APUSH Chapter 18

William Henry Harrison

(1773-1841) The ninth President of the US and the first to die in office, which occurred in 1841. Upon his death, a constitutional crisis occurred, though the crisis solved many questions about Presidential succession left unanswered by the Constitution until the passage of the 25th amendment in 1967. Was a Whig and an American military officer.

Zachary Taylor

(1784-1850) The 12th President of the US from 1849-1850. He was an American military leader and ran as a Whig candidate in the 1848 election. He was the last President to hold slaves while in office and the last Whig to win a presidential election. He fought in such wars as the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. He angered many Southerners with his support for the Compromise of 1850, which regarded the slavery status of the new SW territories.

John Tyler

(1790-1862) The 10th President of the US from 1841-1845. He was the first President to succede a dead President, and was the VP for WHH. He opposed nationalism and favored states' rights. He suffered from opposition from both parties and would join the South in secession at the end of his life. He signed the Webster-Ashburton Treaty and secured the Annexation of Texas. Public opinion of expansionism soon led to the election of James Polk in 1844.

Santa Anna

(1794-1876) known as the "Napoleon of the West", he was a Mexican political leader, general, and President who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and gov. He fought for Mexican independence and also commanded Mexican forces against the Texans in the Texas Revolution and against the US in the Mexican American-War.

James K. Polk

(1795-1849) the 11th President of the US from 1845-1849. He was a Democrat and defeated Henry Clay in the 1844 election by promising to annex Texas. Polk helped to peacefully divide the Oregon territtory with Britain and won the Mexican-American War; which gave the US most of its SW holdings today. He also secured the passage of the Walker tariff of 1846. He also establsihed a treasury system that would last until 1913. He also saw the opening of the US Naval Academy, the Smithsonian Institute, and groundbreaking of the Washington Monument, and the 1st issuance of postage stamps in the US. He was a Jacksonian Democracy leader.

Wilmot Proviso

A major event leading to the Civil War, the proposal would have banned slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War or in the future. David Wilmot introduced the Proviso in the House of Representatives in 1846 as an addition to final appropriations to end the Mexican-American War. The House passed it, but the Senate stopped it, as there was a stronger Southern presence. 1847 and 1848 saw more attempts to pass the Proviso, but failed. Only the Compromise of 1850 would see the end of sectional conflict over Slavery in the SW.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

A peace-treaty largely dictated by the US to the interim government of Mexico that marked the end of the Mexican-American War (1846-48). Mexcio ceded Upper Califronia and New Mexico. Known as the Mexican Cession, the area included all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, as well as most of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Claims to Texas were relinquished and the Rio Grande was recognized as the border.

Walker Tariff of 1846

Adopted in 1846, the Walker Tariff was enacted by President Polk and the Democratic Party, and made large cuts to the Tariff of 1842 that was enacted by the Whigs. The tariff was based off of a report by Secretary Treasurer Robert J. Walker. Rates were reduced by 32%-25%. The Tariff coincided with GB's repeal of the Corn Laws, leading to increased trade. The Tariff was one of the lowest in American history. Helped to raise money for the Mexican-American War. Tariff was more popular in the South.

Hudson's Bay Company

Founded in 1670, it is the oldest commercial corporation in America. The Company conducted much trade in the region and owned much land. The company focused on trade, particularly in fur. The explorers of the company established early relationships with natives. In the 1800s, the territory of the company became the largest component of the newly formed Dominion of Canada.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Signed in 1842, the Treaty resolved a number of border disputes between the US and the British North American colonies. The Maine-Newbrunswick border, the Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods border, saw the 49th parallel as the border in the West. A formal end to slave trade on the high seas and shared use of the Great Lakes was established. Borders became fixed.

Liberty Party

The Liberty Party (1840) was a minor political party in the US. The party advocated for the abolitionist cause, and broke away from the American Anti-Slavery Society. The party advocated that the Cosntitution was an anti-slavery document. William Lloyd Garrison, the leader of the American Anti-Slavery Society, saw the Constitution as an evil pro-slavery document. The party tried to use electoral politics to further their cause. The party received little support, and became politically insignificant by 1848.