Unit 5: Westward Expansion Flashcards
Manifest Destiny
American has the God- given destiny to westward territory
Texas
State disputed between America and Mexico
Stephan Austin
was an American empresario born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
was a Mexican criollo who fought to defend royalist New Spain and then for Mexican independence
Sam Houston
was an American politician and soldier, best known for his role in bringing Texas into the United States as a constituent state
Alamo
a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States), killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna’s cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution.
John Tyler
was the tenth President of the United States. He was also, briefly, the tenth Vice President, elected to that office on the 1840 Whig ticket with William Henry Harrison
Aroostook War
was a confrontation in 1838–1839 between the United States and the United Kingdom over the international boundary between the British colony of New Brunswick and the US state of Maine
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (i.e. the region that became Canada). Signed under John Tyler’s presidency, it resolved the Aroostook War, a nonviolent dispute over the location of the Maine–New Brunswick border. It established the border between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, originally defined in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, reaffirmed the location of the border (at the 49th parallel) in the westward frontier up to the Rocky Mountains defined in the Treaty of 1818, defined seven crimes subject to extradition, called for a final end to the slave trade on the high seas, and agreed to shared use of the Great Lakes
Oregon territory
Oregon added in 1846 under President James K. Polk
“Fifty Four Forty or Fight”
An aggressive slogan adopted in the Oregon boundary dispute, a dispute over where the border between Canada and Oregon should be drawn. This was also Polk’s slogan- the Democrats’ wanted the U.S. border drawn at the 54’40” latitude. Polk settled for the 49 latitude in 1846
James K. Polk
President of 1846
- “Manifest Destiny”
Rio Grande
America identify TX boundary along Rio Grande
Nueces River
River that Mexico claimed as the Texas-Mexico boundary, crossed by Taylor’s troops in 1846
Mexican War
War between America and Mexico because of Texas territorial tension/ disputes
Zachary Taylor
General Zachary Taylor sent 3,500 troops to defend TX at Nueces River if Mexico invades
Stephan Kearney
was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican–American War, especially the conquest of California
Winfield Scott
was a United States Army general and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852
John C. Fremont
was an American military officer, explorer, and politician who became the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States
California
Americans in CA want independence from Mexico
Bear Flag Republic
was an unrecognized breakaway state that, for twenty-five days in 1846, militarily controlled the area to the north of the San Francisco Bay in the present-day state of California
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
America gets CA, NM
Mexican Cession
is a historical name in the United States for the region of the modern day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848
Wilmot Proviso
In 1846 David Wilmot proposes slavery be banned in territory gained from Mexico
Franklin Pierce
was the 14th President of the United States. Pierce was a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation
Ostend Manifesto
was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused
Walker Expedition
was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne’s War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, negotiated in 1850 by John M. Clayton and Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, later Lord Dalling. It was negotiated in response to attempts to build the Nicaragua Canal, a canal in Nicaragua that would connect the Pacific and the Atlantic
Gadsden Purchase - 1853
$10m, adds parts of NM and TX
Great American Desert
was used in the 19th century to describe the western part of the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains in North America to about the 100th meridian
Overland Trails
was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail was most heavily used in the 1860s as an alternative route to the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails through central Wyoming
Mining frontier
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 did more than trigger the migration of tens of thousands of people hoping to make their fortune in the mineral‐rich West. It created a body of prospectors willing to go wherever a strike was made
Gold rush- 1949
Tried to keep secret but failed
- “gold fever”
- “49ers”
Farming frontier
Encourage farming on Great plains 160 acres of public free land for a family who settle 5 years. Promotions of railroad introduced hundreds of thousands of people in attempt to farm the Great Plains
Urban frontier
Western cities that arose asa result of railroads, mineral wealth and farming attracted professionals and businesspersons
Industrial technology
After 1840, industrialization spread rapidly into the Northeast. The new factories produced shoes, tools, and iron products
Samuel F. B. Morse
Invented the electric telegraph in 1844
Federal land grants
They emerged as America’s largest industry. The U.S. granted over 2 million acres of land to build the Illionois Central Railroad. It was the first federal land grant
Foreign commerce
Sailing packets departed on regular schedules, whale oil was used to light lanterns, and the designs of ships were improved
Mathew C. Perry
Was sent to Japan to persuade the country to open up its ports to trade with Americans
Panic of 1857
Prices dropped, and there was increased unemployment in northern cities. The South was less affected since cotton prices remained high
Homestead Act
encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land
Zebulon Pike
was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was renamed
Rendezvous System
was an annual gathering (1825–1840) at various locations held by a fur trading company at which trappers and mountain men sold their furs and hides and replenished their supplies
Rocky Mountain Fur Company
was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1822 by William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry. The company became a pioneer in western exploration, most notably in the Green River Valley. The operations of other aspiring organizations like the American Fur Company would often overlap, causing a fierce rivalry. Growing competition motivated the trappers to explore and head deeper into the wilderness. This led to greater knowledge of the topography and to great reductions in the beaver populations.
John O’ Sullivan
was an American columnist and editor who used the term “manifest destiny” in 1845 to promote the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country to the United States
Stephan Douglas
was an American politician from Illinois and the designer of the Kansas–Nebraska Act.
Compromise of 1850
was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848)
Fugitive Slave Act
was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. … Abolitionists nicknamed it the “Bloodhound Law” for the dogs that were used to track down runaway slaves
Millard Fillmore
was the 13th President of the United States, the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House
Know-Nothing’s
also known as the American Party, was a prominent United States political party during the late 1840s and the early 1850s. The American Party originated in 1849. Its members strongly opposed immigrants and followers of the Catholic Church
Harriet Beecher Stowe
was an American abolitionist and author. She came from the Beecher family, a famous religious family, and is best known for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh conditions for enslaved African Americans
Franklin Pierce
was the 14th President of the United States. Pierce was a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation
Henry David Thoreau
was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian
Kansas-Nebraska Act
was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´
Walt Whitman
was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works
James Buchanan
was the 15th President of the United States, serving immediately prior to the American Civil War
Panic of 1857
was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy
Dred Scott v. Sanford
also known simply as the Dred Scott case, was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on US labor law and constitutional law. It held that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves”,[2][3] whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court,[4][5] and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved man of “the negro African race”[6] who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott’s request
Lecompton Constitution
the second constitution drafted for Kansas Territory, was written by proslavery supporters. The document permitted slavery (Article VII), excluded free blacks from living in Kansas, and allowed only male citizens of the United States to vote
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. At the time, U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and Douglas were trying for their respective parties to win control of the Illinois legislature. The debates previewed the issues that Lincoln would face in the aftermath of his victory in the 1860 presidential election. Although Illinois was a free state, the main issue discussed in all seven debates was slavery in the United States
John Brown
was an American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States
Election of 1860
Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell
