Unit 5: 1848-1877

James K. Polk

"dark horse" (lesser known candidate) for Democrats in 1844 presidential election; protege of Andrew Jackson; committed to expansion and manifest destiny; favored the annexation of Texas, the "reoccupation" of all of Oregon, and the acquisition of California.

Abraham Lincoln

(Old Abe or Honest Abe) self educated Kentuckian; Springfield lawyer. Republicans chose him to run against Douglas in 1858 election. Although he loss victory to senatorship that year, Lincoln came to be one of the most prominent northern politicians and emerge as a Republican nominee for president. Although he won the presidential elections of 1860, he was a minority and sectional president. (no ballot for southern states). Lincoln winning this elections have South Carolinians an excuse to secede from the Union and caused South to completely break from the North.

Antonio López de Santa Anna

-->1837, made himself General and dictator of Mexico tried to enforce Mexico's new laws of no slavery and Roman Catholicism as the religion in Texas -->Sam Houston revolted and declared Texas to be an independent republic -->_____ captured town of Goliad and attacked the Alamo in San Antonio killing every American defender -->He was caught by surprise by Sam Houston in the Battle of San Jacinto, captured and forced to give Texas its independence

Texas

-->US interest in pushing its border to ___ and westward into Oregon territory (caused by American pioneers) -->1823 - Mexico won its independence from Spain, hoped to attract settlers (incl. Anglo) to farm its sparsely populated northern frontier province of _____. --> by 1830, Americans outnumbered Mexicans in ____ 3:1 --> first denied annexation in 1937, put off by Van Buren and Jackson b/c of Northern opposition to expansion of slavery

Oregon territory

-->vast territory on the Pacific Coast that originally stretched as far north as the Alaskan border -->Claimed by Britain, Russia, and US; Spain gave up its claim in Adams-Onís treaty in 1819 -->by 1844, America beleived it manifest destiny to take undisputed possession of all Oregon and to annex the Republic of Texas and Mexican California as well

causes of the conflict between the North and the South

1. slavery, as a growing moral issue in the North, versus its defense and expansion in the South 2. constitutional disputes over the nature of the federal Union and state's rights 3. economic differences between the industrializing North and agricultural South over such issues as tariffs, banking, and internal improvements 4. political blunders and extremism on both sides

Franklin Pierce

14th President of the United States, Democrat (after the fall of the Whigs), supported Fugitive Slave Law, popularity in the North declined sharply after he came out in favor of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, repealing the Missouri Compromise and reopening the question of the expansion of slavery in the West.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

1858 Senate Debate, Lincoln forced Stephen Douglas to debate issue of slavery, (Lincoln unknown compared to Douglas) Douglas supported pop-sovereignty, Lincoln asserted that slavery should not spread to territories, Lincoln emerged as strong Republican candidate

Crittenden compromise

1860 (just before Lincoln took office and SC seceded)- attempt to prevent Civil War by Senator Crittenden - offered a Constitutional amendment recognizing slavery in the territories south of the 36º30' line, noninterference by Congress with existing slavery, and compensation to the owners of fugitive slaves - defeated by Republicans

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Act proposed by Stephen Douglas that split the Nebraska territory into 2 parts and used popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska to decide the slave issue (presuming that Kansas became a slave state and Nebraska a free state). The North needed Nebraska to build a Northern transcontinental railroad from San Francisco to Chicago. The South would acquire a slave state and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. (passed - Pierce)

Aroostook War

Also known as the "battle of the maps," conflict in the 1840's over the ill-defined boundary between Canada (new Brunswick) and Maine. Canada was still under British rule, and many Americans regarded Britain as their country's worst enemy. A conflict between rival groups of lumbermen on the Maine-Canadian border erupted into open fighting. Resolved with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

Jefferson Davis

An American statesman and politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865. He tried to increase his executive powers during the war, but Southern governors resisted centralization.

John Brown

An abolitionist who attempted to lead a slave revolt by capturing Armories in southern territory and giving weapons to slaves, was hung in Harpers Ferry after capturing an Armory. Also attacked a pro-slavery farm settlement in Pottawatomie Creek, killing five settlers.

conscience Whigs

Anti-slavery whigs, part of the Free-Soil party who nominated former president Martin Van Buren in the election of 1848

New England Emigrant Aid Company

Antislavery organization in the North that paid thousands of anti-slavery pioneers to the Kansas-Nebraska territory to thwart the Southerners and abolish the West.

