learning curve- chapter 11

Which of the following was a feature of the 1819 Constitution of Alabama?

Suffrage for all white men Under the Alabama Constitution of 1819, all white men enjoyed the right to vote, whether they owned property or not.

In which cardinal direction did the fighting in the Texas revolution of 1836 take place?

East Fighting began in Goliad and at the Alamo in San Antonio, then moved east to the white settlements before ending at San Jacinto (near present-day Houston).

Why did President James K. Polk retreat from his demand for "fifty-four forty or fight"?

He had begun a war with Mexico and wanted to avoid a simultaneous one with Britain. After Polk's deliberate provocations along the Rio Grande with the army under General Zachary Taylor, war with Mexico had finally begun in May 1846. To avoid simultaneous war with Britain, Polk retreated from his demand for "fifty-four forty or fight" and accepted the British proposal to divide the Oregon Country at the forty-ninth parallel.

How did tax policy in Alabama differ from tax policy in other southern states between roughly 1830 and 1860?

Slave property was taxed to a greater extent in Alabama. Because the 1819 Alabama Constitution granted the vote to all white men, politicians there had to pander to a wider political audience. As such, taxes in Alabama focused more on slaves than they did in other states.

Why did northerners oppose the annexation of Texas between 1836 and 1845?

Slavery would be expanded. Since 1836, southern leaders had supported the annexation of Texas, but cautious party politicians, pressured by northerners who opposed the expansion of slavery, had rebuffed them.

How were the organized labor practices prevalent in the North reflected in the South?

Slaves pressed for a greater share of the product of their labor and pay for extra work. Many slaves pressed their owners for a greater share of the product of their labor and insisted on getting paid for additional work completed. Slaves were also able to garden and sell produce.

How did Democrats build up support for the annexation of Texas in 1844?

By linking Texas to the Oregon question Polk and the Democrats made Texas a popular issue by linking its annexation to the end of joint British-American occupation in Oregon, a popular issue with northerners.

Which action was the most likely form of passive resistance by a slave?

Feigning illness Through passive resistance, African Americans seriously limited the power of their owners. Slaves slowed the pace of work by feigning illness and "losing" or breaking tools.

Why did James K. Polk win the presidential election of 1844?

Henry Clay's stand on Texas cost him the election. Clay initially dodged the question of Texas annexation but eventually supported it. That stance cost him support of antislavery Whigs, who voted in New York for Liberty Party candidate James G. Birney, which gave New York's electoral votes—and the presidency—to James K. Polk.

Who did President James K. Polk dispatch to California in 1845 to lead a heavily armed "exploring" party?

John C. Frémont To add military muscle to the scheme of encouraging independence of California from Mexico and its addition to the United States, Polk ordered the war department to send Frémont and an exploration party of heavily armed soldiers into Mexican territory. By December 1845, Frémont's force had reached the Sacramento River Valley.

Why were many slave owners hesitant to use violent measures on their slaves during the nineteenth century?

Masters often feared resistance and revolt by slaves if violent measures were taken. Masters were often hesitant to use violent measures on their slaves out of fear of resistance or revolt.

General Winfield Scott led American forces in an invasion of Mexico in 1847 and marched 260 miles to capture what site?

Mexico City General Winfield Scott led American forces in an invasion of Mexico in 1847 and marched 260 miles to capture Mexico City.

What group constituted the majority of the state legislature in Alabama in the 1840s?

Midlevel planters The majority of elected state officials, and most county officials in the Cotton South, came from the ranks of middle-level planters and planter-lawyers.

In his letter to John Slidell in November 1845, Secretary of State James Buchanan explained the following to the minister to Mexico: "It is to be seriously apprehended that both Great Britain and France have designs upon California. . . . This Government . . . would vigorously interpose to prevent the latter from becoming either a British or a French Colony. . . . The possession of the Bay and harbor of San Francisco is all important to the United States. . . . Money would be no object." What did Buchanan want John Slidell to do?

Negotiate the purchase of California to keep it out of British and French hands Buchanan clearly wanted to prevent France or England from taking over the Pacific Coast at any cost.

Why did the planter elite of the South face political challenges in the 1840s and 1850s?

New state constitutions opened the franchise, making it more difficult for them to dominate government. Unlike the planter-aristocrats who ruled the colonial world, the planter elite lived in a republican society with a democratic ethos. Given these democratic provisions, political factions in Alabama had to compete for votes, and many poorer whites distrusted the wealthy planters.

Refer to the map The U.S.-Mexico War, 1846-1848. Which U.S. commander led a force from Ft. Leavenworth through New Mexico and finally to the southern California coast, thus giving the United States the right to claim the territory of New Mexico in the treaty that ended the war?

Stephen Kearny General Kearny moved through New Mexico, stopping at the capital of Santa Fe, to claim it for the United States, before moving to southern California.

The gang-labor system of slavery was often used on which type of plantation?

Sugar Sugar and cotton were labor-intensive crops and such plantations often utilized the gang-labor system.

Secretary of State James Buchanan's plans to encourage American residents of California to seek independence and union with the United States in 1845 were patterned after what similar development from recent memory at the time?

The Texas War of Independence Like what Buchanan proposed regarding California, Americans in Texas rose up in rebellion in 1836 seeking independence and ultimately annexation to the United States.

Why was General Winfield Scott's attack on Mexico City, despite the 260-mile trek from Veracruz, successful in September 1847?

The city was lightly defended. Most Mexican troops were deployed in the north attempting to halt General Taylor's advance south.

Which event prompted American adventurers to go to Texas and join the rebel forces in the 1830s?

The defeat of the Texan garrison at the Alamo. The defeat of the Texas garrison by the Mexican army at the Alamo prompted American adventurers to flock to Texas to join the rebel forces.

Why did Californios raise cattle in the 1820s to the 1840s?

The hide and tallow trade Californios sold cattle hides and tallow made from beef fat to New England merchants, who delivered it to the shoe factories and candle and soap manufacturers in the American Northeast.

What connection did John L. O'Sullivan's term Manifest Destinyhave to American expansion of the mid-nineteenth century?

The phrase embodied the dreams of American expansionists. O'Sullivan's phrase was the ideology of conquest that proclaimed the God-given duty to extend American republicanism and capitalism to the Pacific Ocean.

Why was the annexation of Texas accomplished without a treaty in 1845?

There were not enough votes in the Senate. Congressional Democrats lacked the two-thirds majority in the Senate needed to ratify a treaty of annexation. So, they admitted Texas using a joint resolution of Congress, which required just a majority vote in each house, and Texas became the twenty-eighth state in December 1845.

How did Americans settling in California in the 1820s and 1830s differ from American settlers in Texas?

They assimilated into Mexican culture. Americans settling in California very often married into Mexican families and adopted their customs, even converting to Catholicism. They did not get large land grants or outnumber the Mexicans, which were both characteristics of the Americans in Texas.

Mexico's central government did not devote necessary resources to combating Comanche raids in far northern Mexico in the 1830s and early 1840s because it

could not afford the cost to do so. Mexico's federal system of government tended to serve the northern frontier states poorly, while two decades of political instability resulted in a stagnant economy and modest tax revenues, which debt payments to European bankers quickly devoured. In the 1830s and 1840s, Comanche warriors conducted dozens of campaigns against the settlements of the Mexican north. Mexico's central government lacked the resources to respond effectively, and the northern territories were devastated.