Chapter 13- US Survey

What was President Taylor's strategy for bypassing the issue of slavery when incorporating new states, and how did this strategy unfold?

Taylor opposed the expansion of slavery and sought to incorporate California and New Mexico as free states, in order to end the stalemate in Congress over slavery. & His strategy unfolded rather differently as Californians went ahead and constructed a free-state government without consulting Congress.

Eight resolutions proposed by Henry Clay.

1. Admit California as a free state. 2. Organize the territories of New Mexico and Utah w/out restrictions on slavery, but instead allowing popular sovereignty. 3. To deny Texas it's extreme claim to New Mexico. 4. To compensate Texas by having the Federal government pay the pre annexation Texas debts. 5. To retain Slavery in the District Columbia, but 6. To abolish the sale of slaves in the nation's capital. 7. To adopt a more effective federal fugitive slave law 8. To deny congressional authority to interfere with interstate slave trade.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, American settlers moved west to settle in Mexican Territories. Put in chronological order the events related to American settlement in northern Mexico.

1. Mexico gains independence from Spain. 2. The Mexican army defeats Texan rebels at Alamo. 3. Texas declares independence from Mexico. 4. John Tyler becomes president after William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia. 5. John Sutter completes his European settlement.

Identify President Polk's major policy objectives during his tenure.

1. Re-establish the Independent Treasury. 2. Resolve the Oregon boundary dispute with Great Britain on terms favorable to the United States. 3. Reduce tariffs on imported goods. 4.Acquire California from Mexico.

The Mexican-American War broke out because of American desire to achieve the goal of manifest destiny. Put in chronological order the events related to the timeline of the Mexican-American War.

1. The mexican government cuts of relations with the US due in protest to the annexation of Texas. 2. General Taylor scores early victories over PAlo Alto (MAy 8th) and Resaca de la Palma (May 9th) 3. US annexes California. 4. Mexico City falls on September 13th. 5. The Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo. is signed.

Chronology

1821- Mexico gains independence from Spain 1836- American "Texians" are defeated at the Alamo 1842- US and Gb agree to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. 1845- US annexes Texas 1846- Mexican-American war begins 1848- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo end Mexican-American War 1849- California Gold rush begins 1854- Congress passes Kansas-Nebraska Act. Republican party is formed. 1856- Bleeding Kansas and Bloody Sumner 1857- Dred Scott Vs. Sanford and Lecompton Constitution 1858- Lincoln-Douglas debates 1859- John Brown raid at Harper's ferry, Virginia 1860-1861- 7 southern states secede from the union March 4, 1861- Abe Lincoln is inaugurated as president April 1861- Fort Sumter falls to confederate forces.

How long was the Oregon trail? And what did it cross?

2,000 miles,taking over six months to complete. It crossed the great plains and the rocky mountains.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills presented to the Congress by Henry Clay intended to avoid secession or civil war by reducing North and South tensions.

Dred Scott vs. Sandford

Dred Scott was a born slave in Virginia. He was the slave to an army surgeon, who took him to Illinois, the Wisconsin territory, and eventually STL. In 1846 Scott filed suit in Missouri courts claiming his residency in Illinois, a free state, made him free. THe jury ruled in his favor, BUT when taken to the supreme court president Buchanan pressured one of the judges to rule against Scott.

The term Bleeding Kansas referred to the purging of anti-slavery members from the state legislature following the election of 1855. True or False?

False. Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent conflicts i the Kansas territory between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions.

The majority of American settlers who traveled west to California did so by sea during the 1830s and 1840s, leading up to the discovery of gold in 1848. True or False?

False. Most traveling to California went overland, using the Overland Trails.

The eight resolutions presented to Congress by Henry Clay to resolve the "controversy between the free and slave states, growing out of the subject of slavery" had a few controversial points, but the Compromise of 1850 was adopted surprisingly quickly, after only a few months of debate. True or False?

False. The eight resolutions that made up the Compromise of 1850 were extremely controversial and took seven months of congressional debates until the proposals became substance. These were the greatest debates in congressional history.