Far West

California and Oregon, where a large group of pioneers hoped to clear forests and farm the fertile valleys.

causes and effects of the Compromise of 1850

California had an influx of settlers from the gold rush and wanted to ban slavery, and President Taylor (slaveholder) wanted to immediately admit California and New Mexico, which angered Southern extremists. The Compromise of 1850 bought time for the Union, adding to the North's political power with California as a free state, and deepened the North's commitment to keeping the Union together.

"barnburners"

Conscience Whigs and Free-soilers were known as this; their defection threatened to destroy the Democratic Party, anti-slavery

secession

December 1860, a special convention in SC voted to secede; FL, GA, AL, MI, LA, TX did the same; the 7 states met in Montgomery, AL and created the Confederate States of America; placed limits on the government's power to impose tarrifs and restrict slavery; President was Senator Jefferson Davis of MI and Alexander Stephens of GA

Freeport doctrine

Doctrine developed by Stephen Douglas that said the exclusion of slavery in a territory could be determined by the refusal of the voters to enact any laws that would protect slave property. It was unpopular with Southerners, and thus cost him the election.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Dred Scott argued that his residence on free soil made him a free citizen, in 1857 the Supreme Court under Roger Taney ruled that: 1. Dred Scott had no right to sue in federal court b/c Afr Ams. not US citizens 2. Congress did not have the power to deprive any person of property under due law, slaves were form of property 3. Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional b/c excluded slavery from Wisconsin and other N territories --> delighted S. Dems, infuriated N Repubs b/c said that all parts of western territories open to slavery (slave power conspiracy?)

Franklin Pierce

Elected to the presidency after Polk in 1852, adopted pro-Southern policies; puppet of the Democrats; sought expansion in Nicaragua and Cuba; signed trade treaties with China and Japan.

Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)

Encouraged states to use the sale of federal land grants to maintain agricultural and technical colleges

Homestead Act (1862)

Encouraged westward settlement by allowing heads of families to buy 160 acres of land for a small fee ($10-30); settlers were required to develop and remain on the land for five years. Over 400,000 families got land through this law.

manifest destiny

Expressed the popular belief that the United States had a divine mission to extend its power and civilization across the breadth of North America. Enthusiasm for expansion reached a fever pitch in the 1840s.

mountain men

Fur traders, earliest nonnative individuals to open in the Far West. Held yearly rendezvous in the Rockies with American Indians to trade for animal skins. James Beckworth, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith were among the hardy band of explorers and trappers who provided much of the early information about trails and frontier conditions to later settlers.

Zachary Taylor

General who drove Mexican Army from Texas and won major victory at Buena Vista.

Winfield Scott

General who invaded central Mexico, succeeded in taking the coastal city of Vera Cruz and then captured Mexico City in 1847.

Stephen Kearney

General who succeeded in taking Santa Fe, the New Mexico territory, and southern California from Mexico.

Know-Nothing Party

Group of nativist people hostile to newcomers who formed a political party during the time when the KKK grew. Anti-Catholics and anti-foreign. They were also known as the American Party.

Wilmot Proviso

In 1846, the first year of war with Mexico, PA Congressman David Wilmot proposed that an appropriations bill be amended to forbid slavery in any of the new territories acquired from Mexico. This legislation passed the House twice but was defeated in the Senate.

Free-Soil party

In 1848, Northerners who opposed allowing slavery in the territories organized the ______, which adopted the slogan "free soil, free labor, and free men." In addition to its chief objective, the new party also advocated free homesteads and internal improvements. It consisted of "conscience" Whigs and antislavery Democrats, and nominated former president Martin Van Buren.

federal land grants

In 1850, the US government granted 2.6 million of acres in _______ to build the Illinois Central Railroad from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico, the first such ______, which helped to grow the RR industry.

Pottawatomie Creek

In reaction to the sacking of Lawrence (Kansas) by pro-slavery forces, John Brown and a band of abolitionist settlers killed five settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek. This was one of the many bloody episodes in Kansas preceding the American Civil War, which came to be known collectively as Bleeding Kansas.

popular sovriegnty

Instead of Congress determining whether to allow slavery in a new western territory or state, the matter would be determine by a vote of the people who settled the territory (suggested by Lewis Cass).

Samuel F. B. Morse

Invented an electric telegraph in 1844, went hand in hand with the growth of railroads in enormously speeding up communication and transportation across the country.

Elias Howe

Inventor of the sewing machine, took much of the production of clothing out of homes into factories.

