APUSH Period 5: (Manifest Destiny)

John C. Frémont

"The Pathfinder;" enthusiastic champion of American settlement in Mexican California and the Far West. He mainly "found" paths that mountain men showed him. His reports on his expedition, published together 1845, gained wide circulation playing a crucial role in prompting mass migration of American settles to Oregon and CA. He later led the revolt that led to the creation of the Bear Flag Republic. He was made governor of N. CA but was arrested when he refused to transfer his title and convicted of mutiny. Polk dishonnerably discharged him.

Free-Soil Party

A political party created in all of the question of how to sparce the land gained from Mexico. They won 10% of the vote in the 1848 election. They opposed the spread of slavery into any of the recently acquired territories. Most were formerly Whigs (left because the Whigs had not platform) and Van Burenite Democrats. Endorsed Wilmost Proviso

Gadsden Purchase

A strip of territory running through Arizona and New Mexico that the U.S. purchased from Mexico in 1953. President Pierce authorized this purchase to ensure that the Southern route of the transcontinental railroad would be in American territory. It ignited big sectionalist rivalries

creole

American ship that was mutinied by 135 slaves who then sailed to the Bahamas where British authorities set them free leading to rising tensions between the two nations

Uncle Tom's Cabin

An 1852 novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted all the horrors of Southern slavery in great detail. The book went through several printings in the 1850s and 1860s and helped to fuel the abolitionist sentiment in the North.

Department of the Interior

An extension of federal authority created by Congress in 1849, after the Mexican War, to supervise the distribution of land, the creation of new territories and states, and the "protection" of the Indians and their land.

Bleeding Kansas

As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, residents of Kansas would decide if the territory would allow slavery or not. Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups flooded into Kansas. Much violence followed very disputed elections in 1855.

Franciscan Missions

Catholic Spain's mark of settlement in CA. 21 of these spanned up the coast of CA.

James Buchanan

Democrat elected president in 185. He was also a doughface. Under him problems like the Lecompton constitution, Dred Scott decision, and a financial panic came up.

Election of 1844

Democrats fell into a deadlock and finally nominated dark horse candidate, James K. Polk, who was firmly committed to annexation and manifest destiny. Henry Clay finally won the Whig nomination but lost when he took on the Texas issue. Democrats viewed the win as a mandate to annex Texas.

Election of 1852

Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire (D.) v. General Winfield Scott (W)

Mexican Revolution

In 1821 the Spanish finally withdrew letting Mexico become an independent nation. The infant government remained extremely unstable which allowed eager Americans to take advantage of it.

Wilmot Proviso

In 1846, Representative David Wilmot proposed in an amendment to a military bill that slavery should be prohibited in all territories from Mexico. The proviso never became law, but it did provoke a debate in which Southerners passionately defended slavery and were afraid that the North was going to put an end to it.

California Gold Rush

In 1848 gold was found at Sutter's mill kicking off this gold rush. It was the greatest mass migration in American history, it triggered a surge of prosperity that eventually helped the union military effort in the Civil War. Cities like San Francisco sprang up and new business enterprises emerged like Levis.

Pottawatomie Massacre

This uprising in Kansas set off guerilla warfare in the Kansas territory. Border ruffians entered the free state settlement in Kansas and looted houses and shot John Brown's son. Federal troops had to be dispatched.

Stephen F. Austin

a Missouri resident who won from Mexico a huge land grant originally given to his father by Spanish authorities. He promised to create a "buffer" on the northern frontier of Texas between the Comanches and settlements to the South. By 1824 more than 2000 hardy souls had settled on his land.

Battle of the Alamo

a complete victory for the Mexican, who pretty much decimated the revolting Texans. However, it also became a heroic legend and provided a rallying for Texans

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

a creole priest (born in Americas of European ancestry) who took advantage of the of the French's invasion of mainland Spain, and convinced Indians and mestizos to revolt against Spanish rule in Mexico. The poorly organized uprising basically failed but id did set basis for feelings for independence.

Anthony Burns

a runaway slave from VA who ended up being the center of a protest against the Fugitive Slave Act in Boston. Uproar flew up in the North when he was returned to VA. He was later freed by a community of Boston free blacks who purchased him

Polk

darkhorse candidate from the Democratic party who won the presidency in 1844. Dubbed "Young Hickory" he stood for American expansion and slavery. His major presidential objectives were reducing tariffs on imports, reestablishing the independent treasury (No B.U.S.), resolving Oregon boundary dispute, and acquiring CA. #MR. EXPANSION

Lincoln-Douglas debates

debates between contestants for Illinois senate that transformed the future of the Republican party. They ended Douglas' chance for president and shot Lincoln to the centre stage

John O'Sullivan

editor of a New York newspaper and Democratic party propagandist who coined the term "manifest destiny" to describe the aggressive spirit of territorial expansion. "Our manifest destiny," he wrote, "is to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.

