Chapter 17 Quiz:

The conflict between President Tyler and Whig leaders like Henry Clay took place over issues of

banking and tariff policy.

During the early 1840s, Texas maintained its independence by

establishing friendly relations with Britain and other European powers.

The British claim to the disputed Oregon country was considerably strengthened by the thousands of British settlers in the region supported by the Hudson Bay's Company.

false, most Oregon settlers were American.

Henry Clay lost the election of 1844 to James Polk because

he attempted to straddle (compromise) the Texas annexation issue, which lost him votes to the antislavery Liberty party in New York.

49th Parallel

line at which the Oregon Territory was drawn in 1846.

Joint Resolutions

simple majority in both houses of Congress to pass a bill. - how Texas was annexed.

Britain eventually lost out in the contest for the disputed Oregon territory because

the rapidly growing number of American settlers overwhelmed the small British population.

A primary motive driving Americans to annex Texas was fear that the Lone Star Republic would become an ally or protectorate of Britain.

true

Polk's primary objective in fighting the Mexican War was to obtain California.

true

Oregon Trail

2,00 mile long pioneer trail that began in Missouri and crossed the great plains into the Oregon country.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican War provided for

American acquisition of about half of Mexico and payment of several million dollars in compensation.

Among the major sources of the tension between Britain and the United States in the 1840s was

American involvement in Canadian rebellions and border disputes.

Zachary Taylor

American military hero who invaded northern Mexico from Texas in 1846-1847.

Conscience Whigs

Anti-slavery Whigs who opposed both the Texas annexation and the Mexican War on moral grounds.

Wilmot Proviso

Bill that would ban slavery in the territories acquired after the War with Mexico.

Rio Grande

Claimed by United States as southern boundary of Texas.

Aroostook War

Clash over the Maine-Canada boundary where a road was proposed to connect Halifax and Quebec.

David Wilmot

Congressional author of resolution forbidding slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.

Abraham Lincoln

Congressional author of the "spot resolutions" criticizing the Mexican War.

The phrase "spot resolutions" refers to

Congressman Abraham Lincoln's resolution demanding to know the exact spot of American soil where American blood had supposedly been shed.

The upsurge of Manifest Destiny in the 1840's

Created widespread popular support for Polk's expansionist policies on Texas, Oregon, and California.

James K. Polk

Dark-horse presidential winner in 1844 who effectively carried out ambitious expansionist campaign plans.

John C. Fremont

Dashing explorer/adventurer who led the overthrow of Mexican rule in California after war broke out.

The overwhelming American military victory over Mexico

Enabled the United States to take vast territories in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the United States a small slice of present-day southern New Mexico and Arizona.

False

After President Harrison's death, Vice President John Tyler carried on the strong Whig policies of leaders like Clay and Webster.

False, John Tyler promoted democratic beliefs.

The Wilmot Proviso prohibiting slavery in territory acquired from Mexico helped shove the slavery issue out of sight.

False, made slavery the center of politics.

By the 1840s, American relations with British Canada were largely peaceful.

False, relations were hostile because of border disputes until treaties were signed.

The immediate cause of the Mexican War was an attempt by Mexico to reconquer Texas.

False, the immediate cause was the attack on General Zachary Taylor's troops in Texas which was strengthened by the spot resolutions.

President Polk proved unable to implement his four-point program for his presidency because of strong opposition from anti-imperialist Whigs.

False, we for-filled and was successful in all of his goals.

The main American military campaign that finally captured Mexico City was commanded by

General Winfield Scott.

"Manifest Destiny" represented the widespread American belief that

God had destined the United States to expand across the whole North American continent.

The Wilmot Proviso

Heated up the slavery controversy between North and South.

Polk's frustration at Mexico's refusal to sell California

Helped lead to a controversial confrontation with Mexico along the Texas border.

British support for the Texas Republic

Increased American determination to annex Texas.

