APUSH Vol. 1 to 1877 Ch. 17 Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841-1848

Caroline

Diplomatic row between the United States and Britain. Developed after British troops set fire to an American steamer carrying supplies across the Niagara River to Canadian insurgents, during Canada's short-lived insurrection.

Stephen W. Kearny (1794-1848)

American officer during the Mexican War who led a detachment of troops into New Mexico and captured Santa Fe.

Walker Tariff

Revenue-enhancing measure that lowered tariffs from 1842 levels, thereby fueling trade and increasing Treasury receipts.

According to O'Sullivan, Americans should accept the acquisition of Texas into the Union. True or False

True

British schemers favored an independent Texas. True or False

True

The Whigs placed John Tyler on the 1840 ticket as vice president to a. attract the vote of the states' rightists. b. win northern votes. c. respond to the Democrats' expansionist appeal. d. have him instead of President William Henry Harrison actually run the executive branch. e. reward him for his strong support of the Whig party platform.

a. attract the vote of the states' rightists.

The group that was instrumental in saving the soil of Oregon for the United States was a. the Lewis and Clark expedition. b. U.S. naval forces in Puget Sound. c. American Christian missionaries to the Indians. d. Mormon settlers from Utah. e. the Hudson's Bay Company.

c. American Christian missionaries to the Indians.

The Manifest Destiny slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" referred to a. expansionist calls to create forty new states by 1854. b. American demands that Canada hand over land along the Maine and Minnesota boundaries. c. American demands for acquiring all of the Oregon territory from Britain. d. the American demand that Britain hand over fifty-four islands and forty ships in the Caribbean. e. American demands for acquiring California and New Mexico from Mexico.

c. American demands for acquiring all of the Oregon territory from Britain.

All of the following caused tension between the United States and Britain except a. British travelers wrote acidly of American tobacco spitting, slave auctioneering, lynching, eye gouging, and other unsavory features of the rustic Republic. b. settlers swarming into the still-disputed Oregon Country. c. British authors were granted rich royalties by American copyright law. d. Britain's abolition of slavery in its empire in 1834. e. memories of the two recent Anglo-American wars.

c. British authors were granted rich royalties by American copyright law.

O'Sullivan argued that _____ was not the reason the United States annexed Texas.

slavery

John C. Frémont (1813-1890)

Explorer who helped overthrow the Mexican government in California after the outbreak of war with Mexico. He later ran for president as the Republican nominee in 1856 but lost the election to Democratic candidate James Buchanan.

All of the following were true of the Walker Tariff of 1846 except that it a. resulted in loud complaints from the Clayites, especially in New England and the middle states. b. reduced the average rates of the Tariff of 1842 from about 32 percent to 25 percent. c. had the strong support of low-tariff southerners. d. proved to be a poor revenue producer. e. was followed by boom times and heavy imports.

d. proved to be a poor revenue producer.

Wilmot Proviso

Amendment that sought to prohibit slavery from territories acquired from Mexico. Introduced by Pennsylvania congressman David Wilmot, the failed amendment ratcheted up tensions between North and South over the issue of slavery.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Ended the war with Mexico. Mexico agreed to cede territory reaching northwest from Texas to Oregon in exchange for $18.25 million in cash and assumed debts.

Spot Resolution

Measures introduced by Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln, questioning President James K. Polk's justification for war with Mexico. Lincoln requested that Polk clarify precisely where Mexican forces had attacked American troops.

"Fifty-four forty or fight"

Slogan adopted by mid-nineteenth-century expansionists who advocated the occupation of Oregon Territory, jointly held by Britain and the United States. Though President Polk had pledged to seize all of Oregon, to 54° 40', he settled on the forty-ninth parallel as a compromise with the British.

John Tyler joined the Whig party because he a. believed it better represented Virginia's interests. b. believed in its pro-bank, pro-protective tariff, and pro-internal improvements position. c. thought that it was the easiest way to become president. d. thought the Democrats were too politically connected to influential southern gentry interests. e. could not stomach the dictatorial tactics of Andrew Jackson.

e. could not stomach the dictatorial tactics of Andrew Jackson.

Buena Vista

Key American victory against Mexican forces in the Mexican War. Elevated General Zachary Taylor to national prominence and helped secure his success in the 1848 presidential election.

California Bear Flag Republic

Short-lived California republic, established by local American settlers who revolted against Mexico. Once news of the war with Mexico reached the Americans, they abandoned the Republic in favor of joining the United States.

Anglo-American Convention

Signed by Britain and the United States, the pact allowed New England fishermen access to Newfoundland fisheries, established the northern border of Louisiana Territory, and provided for the joint occupation of the Oregon Country for ten years.

One source of tension between the U.S. and Mexican governments was the: a. Millions of dollars in claims against the Mexican government for its damages to U.S. citizens and their property. b. Growing abolitionist movement established by Anglo-Americans c. Lack of formal laws and government in the Texas Territory.

a. Millions of dollars in claims against the Mexican government for its damages to U.S. citizens and their property.

The most immediate result of James Polk's successful Manifest Destiny campaign was a. the annexation of Texas to the United States. b. American acquisition of California. c. the abolition of all tariffs and barriers to trade. d. the Mexican War. e. a rush of American settlers into the Pacific Northwest.

a. the annexation of Texas to the United States.