Franklin Pierce

elected president in 1852. He was a dough face and was willing to do a lot of Southern requests

Santa Anna

elected president of Mexico in 1833. The following year he dissolved congress and made himself dictator. In the fall of 1835, wary Texans (afraid he would make them get ride of their slaves) rebelled so he ordered all American expelled.

54 40' or Fight

expansionist slogan used by those in favor of going to war with Britain over the Oregon territory which had been joint-controlled previously. Polk was willing to take to war but fortunately the UK was not.

Law of April 6, 1830

Mexican law that outlawed further American immigration to Texas

Battle of Buena Vista

Mexican war battle. neither side could really claim victory but it was the last major action on the central Mexican front. Polk was obligated to promote Taylor afterwards

Election of 1856

Millard Fillmore (Whig-leftist) vs. Frémont (Rep) vs. Buchanan (Dem). Democrats ran on a platform supporting the Kansas-Nebraska Act, enforcement of the fugitive slave law, and reached out to newly acquired Irish and German voters by condemning nativism.

Lecompton Constitution

One of Buchanan's first challenges, this was a constitution drawn up by the Southern legislature in Kansas in favor of pro-slavery. Buchanan knew that the document was not supported by a majority of the settlers, but he asked Congress to accept it and take Kansas as a slave state anyway (DOUGHFACE). They did not because many Republicans rejected it. The next year Kansas settlers rejected it too. Douglas rejected it as well

Charles Sumner

Republican senator from MA who spoke out insulting South Carolina and was as a result canned by Preston S. Brooks of SC on the senate floor, creating a martyr for the anti-slavery cause. Drove more northerners into the Republican party.

Calhoun Thesis

Senator Calhoun's argument for slavery that incorporated the 5th amendment which forbids Congress to deprive people of their property arguing that slaves were property. This became established Southern dogma

Black Hawk

Sioux Chief at Fort Laramie who at first did not want to accept the treaty's provision saying, "You have split my lands and I don't like it. These lands once belonged to the Kiowa and the Crows, but we whipped these nations out of them, and in this we did what the white men do when they want the lands of the Indians."

Tejanos

Spanish speaking Texans who outnumbered the Anglos 10:1 by 1835

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Stephen Douglas crafted this compromise legislation that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide by popular sovereignty if their territories would be slave or free. This caused controversy and bloodshed throughout these territories and became a national political issue. Northerners were outraged because it threw the "sacred" MO Comp under the bus. Douglas basically wanted southern approval for a future possibility of the presidency.

Dred Scott Case

Supreme Court case involving a slave who had lived in a nonslave state and was now petitioning for his freedom. In 1857 the Court ruled that, as property, slaves could not sue in the courts. The Court also ruled that the MO Comp was unconstitutional (fookin knobs)

John A. Sutter

Swiss CA settler who abandoned his family in Europe to avoid arrest for bankruptcy. He found his way to CA and persuaded the Mexican governor to let him create Sutter's Fort which became a magnet for Americans wanting to settle in CA. In 1848, gold was found on his property kicking off the California gold rush.

Lone Star Republic

Texas after the revolution. They drafted a constitution that legalized slavery and banned free blacks, elected Sam Houston its first president, voted overwhelming for annexation by the U.S., and began systematically suppressing and displacing Indians living in Texas

Battle of Veracruz

first major amphibious operation by U.S. military forces. Led by Winfield Scott, the troops first took Veracruz and then moved towards Mexico City arriving on September 13, 1847. This forced an end to the fighting

Republican Party

forme din 1854 and attracted former Whigs, Free-Soilers, and some in the Democratic Party who were uncomfortable with the Democratic position on slavery. Lincoln was the first Republican president. An early slogan was "Free soil, Free labor, Free Speech, and Free Men."

Winfield Scott

general in chief of the U.S. army during the Spanish American war. He was a politically ambitious Whig but got fired after quarreling with the Secretary of war. Replaced with Zach Taylor

Republic of Texas

government formed by Texans in 1836 after the revolt against Santa Anna

Freeport Doctrine

introduced by Stephen Douglas in the Lincoln-Doublas debates. He believed that despite the Dred Scott decision, a territory could still prevent slavery by electing anti-slavery officials and enacting laws that would make slavery impossible to enforce. Lincoln said the nation could not be 1/2 and 1/2 as this would split the union Douglas won the election, but Lincoln won recognition.

Fort Laramie

meeting between federal negotiators and Native Americans where the government promised cash payments to the Indians for the damage caused by wagon trails traversing their hunting grounds. In exchange, the Indians agreed to stop harassing white caravans, allow federal forts to be built, and confine themselves to a specified area of boundaries (Synthesis: Reservations)

mountain men

men who in the 1820's and 1830's, inspired by the fur trade, abandoned civilization in pursuit of beaver pelts and reverted to a primitive existence in the wilderness. They were usually the first whites to find their way across the Rocky Mountains

Forty-Niners

men who left for the CA gold rush. They included people from every social class, state, and territory, as well as slaves brought by their owners. Unlike previous pioneers they were mostly unmarried and uninterested in making a new home.

