Period 5: Expansion and Sectional Crisis Flashcards
coined by John O’Sullivan; rhetoric that Anglo-American cultural and racial superiority would expand across the continent, moving westward
Manifest Destiny
between 1821 and 1835; led by the Austin family; promoted slavery and cotton expansion
Settlement of Texas
1836; slavery abolished by Mexico; the Alamo; Battle of San Jacinto
Texas War of Independence
1836-1845; President Van Buren refused annexation, fearing a war with Mexico; thus this period
Republic of Texas
the route that led from Independence, Missouri to the Willamette Valley; 1830s-1860s
Oregon Trail
a system devoted to raising livestock; allowed Plains Indians groups to thrive prior to the Civil War
pastoral system
James K. Polk’s campaign slogan in 1844; called for American sovereignty over the Oregon Territory
“Fifty-four forty or fight!”
annexing Texas; seizure of San Francisco Bay; invasion of Mexican territories; Rio Grande dispute
Polk’s Expansionist Program
lands taken by the United States after the war with Mexico, 1846-48; modern-day California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
Mexican Cession
Whig politicians that opposed the war with Mexico on moral grounds; argued the war expanded control of the federal government
“conscience” Whigs
proposal to ban slavery in any territories gained from the war with Mexico; supported by Whigs and antislavery Democrats; a divided Congress did not pass it
Wilmot Proviso
the argument made by abolitionists, free soilers, and Republicans prior to 1861; southern slaveholders were using their representative advantage to demand proslavery policies
“slave power” conspiracy
political opposition of slavery’s expansion; new party in 1848; gained support from white farmers; promoted Jeffersonian ideals
free soil movement
a principle that ultimate power lies in the hands of the electorate; plan promoted by Democrats to allow settlers in new territories to determine its status as free or slave
popular sovereignty
laws that were meant to resolve the dispute over the status of slavery in the territories; California joins as a free state; a new Fugitive Slave Act is instituted
Compromise of 1850
response to the new Fugitive Slave Act by northern states; guaranteed all residents, including alleged escapees from slavery to a jury trial
personal liberty laws
urging President Pierce to seize Cuba for the purpose of expanding slavery; when exposed, Whigs, northern Democrats, and Free Soilers forced its cancellation
Ostend Manifesto
hostility towards immigrants; in the antebellum period, was mostly anti-Catholic and anti-Irish
nativism
a political group that opposed Irish/German immigration; wanted literacy testing for voting; primarily drew former Southern Whigs, leading to that party’s collapse
“Know-Nothing” Party
1854 law that divided Indian Territory; repealed the 1850 Missouri Compromise; left new territories to decide the issue of slavery
Kansas-Nebraska Act (definition)
1854 law; expansion of slavery was not solidified, as violent conflicts erupted between pro- and anti-slavery groups; “Bleeding Kansas”
Kansas-Nebraska Act (effects)
1857 Supreme Court decision that ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional; slave that traveled into free territories did not make him free; denied the federal government the right to exclude slavery; slaves were not citizens
Dred Scott decision
abolitionist who led a free-state militia; after a failed attack on Harper’s Ferry, was hanged; became a martyr for the abolitionist movement
John Brown
winning only 39% of the popular vote, Lincoln manages to win 180 electoral votes; final straw to the southern secession
Election of 1860
the period following Lincoln’s election in which southern states left the union
Secession Winter
