Chapter 17-18 Flashcards
John Tyler joined the Whig party because he
could not stomach the dictatorial tactics of Andrew Jackson.
The Whigs placed John Tyler on the 1840 ticket as vice president to
attract the vote of the states’ rightists.
After President John Tyler’s veto of a bill to establish a new Bank of the United States,
he was expelled from the Whig party, all but one member of his cabinet resigned, an attempt was made in the House of Representatives to impeach him, Tyler also vetoed a Whig-sponsored high-tariff bill.
The only member of President Tyler’s Whig cabinet who did not resign in protest over his policies was
Daniel Webster
During an 1837 Canadian insurrection against Britain,
America was unlawfully invaded by the British.
As a result of the panic of 1837,
several states defaulted on their debts to Britain.
The British-American dispute over the border of Maine was solved
by a compromise that gave each side some territory.
The Aroostook War was the result of
a dispute over the northern boundary of Maine.
Arrange the following in chronological order: (A) annexation of Texas, (B) Webster-Ashburton Treaty, (C) settlement of the Oregon boundary, (D) Aroostook War.
D, B, A, C
Some people in Britain hoped for a British alliance with Texas because
the alliance would give abolitionists the opportunity to free slaves in Texas.
One argument against annexing Texas to the United States was that the annexation
might give more power to the supporters of slavery.
Texas was annexed to the United States as a result of
President Tyler’s desire to help his troubled administration.
Arrange in chronological order the United States’ acquisition of (A) Oregon, (B) Texas, (C) California.
B, A, C
The primary group that was instrumental in strengthening and saving American claims to Oregon were
American missionaries to the Indians.
Most Americans who migrated to the Oregon Country were attracted by the
rich soil of the Willamette River Valley.
The nomination of James K. Polk as the Democrats’ 1844 presidential candidate was secured by
southern expansionists
The area in dispute between the United States and Great Britain in 1845 lay between
the Columbia River, the forty-ninth parallel, and the Pacific Ocean.
In the 1840s, the view that God had ordained the growth of an American nation stretching across North America was called
Manifest Destiny
In the presidential election of 1844, the Whig candidate, Henry Clay,
favored both the annexation of Texas and the postponement of that annexation
The election of 1844 was notable because
it was fought over numerous issues.
The group most supportive of gaining control of all the Oregon Country was the
northern democrats
In the Oregon treaty with Britain in 1846, the northern boundary of the United States was established to the Pacific Ocean along the line of
49º.
One reason that the British government decided to compromise on the Oregon Country border was
their belief that the territory was not worth fighting over.
In his quest for California, President James K. Polk
first advocated buying the area from Mexico.
Arrange the following in chronological order: (A) Bear Flag revolt, (B) Slidell mission rejected, (C) declaration of war on Mexico, (D) American troops ordered to the Rio Grande Valley.
B, D, C, A
In 1846 the United States went to war with Mexico for all of the following reasons except
the impulse to satisfy those asking for “spot” resolutions.
President Polk’s claim that “American blood [had been shed] on the American soil” referred to news of an armed clash between Mexican and American troops near
the Rio Grande
During the Mexican War, the Polk administration was called on several times to respond to “spot” resolutions indicating where American blood had been shed to provoke the war. The resolutions were frequently introduced by
Abraham Lincoln
One goal of Mexico in its 1846-1848 war with the United States was to
free black slaves
When the war with Mexico began, President James K. Polk
hoped to fight a limited war, ending with the conquest of California.
Match each American officer below with his theater of command in the Mexican War. A. Stephen W. Kearny B. Zachary Taylor C. Winfield Scott D. John C. Frémont 1. northern Mexico 2. California 3. Santa Fe 4. Mexico City
A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
The terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ending the Mexican War included
United States payment of $15 million for the cession of northern Mexico.
Those people most opposed to President James K. Polk’s expansionist program were the
antislavery forces
The Wilmot Proviso
symbolized the burning issue of slavery in the territories.
