Unit 5: 1844-1847

Question 1

Who coined the term Manifest Destiny?

Answer 1

John O’Sullivan, editor of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, coined the term “manifest destiny” in 1845.

Question 2

Describe the difference between the two parties in the 1844 election.

Answer 2

The two parties running were the Democrats and the Whigs. The Whigs wanted more internal improvements like roads and canals while the Democrats were more expansionist. The Democrats under James Polk won the election.

Question 3

What was the slogan 54 40’ or fight referring to?

Answer 3

It was the desire of Democrats to fight over the Oregon territory, some of which was in Canada

Question 4

What did the Oregon Treaty decide?

Answer 4

It was signed with Great Britain and gave the US the Oregon territory.

Question 5

Was the US united in support of the Mexican-American War? Give an illustrative example What new groups were involved?

Answer 5

No, many in the North opposed it because they did not want many new states to be formed. They were even more angered when the Wilmot Proviso, which stated that new territory gained from Mexico would be free. The people in the Free Soil Party expressed their opinion against the expansion of slavery.

Question 6

What was the result of the Mexican-American War?

Answer 6

The US won massive territorial gains and in the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the US gained most of the modern Southwest territory, and additional regions in the Gadsden Purchase. This was called the Mexican Cession.

Question 7

Describe the Compromise of 1850

Answer 7

It was a compromise between the Northerners and Southerners that got rid of the compromise of 1820. Some key players were Stephen A Douglass and Henry Clay. The proposal admitted California as a free state, made the fugitive slave act stronger, allowed popular sovereignty in the Utah and New Mexico territories, and outlawed the slave trade in DC

Question 8

Describe THREE+ specific events that increased tensions between north and south in the antebellum era.

Answer 8

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin increased tensions by showing the evilness of slavery to the North
• The Fugitive Slave Act enraged many southerners and local legislators passed laws to weaken it
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the principle of Popular Sovereignty to decide slavery in the territories.
• This led to Bleeding Kansas, where pro and anti slavery factions fought viciously against each other. In fact, it got so bad two governments existed.
• John Brown’s raid on Harper Ferry showed how conflict was becoming open
• The Dred-Scott decision also enraged many northerners because it was extremely pro-slavery. It stated that all enslaved people could never become citizens and could not sue in courts. It also stated that the federal government could not regulate slavery in the territories.

Question 9

Q: Identify THREE new political parties formed in the antebellum period

Answer 9

Free Soil party
Know Nothings - nativist, Xenophobic
Republican party

Question 10

Q: Who created the term manifest destiny and to what extent was it prevalent during this period? What is manifest destiny?

Answer 10

A: John O’Sullivan, a newspaper writer, gave the name. It was extremely prevalent during this period and americans had a deep desire to expand westward to the pacific across the whole continent. Manifest destiny is the idea that the US has a god-given right ot expand westward

Question 11

Q: What were the practical reasons for expansion westwards? Give an illustrative example for each.

Answer 11

**Minerals and natural resources
**The US needed minerals and natural resources for its growing economy. The California Gold rush (49ers )and the rise of prospectors to Colorado are examples of this

**New economic opportunities
**People wanted economic growth and freedom so they took the journey west to farm. The preemption acts during the 1830s and 40s allowed the buying of land for cheap.

**Religious Refuge
**Mormons were discriminated against for polygamy, and moved to the Salt Lake City along the Mormon Trail

Question 12

Q: What were the preemption acts and which class of society did they attract?

Answer 12

A; They allowed people to buy land out west for very less money, and they targeted the middle class because some capital was needed.

Question 13

Q: Why was their pushback against the addition of Texas to the Union?

Answer 13

A: Balance of slave and free states

Question 14

Why did Texas sexede from Mexico?

Answer 14

• Because Mexico banned slavery in Texas and required the them to be Catholic, they shut down the border into Texas

Question 15

Give a Brief History of Texan Independence

Answer 15

• Under the leadership of Sam Houston, the texans declared independence from Mexico
• The Mexicans attacked the Alamo and killed every texan
• In the battle of San Jacinto, the Texans captured a general (Santa Anna) and forced a treaty granting Texan independence in 1836

Question 16

How did the Mexican-American War start?

Answer 16

The US and Mexico coulnd’t agree on whcih river was the border, which was a big difference. The US sent troops to the disputed territory, and fought with the Mexican troops, starting a war.

Question 17

What happened to the Indians and Mexicans living the Mexican territory after being conquered to the US?

Answer 17

The Mexicans were granted citizenship, while the Indians, who had been citizens, were not. Both groups faced voter and educational discrimination.

Question 18

When was Texas declared an independent republic?

Answer 18

1836

Question 19

What was the argument of most Northerners and the Free Soil Party? What legislation did they support?