Joint resolution

method used to get congress to approve the annexation of Texas. As one of his last presidential elections, Tyler signed the resolution admitting Texas to the Union in 1845.

Bear Flag Republic

the name given to the republic created by American settlers when they declared CA independent from Mexico in 1846. This was part of a larger American political and military strategy to wrest Texas and California from Mexico

Santa Fe Trail

the result of Mexico gaining its independence, this trade route became useful to hundred of entrepreneurs and led to an increase in commercial activity between the U.S. and Mexico; especially Missouri

Oregon Fever

the result of the economic hard times after the Panic of 1837. The first sizable wagon trains made the trip in 1843 and the movement became a mass migration. By 1845 there were about 5,000 settlers in Willamette Valley

The Panic of 1857

third emergency under Buchanan. This financial crisis was caused by a reduction in international demand for American grain, overly aggressive railroad building, a surge in manufacturing production that out ran the growth of market demand, and the continued confusion by the state banknote system. The immediate cause for it was the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust company. The North blamed it on the tariff of 1857 while the South was barely affected and took it to fancying themselves independent.

Oregon Trail

trail that took settlers from the Ohio River Valley through the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains to Oregon. Settlers began moving westward along this trail in 1842. By 1860, more than 325,00 americans had travelled westward over it.

The Donner Party

train of settlers along the Oregon trail in 1846 who got caught in a snowfall on their way and had to resort to cannibalism

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

treaty created between SoS, Daniel Webster, and Lord Ashburton meant to put tension aside. The treaty provided for join naval patrols off the coast of Africa to suppress the outlawed slave trade and also resolved a long-standing dispute between the U.S. and G.B. over the northern boundary of the United States with Canada

1843 Texas Annexation Treaty

treaty drawn up during John Tyler's presidency by Calhoun. As the nation's chief diplomat and a leading advocate for slavery, he wrote a letter to Britain trumpeting the blessings of slavery. The letter was made public and led people to think he only wanted Texas to expand slavery. Sectional division and fear of war with Mexico contributed to the treaty's overwhelming opposition

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

treaty that ended the war with Mexico. Mexico gave up all claims to Texas above the Rio Grande and ceded CA and NM to the U.S. The U.S. agreed to pay $15 million and assume the claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico. Pretty good bargain.

Buchanan-Pakenham Treaty

treaty that extended the border between US and Canada along the 49th parallel. Most Americans were satisfied and thus the Oregon dispute ended

Millard Fillmore

vice president to president Taylor. Although Taylor had opposed the Compromise of 1850, he made up his mind to support Clay when he succeeded Taylor.

Spot Resolutions

written by Abraham Lincoln, these documentes called on Polk to identify the spot where American blood had been shed, implying that U.S. troops may, in fact, have been in Mexico when shots were fired

John Tyler

The first vice president to succeed upon the death of a president. Although he was officially a Whig he acted much more like an old Republican as he was stubbornly opposed to everything associated with the "American System" and believed first, and foremost, in states' rights. In truth he was only put on the ticket with Harrison to balance it with a Southerner. He basically pissed off the whole party and was thus dubbed "the president without a party." He did begin the annexation of Texas though.

Sam Houston

commander of Texan forces in the Texas revolution. After learning of the Anglo defeat at the Alamo, his Texan army surprised a Mexican encampment and virtually killed the entire army and capturing Santa Anna the next day

Compromise of 1850

complex agreement that temporarily lessened tensions between Northern and Southern political leaders. To appease the South, the Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened. To appease the North, CA was entered as a free state. President Taylor opposed which threatened to split the Whig Party wide open

Thomas O. Larkin

consul of California. Polk wrote to him when the Mexican government got all pissy over Texas hinting at the possibility of CA being annexed. As a result he began to line up Californians who wanted to join the U.S.

Fugitive Slave Act

part of the Compromise of 1850, this set up commissions in the North to investigate people accused of being ruanaway slaves. Commissioners were given money if the accused was determined to be a runaway. Some Northern legislatures passed laws to circumvent the law. It aroused a lot of anti-slavery impulse in the North.

Know Nothing Party

political party that emerged in response to the surge of mostly Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany. Many embraced nativism. They were one of the possible parties ex-Whig voters gravitated to

Revival of 1857-1859

religious movement in late 1850's that promoted personal spiritual renewal in such tumultuous times

Overland Trails

routes taken west by settlers who traveled in family groups. Rarely encountered Indians in actuality

Stephen Douglass

specky git. He proposed a transcontinental railroad terminus in Chicago. He introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act that caused a freaking war in Kansas and destroyed the Whig party.

manifest destiny

the belief that it was Americans' God-given right and destiny to expand to the other side of the nation. It was pretty much a moral justification for territorial expansion and offered flimsy rationalizations for naked greed and imperial ambition. (synthesis: imperialism)

William Henry Harrison

the general who won the Battle of Tippecanoe and later the presidency in 1840 after his "Log Cabin and Apple Cider Campaign." He was the first Whig to win the presidency, but unfortunately he died about a month after entering the office due to pneumonia