Unit 5- Manifest Destiny and the Civil War Flashcards
Manifest Destiny
The idea that the US was destined “by God” to spread westward.
- US would expand its size
- Added new territory and eliminated Native Americans
Mexican American War
- War with Mexico over disputed territory
- US WINS! (Gains territory in the American Southwest)
Wilmot Proviso
Wilmot argued to make all new territory after Mexican American War “Free Territory”
- Favored poor white workers not opposed to slavery
Compromise of 1850
Compromise over slavery
- California becomes a free State
- Southerners get Fugitive Slave Act
California Gold Rush (49ers)
People flocked to California to find gold
- Led to California becoming a state
Oregon Trail
People moved west in Covered Wagons to start new lives in Oregon Territory
Free Soil Movement
Movement of people to make all new states new land “Free Land” opposed to slavery
Slavery as a Positive Good
Southern intellectual arguments supporting slavery
- Argued that Slavery was better for Negros than being free (clothing, housing, food, etc.)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Book published by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Exposed the horrors of Slavery
- Increased calls for abolition
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown raided the military armory
- Goal was to give weapons to slaves and lead an armed slave revolt
Underground Railroad
Network of abolitionists that helped runaway slaves flee to the north
Fugitive Slave Act
Law required Northern States to return runaway slaves to their Masters in the South
Abolition Movement
Movement to end Slavery
- Led by Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Act that allowed new territories (Kansas and Nebraska) to vote if they wanted Slavery or not
- Led to Violence because both groups were fighting for control
Bleeding Kansas
Mini war between Pro-slavery advocates and Free Soilers in Kansas over the decision of Slavery in Kansas.