Answer 19

They were no in favor of abolition. They did not want free laborers to have to compete with slave laborers in the new territories. They were in favor of the Wilmot Proviso, which would’ve banned slavery in territories of Mexican Cession.

Question 20

Name TWO Peices of Writing and ONE Orator who contributed to the growth of the abolition movement.

Answer 20

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin - A fictional book by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the harsh conditions of slavery and made those conditions known to Northerners. This book was hated by Southerners and they attempted to ban it.
• The Liberator - A Boston-Based publication written by William Lloyd Garrison and promoted the abolition of Slavery
• The Speeches of Fredrick Douglass - Fredrick Douglass was a great orator who used his skills in speeches advocating the end of slavery

Question 21

Name two DIRECT ways in which the North had fought against slavery in the antebellum period

Answer 21

• Underground railroad: Harriet Tubman and other conducters helped slaves escape from the South and sometimes up to Canada due to the strict fugitive slave laws
• John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry: Attempted to raid an armory and incite a massive slave rebellion in the South. This led to a lot of distrust in the South of Northern intentions

Question 22

How did the Kansas-Nebraska aim to create compromise between North and South

Answer 22

• It stated that Kansas and Nebraska’s laws on slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty

Question 23

Describe the effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. What happened when it was time for Kansas to create a territorial legislature?

Answer 23

• There were a couple year of extreme violence known as Bleeding Kansas which saw fighting between pro and anti slavery factions
• There were far more votes than registered voters in the election due to pro-slavery voters from Missouri comin got vote. The government did not overturn this fraud, which lead to the creation of two rival state governments

Question 24

What was the effect of Dred-Scott v. Sanford?

Answer 24

1. Slaves were not citizens and could not sue in federal court
2. Slaveowners could take their “"”property””” into free soil, which essentially made the laws of free states useless

Question 25

What was the effect of the issue of slavery on the political system?

Answer 25

• It saw the demise of the two party system of the Whigs and the Democrats
• The Whigs split between the Cotton Whigs and the Conscience Whigs
• The Republican Party was created from a diverse group of people (inlcuding Know-Nothings) and promised the end of the EXPANSION of slavery
• There was a Northern Group of Democrats who wanted Slavery to be answered by Popular Soveignty represented by Stephen Douglass and a Southern Group represented by John Breckinridge who wanted slavery in the territories protected by a federal slave code and one territories became states, tehy could decide by popular sovereignty

Question 26

Why was the election of 1860 so contreversial to the South?

Answer 26

• Since the whole South tried to vote against Lincoln and that did nothing, they felt they had no representation in the Union

Question 27

Why did the South Secede?

Answer 27

For the protection of slavery

Question 28

What was the importance of the Lincoln-Douglass Debates?

Answer 28

They brought Lincoln to Nationanal prominence when he was competing for Illinois’s electoral seat and lead him to become President eventually

Question 29

What were the advantages of the North and South?

Answer 29

South:
* Fought a defensive war
* Had much better millitary leaders like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson

North:
* 4x the population of the South
* Possessed a powerful Navy
* Financially stronger - contained a majority of banks, manufacturing, and railroads
* Well-established central government

Question 30

How did future leaders of business like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rokefeller get their start?

Answer 30

• The manufacturing of goods for the Civil War

Question 31

Give examples of opposition to war in the North

Answer 31

• The New York Draft Riots - If you paid $300 you could avoid being drafted which led to riots by the working class

Question 32

Give examples of opposition to war in the South

Answer 32

• Due to the protection of State’s Rights by the Confederate constitution, they found it very hard to collect the taxes they needed for the war

Question 33

What was the first battle of the Civil War and what did it show to both sides?

Answer 33

• The First Battle of Bull Run in Virginia
• It showed that the war would not be quick and easy of either side

Question 34

What was one important Union war strategy?

Answer 34

• The Anaconda Plan: the Union would leverage its Naval advantage to blocade Southern ports and control the Mississippi, splittin the Cofederacy in two

Question 35

What was one important Confederate strategy?

Answer 35

• The Confederacy thought that their exported Cotton would convince Britain and France to give them aid

Question 36

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Answer 36

• It freed all enslaved people in the Confederacy
• This would allow the US to weaken the Confederacy as they conquered it by allowing enslaved people to run to Union lines and allowing them to fight
• It changed the scope the war to eradicating Slavery, which guarenteed Britian would not help the South

Question 37

What was an important battle won by the North than split the South in two?

Answer 37

Battle of Vicksburg

Question 38

What did William Tecumseh Sherman do in Atlanta? What was the March to the Sea?