Roger Taney

Jacksonian Democrat, chief justice of the supreme court who wrote an opinion in the 1857 Dred Scott case that declared the Missouri compromise unconstitutional

Sam Houston

Leader of rebellion in Texas against Mexican government, first president of the Republic of Texas (lone star republic)

Rio Grande; Nueces River

Mexico insisted the southern border of Texas was on the __2__ river. Polk and Slidell asserted that the border lay further to south, on the __1___. Polk sent troops over the __2__ river acting like the __1__ river was the official border. Mexican troops attacked and killed 11. Polk saw this as justification to start war.

silver rush

Miners rushed to Colorado, Nevada, the Black Hills of the Dakotas, and other western states to search for silver.

greenbacks

Name given to paper money issued by the government during the Civil War, so called because the back side was printed with green ink. They were not redeemable for gold, but $300 million were issued anyway. Farmers hit by the depression wanted to inflate the notes to cover losses, but Grant vetoed an inflation bill and greenbacks were added to permanent circulation. In 1879 the federal government finally made greenbacks redeemable for gold.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Negotiated by American diplomat Nicholas Trist And brought end to Mexican War. 1. Mexico recognized the Rio Grand as the southern border of Texas. 2. The US would take possession of former Mexican provinces of California and New Mexico-- the Mexican Cession, The US would pay $15 million and assume the claims of Ameican citizens against Mexico

free-soil movement

Northerners who opposed the westward expansion of slavery, but did not oppose slavery in the South. Sought to keep the West a land of opportunity for whites only so that the white majority would not have to compete with the labor of slaves or free blacks.

Harpers Ferry raid

Occurred in October of 1859. John Brown of Kansas attempted to create a major revolt among the slaves. He wanted to ride down the river and provide the slaves with arms from the North, but he failed to get the slaves organized. Brown was captured. The effects of Harper's Ferry Raid were as such: the South saw the act as one of treason (slave revolts to destroy south conspiracy) and were encouraged to separate from the North, and Brown became a martyr to the northern abolitionist cause.

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

Pierce failed to acquire Cuba, but added this strip of land to the American Southwest for a railroad in 1853. Mexico agreed to sell thousands of acres of semidesert land to the US for $10 million. This land now forms the southern sections of present-day New Mexico and Arizona.

farming frontier

Pioneer families began moving westward in order to farm. Congress' Preemption Acts of 1830s and 40s gave squatters the right to settle public lands and purchase them for low prices once the government put them up for sale. This was mostly a middle-class movement, since it was very expensive to make an overland trip to California or Oregon. Isolation of the frontier made life for pioneers very difficult in the beginning, but soon rural communities eventually developed.

Republican Party

Political party that believed in the non-expansion of slavery and comprised of Whigs, Northern Democrats, and Free-Soilers, in defiance to the Slave Powers. Grew in 1854 as a direct reaction to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Its overriding purpose was to oppose the spread of slavery in the territories (not slavery itself)

John Tyler

President 1841-1845, Southern Whig who was worried about the growing influence of the British in Texas. He worked to annex Texas, but the US Senate rejected his treaty of annexation in 1844.

Ostend Manifesto (1852)

President Polk offered to purchase Cuba from Spain for $100 million, but Spain refused. When Pierce was elected, he sent three American diplomats to Ostend, Belgium, where they secretly negotiated to buy Cuba from Spain. The _______ that the diplomats drew up was leaked to the press in the US and provoked an angry reaction from antislavery members of Congress, so Pierce dropped the scheme.

Compromise of 1850

Proposed by Henry Clay to solve the political crisis, the _______ would: 1. Admit California to the Union as a free state 2. Divide the remainder of the Mexican session into 2 territories: Utah and New Mexico, vote on slavery 3. Give the land in dispute between Texas and NM territory to the new territories in return for the federal government assuming Texas's debt of $10 million 4. Ban the slave trade in DC but permit whites to hold slaves as before 5. Adopt a new Fugitive Slave Law and enforce it ...and it passed!

Fugitive Slave Law

Provided for the return of escaped slaves to their owners. The 1850 law was tougher and was aimed at eliminating the underground railroad, and captured people were denied right to trial by jury. This was forcibly resisted by antislavery northerners, and drove a wedge between the North and the South.

Morrill Tariff Act (1861)

Raised tariff rates to increase revenue and protect American manufacturers; high protective tarrifs to project industrialists

Stephen A. Douglas

Senator from Illinois who ran for president against Abraham Lincoln. Wrote the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Freeport Doctrine

Fort Sumter

South Carolina location where Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War in April of 1861, after Union forces attempted to provision the fort.