One argument against annexing Texas to the United States was that the annexation a. offered little political or economic value to America. b. could involve the country in a series of ruinous wars in America and Europe. c. might give more power to the supporters of slavery. d. was not supported by the people of Texas. e. would lead to tensions and possible war with the British.

c. might give more power to the supporters of slavery.

Thomas J. Green (1801-1863)

who served as a brigadier general in the Texas Revolution, published a pamphlet in 1845 to make the case for American support of an independent Texas: "Both the government of the United States and Texas are founded upon the same political code. They have the same common origin—the same language, laws, and religion—the same pursuits and interests; and though they may remain independent of each other as to government, they are identified in weal and wo'—they will flourish side by side and the blight which affects the one will surely reach the other."

Nicholas P. Trist (1800-1874)

American diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican War and through which the United States acquired a vast amount of territory from Mexico.

Creole

American ship captured by a group of rebelling Virginia slaves. The slaves successfully sought asylum in the Bahamas, raising fears among Southern planters that the British West Indies would become a safe haven for runaway slaves.

Liberty Party

Antislavery party that ran candidates in the 1840 and 1844 elections before merging with the Free Soil party. Supporters of the Liberty party sought the eventual abolition of slavery, but in the short term hoped to halt the expansion of slavery into the territories and abolish the domestic slave trade.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that the United States was destined by God to spread its "empire of liberty" across North America. Served as a justification for mid-nineteenth-century expansionism.

Which of the following is true about the Battle of Buena Vista? It resulted in a treaty with Mexico,. American troops defeated a small Mexican force. It helped secure a presidency.

It helped secure a presidency. (for Zachary Taylor)

Winfield Scott (1786-1866)

Military officer and presidential candidate, Scott first made a name for himself as a hero of the War of 1812. During the war with Mexico, he led the American campaign against Mexico City, overcoming tremendous handicaps to lead his men to victory. He later made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1852 as the Whig candidate.

Conscience Whigs

Northern Whigs who opposed slavery on moral grounds. Conscience Whigs sought to prevent the annexation of Texas as a slave state, fearing that the new slave territory would only serve to buttress the southern "slave power."

David Wilmot (1814-1868)

Pennsylvania congressman best known for his "Wilmot Proviso," a failed amendment that would have prohibited slavery from any of the territories acquired from Mexico. He later went on to help organize the Free Soil and Republican parties, supporting Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

Tariff of 1842

Protective measure passed by Congressional Whigs, raising tariffs to pre-compromise tariff of 1833 rates.

Aroostook War

Series of clashes between American and Canadian lumberjacks in the disputed territory of northern Maine, resolved when a permanent boundary was agreed upon in 1842.

John Tyler (1790-1862)

Tenth president of the United States. A Whig in name only, Tyler opposed central tenets of the Whig platform, including tariffs, internal improvements, and a national bank.

James K. Polk (1795-1849)

Eleventh president of the United States. A North Carolina Democrat, largely unknown on the national stage, Polk campaigned on a platform of American expansion, advocating the annexation of Texas and the "reoccupation" of Oregon. As president, Polk provoked war with Mexico, which added vast tracts of land to the United States but led to a bitter sectional conflict over the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories.

Following the U.S. victory in the Mexican War, Latin America developed a newfound respect and admiration for the winning tactics of the "Colossus of the North." True or False

False

The British-American dispute over the border of Maine and Canada was solved a. by a negotiated political compromise that gave each side some territory along the disputed border. b. by the Caroline incident. c. when America was given all the disputed territory in question as a result of a binding arbitration decision made by three neutral countries. d. by the total victory of the United States in the Aroostook War in 1842. e. by admitting Maine into the Union and New Brunswick into Canada.

a. by a negotiated political compromise that gave each side some territory along the disputed border.

The British government desired a political and military alliance with the independent Republic of Texas because a. such an alliance would limit the ability of the United States to achieve political and economic dominance over Latin America. b. this area would provide an excellent base from which to attack the United States. c. Mexican efforts to attack the United States would be stopped. d. Texas could become a location for the settlement of undesirable British émigrés. e. the alliance would help to support the Monroe Doctrine.

a. such an alliance would limit the ability of the United States to achieve political and economic dominance over Latin America.

All of the following were true of Whigs' gripes with John Tyler except a. his entire cabinet resigned in a body, except Secretary of State Webster. b. he was impeached by the House of Representatives. c. Tyler's hostility to a centralized bank was notorious. d. they condemned Tyler as "His Accidency" and as an "Executive Ass." e. Whigs attempted repeatedly to get him to approve a centralized bank.

b. he was impeached by the House of Representatives.

On February 2, 1848, Nicholas P. Trist signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which contained all of the following terms except: a. The United States would acquire approximately one-half of Mexico's total landmass, including California. b. Mexico officially recognized American title to Texas. c. Mexico would pay the United States $3,250,000 in reparations.

c. Mexico would pay the United States $3,250,000 in reparations.

In the early nineteenth century, the British generally viewed Americans as a. a serious competitor for empire and world power. b. models for the democratic future that they too were bound to follow. c. admirable protectors of the interests of slaveholders. d. clever and inventive creative geniuses and entrepreneurs. e. crude and half-civilized cheaters and violators of international law.

e. crude and half-civilized cheaters and violators of international law.