The Wilmot Proviso, introduced into Congress during the Mexican War, declared that
slavery would be banned from all territories that Mexico ceded to the United States.
The largest single addition to American territory was
the Mexican Cession
The first Old World Europeans to come to California were
Spanish
The Spanish Franciscan missionaries treated the native inhabitants of California
very harshly
When the Mexican government secularized authority in California,
Californios eventually gained control of the land.
The Californios’ political ascendancy in California ended
as a result of the influx of Anglo golddiggers.
In order to maintain the two great political parties as vital bonds of national unity, party leaders
avoided public discussion of slavery.
The United States’ victory in the Mexican War resulted in
renewed controversy over the issue of extending slavery into the territories, a possible split in the Whig and Democrat parties over slavery, the cession by Mexico of an enormous amount of land to the United States, a rush of settlers to new American territory in California.
The Wilmot Proviso, if adopted, would have
prohibited slavery in any territory acquired in the Mexican War.
The debate over slavery in the Mexican Cession
threatened to split national politics along North-South lines.
Stephen A. Douglas’s plans for deciding the slavery question in the Kansas-Nebraska scheme required repeal of the
Missouri Compromise
One of Stephen Douglas’ mistakes in proposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act was
underestimating the depth of northern opposition to the spread of slavery
According to the principle of popular sovereignty, the question of slavery in the territories would be determined by
the people in any given territory
In the Compromise of 1850, Congress determined that slavery in the New Mexico and Utah territories was
to be decided by popular sovereignty
Most American leaders believed that the only way to keep the new Pacific Coast territories from breaking away from the United States control was to
construct a transcontinental railroad
The Young Guard from the North
were most interested in purging and purifying the Union
Many northern states passed personal liberty laws in response to the Compromise of 1850’s provision regarding
runaway slaves
The event that threatened to destroy the longstanding equality of free and slave states in the United States Senate was the
discovery of gold in California
A scheme to acquire Cuba from Spain in the 1850s was known as the
Ostend Manifesto
In light of future evidence, it seems apparent that in the Compromise of 1850 the South made a tactical blunder by
demanding a strong fugitive-slave law
In the debates of 1850, Senator William H. Seward, as a representative of the northern Young Guard, argued that
Christian legislators must obey God
The debate over slavery in the Mexican Cession
threatened to split national politics along North-South lines
Which of the following was not among the issues that concerned southerners in 1849-1850?
There was a growing chance that a constitutional amendment would abolish slavery.
The South grew increasingly worried about the future of slavery because
the admission of California might permanently tip the political balance against them
Harriet Tubman gained fame
by helping slaves escape into Canada
The election of 1852 was significant because it
marked the end of the Whig party
The Wilmont Proviso, if adopted, would have
prohibited slavery in any territory acquired in the Mexican War
A southern route for the transcontinental railroad seemed the best because
the railroad would be easier to build in this area
For a short time in the 1850’s, William Walker, an American adventurer, seized control of
Nicaragua
In order to maintain the two great political parties as vital bonds of national unity, party leaders
avoided public discussion of slavery
The fatal split in the Whig party in 1852 occurred over
slavery
The public liked popular sovereignty because it
fit in with the democratic tradition of self-determination
Of those people going to California during the gold rush
a distressingly high proportion were lawless men
An event that helped the cause of compromise in 1850, was when President Zachary Taylor
died suddenly and Millard Fillmore became president
The man who opened Japan to the United States was
Matthew Perry
The most alarming aspect of the Compromise of 1850 to northerners was the decision concerning
the new Fugitive Slave Law
Stephen A. Douglas proposed that the question of slavery in the Kansas-Nebraska territory be decided by
popular sovereignty
The Pierce administration’s secret scheme to gain control of Cuba was stopped when
the secret Ostend Manifesto was leaked to the public
