Chapter 12

Dark Horse Candidate

a candidate for office with little support before the beginning of the nomination process; James K. Polk was the first dark horse candidate for president in 1844

"Bleeding Kansas"

as a result of Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, residents of Kansas territory could decide if territory would allow slavery or not; as a result, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups flooded settlers into Kansas territory. Much violence followed very disputed elections in 1855

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

compromise that allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to vote to decide if they would enter the Union as free states or slave states. Much violence and confusion took place in Kansas as various types of "settlers" moved into this territory in the months before the vote in an attempt to influence it

Manifest Destiny

concept that became popularized in the 1840s stating that it was the God-given mission of the United States to expand westward

Dred Scott Case

critical Supreme Court ruling that stated that slaves were property and not people; as a result they could not seek a ruling from any court. The ruling also stated that Congress had no legal right to ban slavery in any territory

Bear Flag Republic

declaring independence from Mexican control, this republic was declared in 1846 by American settlers living in California; this political act was part of a larger American political and military strategy to wrest Texas and California from Mexico

Confederates States of America

eventually made up of 11 former states with Jefferson Davis as its first and only president. Was unable to defeat the North because of lack of railroad lines, lack of industry, and an inability to get European nations to support their cause

Freeport Doctrine

introduced by Stephen Douglas in the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the idea that despite the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, a territorycould still prevent slavery by electing officials who were opposed to it and by creating laws and regulations that would make slavery impossible to enforce

Fugitive Slave Act

part of the Compromise of 1850, legislation that set up special commissions in northern states to determine if accused runaway slaves were actually that. Commissioners were given more money if the accused was found to be a runaway than if he/she was not. Many northern state legislatures attempted to circumvent this law

Know-Nothing Party

political party developed in the 1850s that claimed that the other political parties and the entire political process were corrupt, that immigrants were destroying the economic base of America by working for low wages, and that Catholics in America were intent on destroying American democracy. Know-Nothings were similar in many ways to other nativist groups that developed at various points in America's history

Free-Soil Party

political party that won 10 percent of the vote in the 1848 presidential election; they were opposed to the spread of slavery into any of the recently acquired American territories. Free-Soil supporters were mainly many former members of the Whig party in the North

Gadsen Purchase

strip of territory running through Arizona and New Mexico that the United States purchased from Mexico in 1853; President Pierce authorized this purchase to secure that the southern route of this transcontinental railroad (between Texas and Carolina) would be in American territory

Compromise of 1850

temporarily ending tensions between the North and the South, this measure allowed California to enter the Union as a free state but also strengthened the Fugitive Slave Law

Mexican-American War

war fought over possession of Texas, which was claimed by both Mexico and the United States; the settlement ending this war gave the United States the northern part of the Texas territory and the territories of New Mexico and California

Missouri Compromise

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Nativist

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Oregon Trail

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Oregon Treaty

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Republican Party

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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

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Uncle Tom's Cabin

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Wilmot Proviso

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Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 compromise legislation crafted by Stephen Douglas that allowed the settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide if those territories would be slave or free. Bill caused controversy and bloodshed throughtout these territories; in the months before the vote in Kansas, large numbers of "settlers" moved in to influence the vote, and after the vote (won by pro-slavery forces), violence between the two sides intensified