the result of the Fugative Slave Act (1850)?
1850s: 300 cases
Result:
- further sectionalism
- reinvigorated Underground Railroad
1851: large crowd rescued slave Jerry jail
1851: slaveowner killed tried reacpture slave
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Underground Railroad and what was Sydney Howards Gay’s rol?
Due railroad in North: slaves go Canada
1856: Sydney Howard Gay: 200 fugitives to Canada
- thousands Canada
< >slavesfree blacks worried swept up in Fugitive Act
Challenged notion America asylun for freedom
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the result of the Election of 1852?
Who: (Dem) Franklin Pierce
Platform: Compromise final settlement of slavery
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did the party system give way to sectionalism in 1854?
1854: Party System gave into Sectionalism
Senator Stephan A. Douglas → bill provide territorial government for Kansas and Nebraska
- believed western development
- wanted construct railroad through
Southerners in Congress:
- not want more free states
Response: Douglas suggested POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Describe Stephan A. Douglas’s bill regarding Popular Sovereignity:
Popular Sovereignty:Status of slavery determined voters of local settlers
Senator Stephan A. Douglas → bill provide territorial government for Kansas and Nebraska
- believed western development
- wanted construct railroad through
Southerners in Congress:
- not want more free states
Response: Douglas suggested POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Appeal of Independent Democrats regarding Kansas and Nebraska?
Kansas and Nebraska: heartland
- direct path westwards expansion
- slavery (techniqually) prohibited under Missouri compromise (Douglas’s bill repeal)
Response: (group antislavery congressmen) Appeal of the Independent Democrat
* Douglas violation * **plot convert free territory into slaves** * convince millions northerners southern leaders aim: extend slavery northwards
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)?
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an 1854 bill that mandated “popular sovereignty”–allowing settlers of a territory to decide whether slavery would be allowed within a new state’s borders.
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)?
Result:
- shattered dem’s unity
- reorganization of American politcs
1856: Whig party collapse
1. South: solidly Democrat 2. North: **Republic Party** (*wanted prevent further slavery expansion)*
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What were the 4 components of the Republican Party’s cause in the 1850s?
- directly caused impact of slavery on traditional party system
- reflected underlying economic and social changes
- Completion of market revolution
- beginning of mass immigration from Europe
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the catalyst for economic growth during 1843-1857?
1843-1857: explosive economic growth
Catalyst: RAILROAD
- most construction: Ohio, Illinois, and Northwest
- Reorientated trade [Northwest’s trade from the South to East]
1850: most western farmers shipped products down Mississippi River
1860: railroads used & cheaper
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did the Republican party create the groundwork gor political unification in the 1840s?
Republican Party: integration of Northwest and Northeast created the groundwork for political unification
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What were the areas of industrial production in the 1850s-1860s?
- Atlantic Coast:
- Boston to Philadelphia and Baltimore
- Great Lakes:
- complex manufacturing center
South not share economic changes
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Define nativism:
- Nativism*: hostility immigrants (especially Catholics)
- national politcal movement 1850s
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
What was the American (or Know-Nothing) Party in 1854?
- dedication reserving political office for native-born Americans
- resisting “aggression” Catholic Church
- Efforts undermine public school system
Massachusetts: swept election
Other states:
“anti-Nebraska” coalitions voters opposed Kansas-Nebraska Act
- combined anti-Catholicism & antislavery
- (often) opposition liquor
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did race and immigration suffrage relate?
Despire anti-Irish sentiment → little resistance to suffrage
- all Europeans immigrants benefitted being white
- automatically received right to vote
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Who formed part of the Republican Party in the 1850s?
who:
- antislavery Dems
- nothern Whigs
- Free Soilers
- Know-Nothing opposed further expansion of slavery
1856: alternative to Dems
Worldview:
antithesis between “free society” and “slave society”
- North: progress, opportunity and freedom
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
How did Republicans define northern society and view slavery?
Republicans:
> definition northern society: opportunity offered each laborer social mobility → economic independence = freedom
> Slavery: social disorder → slaves, poor whites, no hope of advancement
If spread north: free laborers barred → no opportunity social advancement
Republics:
- not abolitionists
- focus prevent spreading
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Describe the Kansas election in 1854-1855 and its result:
Hundreds proslavery Missouians → crossed border cast fraudulent ballots
- President Pierce: recognized legitimacy
Result: Civil War
- 200 persons lost lives
- May 1856: proslavery mob attacked Lawrence
- Called: “Bleeding Kansas”
- discredit Douglas policy leaving policy up to settlers
- Aided Republicans
Chapter 13: (1840-1861) A House Divided
Who were the candidates in the Election of 1856? What was the result?
Republican Candidate: John C. Frémont
- platform: opposed expansion slavery
Democrat Candidate: James Buchanan
- stung Kansas-Nebraska Act
- minister to Greaet Britain in 1854 → no direct connection
- endorced: popular sovereignty
Know-Nothing candidate: Millard Fillmore (ex-president)
Result:
- Fremont: won North
- (won) Buchanan: South and Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania
- Filmore: Maryland