Walker Expedition

Southern adventurer William Walker, an expansionist who sought new empires w/o federal gov't support, had tried unsuccessfully to take Baja California from Mexico in 1853. Then, leading a force of mostly Southerners, he took over Nicaragua in 1855, with temporary recognition from US. However, his grandiose scheme to develop a proslavery Central American empire collapsed, and he was executed by Honduran authorities in 1860.

border states

States bordering the North: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. They were slave states, but did not secede. This was partly due to Union sentiment in those states and partly the result of shrewd federal policies. Keeping these in the Union was a primary military and political goal for Lincoln.

Lecompton constitution

Submitted by the Southern legislature at Lecompton, supported the existence of slavery in the proposed state and protected rights of slaveholders. It was rejected by Kansas settlers, making Kansas an eventual free state.

Millard Fillmore

Successor of President Zachary Taylor after his death on July 9th 1850. He helped pass the Compromise of 1850 by gaining the support of Northern Whigs for the compromise.

Sumner-Brooks incident

Sumner was an MA senator and unyielding foe of slavery. He was physically attacked by Senator Brooks of SC in retaliation for a two-day speech made denouncing the pro slavery Missourians who had crossed into Kansas and Brook's pro-slavery uncle who supported the Missourians --> showed the split of the government & growing passions on both sides

railroads

The ______ soon emerged as America's largest industry in the 1840s-50s. Local merchants and farmers would buy stocks in the new companies to connect their businesses to the outside world, local and state gov'ts helped them grow by granting special loans and tax breaks

Second American Revolution

The civil war is sometimes called ______ because although it destroyed slavery and devastated the southern economy, and it also acted as a catalyst to transform american into a complex modern industrial society of capital, technology, national organizations, and large corporations; the characteristics of american democracy and its capitalist economy were strengthened

Confederate States of America

The confederation formed in 1861 by the Southern states after their secession from the Union: South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. The Confederate constitution was modeled after the US Constitution, except it provided a 6-year term for the president and gave the president an item veto. Its constitution denied the Confederate Congress the powers to levy a protective tariff and to appropriate funds for internal improvements, but it did prohibit foreign slave trade.

mining frontier

The discovery of gold in CA in 1848 caused the first flood of newcomers to the West. A series of gold strikes and silver strikes in what became the states of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and South Dakota kept a steady flow of hopeful young prospectors pushing into the Western mountains. Mining camps and towns sprung up wherever there was a strike, although many were short-lived. California's population soared from 14k in 1848 to 380k in 1860.

Matthew C. Perry; Japan

The federal government expanded US trade by selling Commodore __1__ to __2__ to force that country to open up its ports. __2__ relented in 1854.

exports and imports

The growth in manufactured goods as well as in agricultural products (Western grain and southern cotton) caused a large growth of ______.

Panic of 1857

The midcentury economic boom ended in 1857 with a financial panic. Prices, especially for Midwestern farmers, dropped sharply, and unemployment in Northern cities increased. Since cotton prices remained high, the South was unaffected.

overland trails

The ways by which pioneers made the journey west to California and Oregon. By 1860, hundreds of thousands had reached their westward goal by following the Oregon, California, Santa Fe, and Mormon ____.

Mexican War (1846-1847)

This war started mainly because of a border dispute between Mexico and US over Texas and California, mostly fought on Mexican territory by relatively small armies of Americans. California gained its independence (John C. Frémont), major battles at Buena Vista and Mexico City (Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott). This war was devastating for Mexico.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

Treaty negotiated by US Secretary of State Daniel Webster and the British ambassador, Lord Alexander Ashburton. In this treaty, the disputed territory (Aroostook War) was split between Maine and British Canada. The treaty also settled the boundary of the Minnesota territory, leaving the iron-rich Mesabi range on the US border.

Harriet Tubman

United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North (1820-1913).

Alexander H. Stephens

Vice President of the Confederate States of America, in defense of states' rights, urged the secession of Georgia in response to the "despotic" actions of the Confederacy

urban frontier

Western cities that arose as a result of railroads, mineral wealth, and farming attracted a number of professionals and business owners. San Fransisco and Denver became instant cities created by the gold and silver rushes.

Zachary Taylor

Whig nomination for president 1848, narrowly defeated Dem candidate Cass b/c of Free Soil vote. Had never been involved in politics and took no position on slavery in territories, former General in the Mexican War.

Henry Clay

Whig, war hawk in the War of 1812, proponent of the American System, opposed Mexican-American war and expansion, senator from Kentucky called the Great Compromiser because he was credited the Missouri Compromise, nullification crisis, and other major political compromises between 1820 - 1850, such as the Compromise of 1850.

Lewis Cass

a Democratic senator from Michigan and presidential Dem nominee for 1848, platform based on popular sovereignty that won considerable support from moderate Northerners and moderate Southerners.

