Unit 4 Flashcards
1
Q
Manifest Destiny
A
- the 19th century belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continent was not only justified but also inevitable.
- used as an excuse for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of natives
2
Q
The Wilmot Provision
A
- designed to eliminate slavery within the land acquired as a result of the Mexican War (1846-1848)
- blocked by a south-dominated senate
- added to the growing controversy over slavery
- brought about the formation of the Republican Party in 1854
3
Q
The American or “Know-Nothing” Party
A
- prominent political party during 1840-1850’s
- based on nativist beliefs: strongly opposed immigrants and Catholics
- strongest in Massachusetts
4
Q
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A
- its ability to illustrate slavery’s effect on families helped readers learn to empathize with the enslaved characters
- impact: it humanized slaves and made it harder for people to remain indifferent to the institution of slavery
5
Q
Compromise of 1850
A
- 5 separate bills passed by US congress in September of 1850
- defused a 4-year political confrontation between slave and free states
6
Q
Dred Scott Decision of 1857
A
- a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court in which the Court held that African Americans whether enslaved or free could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing in federal courts
- background: Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man who had been taken by his owner to free territory and attempted to sue for his freedom
7
Q
The Republican Party of 1860
A
- mainly composed of northerners
- came to power in 1860 with the election of Lincoln as president
- principal opposition to the Democratic party
- oversaw the preservation of the union and the ending of slavery
- reshaped the federal and central governments during civil war
- introduced a new national banking system
- created massive private partnerships and fueled the emergence of industrial America
- protective tariffs to help build up American industries and it also helped pay off civil war debt
- transcontinental railroads
- enabled economic growth: the US was making more than it was spending
8
Q
Southern Secession
A
- 7 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas) withdrew from the union in 1860 and 1861 and formed a government known as the Confederacy
- happened because the states were convinced that their way of life (based on slavery) was threatened by the election of Lincoln as president
- hostilities towards the remaining union developed and the civil war soon followed
9
Q
Northern Democrats
A
- third section of the split US Democratic party during the election of 1864
- supported Lincoln administration
- split from southern democrats because of different views on slavery
10
Q
Copperheads
A
- Northerners who opposed the Civil War
- considered traitors by others in the North because they wanted immediate peace with the Confederacy
11
Q
Emancipation Proclamation
A
- followed the battle of Antietam
- declared all slaves within the rebellious states as free
- preliminary emancipation proclamation gave south until January 1, 1863 to return to the Union otherwise all their slaves would be granted freedom
12
Q
Advantages of the Confederacy vs. Union
A
-Union
had more people
enormous industrial advantage
control of navy = control of seas = control over imports
railroads
-Confederacy
fighting on familiar territory
resourceful: built gunpowder mills, melted down church bells to make into cannons, established armories
many great trained officers
source of all raw materials and a lot of food
13
Q
Fifty-four forty or fight!”
A
- Polk called for the expansion that included Texas, California, and the entire Oregon Territory (latitude line 54º40’)
- this was a popular slogan that led Polk to victory against all odds
14
Q
The Annexation of Texas in 1845
A
- admitted as the 28th state after declaring their independence from Republic of Mexico
- created controversy because it was a vast slave-holding region
- US didn’t want to have any problems with Mexican government which was refusing the acknowledge the sovereignty of Texas
- Texas got to keep its own public lands instead of turning them over to the federal government
- Texas also paid off its own debts instead of having the federal government assume them
- retained the right to divide into as many as five states in the future
15
Q
Election of 1844
A
- James K. Polk: Democrat - supported annexation of Texas (better than Van Buren because he believed in expansionism and manifest destiny and wanted to annex Texas + go after Oregon territory and reducing Tariff of 1846)
- Henry Clay: Whig - opposed the annexation of Texas
- Polk won - first “dark horse” candidate
16
Q
Slidell’s Mission
A
- John Slidell was a Democratic congressman from Louisiana
- sent to Mexico by Polk in November of 1845 to secure a boundary adjustment between the US and Mexico
17
Q
Free-soil Movement / Free-soilers
A
-opposed slavery because they believed it to be a threat to white people
-short-lived political party
-split of American political parties leads to this movement
Garrison condemned the party racist
18
Q
William Lloyd Garrison
A
- prominent American abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer
- published anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator
- founder of American Anti-Slavery Society
19
Q
Popular Sovereignty
A
- the principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people through their elected representatives who are the source of all political people
- basically, states can vote on slavery rather than the congress delegating which states were free/slave
20
Q
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
A
- passed by US congress on September 18, 1850
- part of the Compromise of 1850 between southern slave-holding interests and northern free-soilers
- the North got California and the South got fugitive slave act
- affected fleeing slaves:
1. as soon as they were accused of being a fleeing slave, they lost ability to vote on their behalf and were denied a trial by jury
2. the situation would then be handed over to a US commissioner who had sole discretion on deciding whether the person was a slave or not
3. commissioners got paid more if they determined the person was a fleeing slave
4. those aiding slaves were liable for jail sentences or Gov. fines
21
Q
Gadsden Purchase
A
US agrees to pay Mexico $10 million for a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico
22
Q
Stephen Douglas
A
- politician from Illinois
- designed Kansas-Nebraska Act
- US Representative + US Senator
- ran against Lincoln in 1860
- adopted the cause of popular sovereignty in relation to the issue of slavery in the territories before the American Civil War
23
Q
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
A
- created territories of Nebraska and Kansas
- opened new lands for settlement
- repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing white male settlers in those territories to determine through popular sovereignty whether they would allow slavery or not
- ended HORRIBLY in fraudulent elections leading to Bleeding Kansas
- probably the single most significant event leading up to the Civil War
24
Q
1856 Presidential Election
A
- Stephen Douglas tried to run for Democrats but everyone hated him because of the ongoing violence in Kansas so instead James Buchanan was chosen because he had nothing to do with Kansas since he had been a minister for Britain
- Republicans ran their first presidential campaign choosing John C. Fremont who had no political record but held abolitionist views
- Democrats were largely blamed for Bleeding Kansas issue
- Buchanan won electoral votes but failed to gain a majority of pop. vote
- election brought a weak president to power in a badly divided nation
25
Q
1858 Debate
A
- important to sectional conflicts over slavery and states’ rights
- total of seven debates throughout the state of Illinois
- Lincoln vs. Douglas
- Lincoln motivated by Kansas Nebraska Act
- Lincoln argued that slavery could make America forfeit its liberty
- Douglass argued that slavery could make America forfeit its destiny
26
Q
Freeport Doctrine
A
Stephen Douglas’s doctrine
in spite of the Dred Scott decision, slavery could be excluded from territories of the US by local legislation
27
Q
John Brown
A
- white American abolitionist
- believed the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery was through armed insurrection (refusal of obedience or order)
- planned to start an uprising among the slaves after leading several attacks in Kansas
28
Q
Crittenden Compromise of 1861
A
- unsuccessful proposal introduced by Kentucky senator John J. Crittenden on December 18, 1860
- aimed to resolve the US secession crisis of 1860-1861 by addressing the grievances that led the slave states of the US to contemplate secession
- protect slavery where it exists
- prohibit it North of 36º30’ line
- let people choose South of 36º30’ line
- Lincoln said no because it would allow slavery to further spread South and even into Latin America
- compromise fails to prevent secession