The lower southern states cited various grievances against the federal government as reasons for seceding. They chose to leave out the issue of slavery in order to gain legitimacy from the Union. True or False?

False. While the secession ordinances of the lower states did mention various grievances that dealt with the federal government, they insisted that their main reason for seceding was the preservation of slavery.

Who adopted the constitution for the Confederate States of America, and what did the document mandate?

It was endorsed by representatives of the seceding states, 90 percent of whom were slave owners. & It insisted that slavery as an institution be "recognized and protected." & It insisted that slavery was in fact beneficial to Africans, who were a dependent race.

Lincoln's Inauguration promises

Lincoln promised to not interfere with slavery where it already existed. He stressed that the union of the states was "perpetual" and it was basically illegal for any one state to secede. He also pledged to defend federal forts in the South, but no force will be used against anyone.

Texas Revolution

Mexican officials tried to outlaw immigration from the US to Texas. Americans though kept coming , until Americans (and their slaves) outnumbered hispanic texans 10 to 1. General Antonio Lopez Anna, the mexican president, suspended the national congress, becoming a dictator. Texians decided to gain their independence, rebelling and fighting against the Mexican people.

Identify the factors that contributed to the tensions surrounding the Mexican-American War.

On May 9, 1845, Mexican forces attacked U.S. troops killing eleven. & President Polk ordered several thousand troops to advance to positions around Corpus Christi, in what previously had been Mexican Texas. & Americans in the South were heavily in favor of an expansionist war with Mexico. & The Mexican government did not recognize the U.S. annexation of Texas as legal or legitimate.

What states did the Oregon territory eventually become?

Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Montana, and British Columbia

Why was slavery in the western territories so important to southerners and southern society?

Slavery in the West would increase pro-slavery influence in Congress for the South. & It was important for southerners to maintain the delicate balance between free and slave states in Congress to protect their slave-centered agricultural economy.

Which was the first state to secede?

South Carolina. At the time SC was the third wealthiest state in the union and 60% of its population was slaves.

Wilmot Proviso

(1846) Debate over the westward expansion of slavery. The proposed idea was that if ay new land should be acquired from Mexico, slavery will be banned there.

The Buchanan-Pakenham Treaty

(1846) Polk declared Oregon was the US's and GB decided war was not worth it. So they suggested extending the border between US and British Canada westward along the 49th parallel. Thus this treaty was created.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

(1848) Signed of February 2nd, Mexico gave up all claims to Texas north of the Rio Grande and transferred control of California and New Mexico to the US. In return the US paid $15 million to Mexico. The treaty was ratified on March 10, 1848.

Crittenden Compromise

(1861) A series of resolutions that allowed for slavery in the new western territories south of the Missouri Compromise line, and guaranteed preservation of slavery where already existed. This idea was shot down though by President Lincoln and Senate.

Identify the outcomes of the Mexican-American War that have become part of the United States' legacy.

The United States acquired territories that became the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Wyoming. & Future U.S. presidents would strongly condemn the Mexican-American War as shameful and aggressive in nature.

Manifest Destiny

The wide spread belief that American was "destined" by God to expand westward across the continent into lands claimed by native Americans as well as european nations.

Why was the Dred Scott case so important?

This case declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional. It challenged the concept of "popular sovereignty." Congress could not restrain one's right to property, aka the slaves in this instance, and neither could state governments.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

This was a controversial legislation that created two new territories taken from native americans, where the residents would have popular sovereignty.

Overland Trails.

Trail routes followed by wagon trains full of settlers stretching from Missouri to to the Oregon Country, California and New Mexico. It began in the 1840's.

What impact did Spanish, and later Mexican, colonization have on the Native Americans living in California?

Under the Mexican rancheros, Native Americans experienced mortality rates twice as high as black slaves on southern plantations. & Under Spanish colonialism, between 1769 and 1821, the Native American population along the California coast declined from 72,000 to 18,000.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Written by Harriet beecher Stowe in 1852. It revealed the brutal realities of slavery and how it harmed everyone within it's reach.