Underground Railroad

a fabled network of "conductors" and "stations," Northern free blacks and courageous ex-slaves, with the help of white abolitionists, who helped escaped slaves reach freedom in the North or in Canada.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin

a novel about a conflict between an enslaved man named Tom and the brutal white slave owner Simon Legree. The publication of this book moved a generation of Northerners and Europeans to view slave owners as cruel and inhuman.

John C. Frémont

an American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery. Other platforms included free homesteads and a pro-business protective tariff.

foreign commerce

factors that played a role in the expansion of US _______: 1. shipping firms encouraged regular schedule of departures 2. demand for whale oil caused whaling boom 3. improvements in design of ships 4. steamships instead of clipper ships b/c greater storage capacity 5. opened trade w/ Japan

George Fitzhugh, Sociology of the South

in this book, the boldest and best known of pro-slavery authors questioned the principle of equal rights for "unequal men" and attacked the capitalist wage system as "worse than slavery."

house-divided speech

made by Abraham Lincoln before he was elected stating that the United States will either be all slave or all free because it can't be half and half and still succeed --> southerners viewed Lincoln as radical

Mexican Cession

the US took possession of former Mexican provinces of California and New Mexico, also called the _____.

Great American Desert

the arid area between the Mississippi valley and the Pacific coast. Emigrants passed quickly over this vast, dry region to reach the more inviting lands on the West Coast.

California; Bear Flag Republic

the northern part of California that John C. Frémont declared to be a republic (independent from Mexico) in 1846 with a bear on its flag.

Bull Run

1st real battle of Civil War, Confederate victory. Federal troops attacked Confederate forces at Bull Run Creek (VA), then Confederate reinforcements under Gen. Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson counterattacked and sent the troops back to Washington. This battle ended the illusion of a short war.

Alamo

A Mexican army led by Santa Anna captured the town of Goliad and attacked the _____ in San Antonio, killing every one of its American defenders.

Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson

A confederate general who was known for his fearlessness in leading rapid marches bold flanking movements and furious assaults. He earned his nickname at the battle of first Bull Run for standing courageously against union fire. During the battle of Chancellorsville his own men accidentally mortally wounded him.

gold rush

A period from 1848 to 1856 when thousands of people came to California in order to search for gold, especially in Colorado, Nevada, and the Dakotas.

"bleeding Kansas"

A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.

Pacific Railway Act (1862)

Authorized the building of a transcontinental railroad over a northern route in order to link the economies of California and the western territories to the Eastern states

John C. Frémont

Backed by only several dozen soldiers, a few navy officers, and American civilians who had recently settled in California, ______ quickly overthrew Mexican rule in northern California (1846) and proclaimed California to be an independent republic with a bread on its flag.

industrial technology

Before 1840, factory production had been concentrated in New EnglandAfter 1840, industrialization spread rapidly around the Northeast. The new factories produced shoes, sewing machines, ready-to-wear clothing, firearms, precision tools, and iron products for railroads and other new technologies.

Hinton R. Helper, Impending Crisis of the South

Book of nonfiction that attacked slavery using statistics to demonstrate to fellow southerners (he was from NC) that slavery had a negative impact on the South's economy; Southern states banned the book but used by the North

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850)

Both America and Britain had the ambition to build a canal through Central America. To prevent each other from seizing this opportunity on its own, GB and US agreed to the ______, which provided that neither nation would attempt to take exclusive control of any future canal route in Central America. This lasted until 1901.

James Buchanan

The 15th President of the United States (1857-1861). He tried to maintain a balance between proslavery and antislavery factions, but his moderate views angered radicals in both North and South, and he was unable to forestall the secession of South Carolina on December 20, 1860. Seen as a weak president.

election of 1860

The Democratic platform, under nominee Breckenridge, called for unrestricted extension of slavery in territories and annexation of Cuba *vs.* Republicans who wanted to exclude slavery from territories, add protective tariff for industry, free land for homesteads, and internal improvements like railroads *vs.* Constitutional Union party-- just want to preserve Union Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won because the Democratic party was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt like it has a voice in politics and a number of states seceded from the Union.

"Fifty-four Forty or Fight!"

The Democratic slogan in the 1844 election for James K. Polk, appealed strongly to American westerners and Southerners who in 1844 were in an expansionist mood. It referred to the line of latitude that marked the northern border between the Oregon Territory and Russian Alaska.

homesteads

public land grants to small farmers

Stephen F. Austin

succeded in bringing 300 families into Texas and thereby beginning a steady migration of Americans into the vast fronteir territory