Answer 38

In his invasion of Georgia, he carried a scorched earth policy and destroyed Southern industry. It greatly decreased Southern Morale and showed how the war was over for the South.

Question 39

What was the formal end of the Civil War?

Answer 39

The surrender of Grant at Appomatox Courthouse

Question 40

What was the effect of the Gettysburg Address?

Answer 40

1. Unify the Nation
2. Portray the Struggle against slavery as the fufillment of the Nation’s founding ideals

Question 41

What was the 10-percent plan and who proposed it?

Answer 41

The 10-percent plan created by Abraham Lincoln stated that Southern States could be readmitted into the Union if 10% of the 1860 electorate pledged loyalty to the Union and if the State Legislature ratified the 13th amendment.

Question 42

Who suceeded Lincoln and what happened to the Slave-Owning class after the war? What was the name of the laws they passsed and what did they do?

Answer 42

• Andrew Johnson
• The Slave-Owning class retained power
• They created Black codes that restricted the freedom of Black people and forced them to work for low wages, essentially recreating the status quo

Question 43

What was the name of the people in Congress after the Civil War who wanted to be strict on the South? What laws did they pass, despite the veto from Johnson?

Answer 43

• Radical Republicans
• The creaton of the Freedmen’s Bureau, which would help newly freed black people get jebs
• The Civil Rights Act of 1866: Upheld equality of protection under the law regardless of race and guarenteed citizenship for black men

Question 44

Why were the 14th and 15th amendments created?

Answer 44

• They were created under the fear that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 could be overturned

Question 45

What did the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 do?

Answer 45

• It divided the South in 5 millitary districts and placed federal troops there to ensure that the new laws made by Congress would be enforced.
• Required states to ratify the 14th amendment and create a provision to uphold voting rights for Whites and Blacks to rejoin the Union

Question 46

How did Johnson get impeached and almost kicked out of office?

Answer 46

1. Congress passesd the Tensure of Office Act which said the President could not fire a member of the cabinet without Congressional approval
2. Johnson fired a member of his cabinet
3. Congress impeaches him, and he stays president by one vote
4. Johnson is not able to do much from that point forward

Question 47

What did 13th, 14th and 15th amendments do?

Answer 47

The 13th Amendment (1865) abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
The 14th Amendment (1868) granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and equal protection under the law

The 15th Amendment (1870) prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It aimed to ensure voting rights for African American men, though it did not address other forms of voter disenfranchisement such as literacy tests and poll taxes.

Question 48

How did the lives of African Americans IMPROVE in the post-war period? Explain with Illustrative examples

Answer 48

In many ways, the rights and lives of African-Americans improved after the Civil War
* They founded black schools and colleges like Moorhouse, a College founded in Augusta Georgia to educate former slaves to become ministers and teachers
* Some African Americans got elected to the Congress
* The Freedmen’s Bureau created opportunities for African Americans to get jobs

Question 49

How did the rights of African Americans STAY THE SAME in the post-war period? Explain with Illustrative examples

Answer 49

• Sharecropping: land owners provided seed and farm supplies to a family in exchange for a share of the harvest. Due to debt, however, this also became a coerced labor system
• Ku Klux Klan: They were a violent organization that used intimidation tactics and lychings to supress the fights of formerly enslaved people
• Black Codes: Prohibited black americans from borrowing money to buy or rent land, prohibited black people from testifying against white people in court, and created the system of segregation

Question 50

What was the US governments response to the problems with the Patronage System and what triggered it? Why was the change convienient anyway?

Answer 50

• Garfeild got assasinated by one of the people he rejected under the patronage system
• The Pendleton act created an exam that created a competitive exam for federal job
• Since a handful of wealthy buisness people were funding parties instead of many patrons, this shift was convienient.

Question 51

Describe the Tariff situation at the time

Answer 51

• Tariffs provided a lot of the governements money
• It helped american business and industrialists
• It hurt the consumers, especially farmers due to high prices

Question 52

What was the Populist Party? What was their platform?

Answer 52

• It was a new party that sought to limit the power of big banks and trusts
• Their platform was the Omaha Platform which advocated for the direct election of senators, the use of initiative and referendums for people to vote on legislature, unlimited coinage of silver, graduated income tax, and the 8-hour workday

Question 53

What was the effect of the populist party on american politics?

Answer 53

It encouraged the large parties to take on some of their policies. The Democrats passed the unlimited coinage of silver, which they beleived would stimulate the economy by allowing for a greater money supply.

Question 54

What were political machines? Give and example of one.

Answer 54

• They were groups of people inurban centers who were very good at securing votes for their party
• One big example is Tammany Hall in New York City
• These political machines helped the community through various programs, but used this make the community owe the machine their vote
• After having their vote, they often stole millions of dollars of taxpayer money