Texas

Independent nation that was the object of British, Mexican, and French scheming in the early 1840s.

Henry Clay

Leader of Senate Whigs and unsuccessful presidential candidate against Polk in 1844.

Daniel Webster

Leader of the Whig Party, negotiated an end to Maine boundary dispute in 1842.

John Tyler

Leader who was elected on the Whig ticket but spent most of his presidency in bitter feuds with his fellow Whigs.

Nicholas Trist

Long-winded American diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Santa Anna

Mexican military leader who failed to stop humiliating American invasion of his country.

The immediate cause of the Mexican War was

Mexican refusal to sell California and a dispute over the Texas boundary.

Britain

Nation that strongly backed independence for Texas, hoping to turn it into an economic asset and antislavery bastion.

54*40'

Northern boundary of Oregon territory jointly occupied with Britain, advocated by Democratic party and others as the desired line of American expansion.

Oregon

Northwestern territory in dispute between Britain and the United States, subject of "Manifest Destiny" rhetoric in 1844.

Texas was finally admitted to the Union in 1844 as a result of

President Tyler's interpretation of the election of 1844 as a "mandate" to acquire Texas.

Spot Resolution

Resolution offered by Congressman Abraham Lincoln demanding to know the precise location where Mexicans had allegedly shed American blood on the "America" soil.

California

Rich Mexican province that Polk tried to buy and Mexico refused to sell.

Nunces River

River that Mexico claimed as the Texas-Mexico boundary, crossed by Taylor's troops in 1846.

Liberty Party

Small anti-slavery party that took enough votes from Henry Clay to cost him the election of 1844.

Strong American hostility to Britain

Sparked bitter feuds over Canadian rebels, the boundaries of Maine and Oregon, and other issues.

Tyler's refusal to carry out his own Whig party's policies

Split the Whigs and caused the entire cabinet except Webster to resign.

Rapidly growing American settlement in Oregon

Strengthened American claims to the Columbia River country and made Britain more willing to compromise.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States was destined to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

The rapid Senate ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Thwarted a growing movement calling for the United States to annex all of Mexico.

Guadalupe-Hidalgo

Treaty which ended the Mexican War in 1848; Mexico gave up claims to Texas and accepted the Rio Grande River as the boundary between Mexico and U.S.; for $15 million Mexico ceded (handed over) CA and NM

In the election of 1844, Clay lost to Polk partly because he tried to straddle the Texas annexation issue and thus lost antislavery support.

True

Polk's victory in 1844 was interpreted as a mandate for Manifest Destiny and led directly to the annexation of Texas and a favorable settlement of the Oregon dispute.

True

Texas was annexed by a simple majority resolution of both houses of Congress because the two-thirds vote necessary for a treaty of annexation could not be obtained in the Senate.

True

The "Aroostook War" over the Maine boundary was settled by a territorial compromise in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

True

The outcome of the Mexican War became a source of continuing bad feeling between the United States and much of Latin America.

True

The overwhelming American military victory over Mexico led some Americans to call for the United States to take over all of Mexico.

True

Clay's unsuccessful attempts to straddle the Texas issue

Turned antislavery voters to the Liberty party and helped elect the expansionist Polk.

The final result of the British-American conflict over the Oregon country in 1844-1846 was

a compromise agreement on a border at the forty-ninth parallel.

The "Aroostook War" involved a

a dispute between American and Canadian lumberjacks over the northern Maine boundary.

The major domestic consequence of the Mexican War was

a sharp revival of the issue of slavery.

Winfield Scott

"Old Fuss and Feathers", whose conquest of Mexico City brought U.S. victory in the Mexican War.

Which of the following was among the reasons why Britain strongly supported an independent Texas?

- British abolitionists hoped to make Texas an antislavery bastion. - British manufacturers looked to Texas as a way to reduce their dependence on American cotton. - Britain planned to use Texas as a check on American southward expansion.