APUSH Chapter 18
Harriet Tubman
Definition: An illiterate runaway slave from Maryland who, as a conductor for the Underground Railroad, rescued more than three hundred slaves during nineteen excursions to the South, earning her the title, "Moses". Significance: Though later historical accounts greatly exaggerated her role in the furtherance of the abolitionist cause, her importance as a figurehead of the Underground Railroad remains undisputed.
Franklin Pierce
Definition: 14th president of the United States, he oversaw the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Significance: This act caused momentous tremors during his presidency, and momentously brought the country farther from compromise and closer to disunion. His support of the Act thus incurred further disintegration of the United States.
Free Soil Party
Definition: A party organized by supporters of the Wilmot Proviso disgruntled by the largely neutral stance taken by the Whigs and Democrats toward slavery. The party attracted a large number of abolitionist northerners and "conscience" Whigs, condemning slavery on moral grounds. They chose Martin Van Buren as their political candidate in the election of 1848. Significance: During the election, they gained a respectable 291,263 ballots, diverting enough democratic strength from Cass in New York to throw the election toward Zachary Taylor.
Compromise of 1850
Definition: A series of compromise measures designed to reconcile the warring North and South, passed after months of stormy congressional debate presided over by Millard Fillmore. Many staunch northern abolitionists and southern "fire eaters" loathed the bill and any other implied attempt at continued union, but certain orators such as Henry Clay and Daniel Webster managed to keep the union intact, at least for a time. Significance: The North was clearly favored by this compromise with the gains by the south, such as the 10 million dollars granted to Texas, proved to be a pittance with time. The Fugitive Slave Law, the only real southern gain, drew immense opposition in the North, with many states refusing to enforce it. Thus, while the compromise of 1850 gave peace for a time, this newfound peace was destined to eventually crumble.
Underground Railroad
Definition: A structure put in place by white and black southern abolitionists, consisting of an informal chain of "stations" (antislavery homes) through which scores of "passengers" (runaway slaves) would be spirited through by "conductors" (abolitionists) to the sanctuary of Canada. Significance: This abolitionist structure greatly angered southern landowners, who saw it as a violation of property. Their anger coalesced into motions for a stronger fugitive slave law, a major component of the compromise of 1850.
Ostend Manifesto
Definition: A top - secret dispatch sent by the American ministers to France, Spain, and England in Ostend, Belgium upon the orders of the Secretary of State. It urged the administration offer 120 million for Cuba. If Spain refused, and if its continued ownership endangered American interests, the United States would "be justified in wresting" the island from the hated Spanish. Definition: The scandalous nature of this document caused great furor when it was discovered, angering Northern free-soilers, who called it a "manifesto of brigands". This caused the Pierce administration to abandon aspirations of owning Cuba. Thus, the document indirectly stymied the American expansion of territory in the Caribbean sphere.
Gadsden Purchase
Definition: A treaty negotiated by James Gadsden and Santa Anna, providing for the purchase of a small area of northeastern Mexico for 10 million dollars in 1853. Significance: While garnering criticism from northerners, who saw the purchase as an unwise choice to buy hundreds of acres of cactus-strewn desert, it allowed the South to argue for a transcontinental railroad with its terminus in the South with greater insistence, as a northern line would need to cross mountains and unorganized territory in order to be feasible.
Treaty of Kanagawa
Definition: A treaty negotiated by Matthew C. Perry in 1854, who brought many American gifts to Japan on that date, including a miniature steam locomotive with 350 feet of track. The treaty allowed for proper treatment of shipwrecked sailors, American coaling rights in Japan, and the establishment of consular relations. Significance: This foreign contact cracked the shell of Japanese isolationism wide open, causing Japan to enter into the modern age at last, propelled by the Meiji Restoration and end of the shogunate.
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
Definition: A treaty signed between America and Britain in 1850, stipulating that neither of the two nations would fortify or seek exclusive control over any future isthmian water way, specifically pertaining to the Nicaragua area. Significance: It served to reconcile British and American interests in the area of the proposed canal, and later prevented a confrontation.
Fugitive Slave Law
Definition: Also known as the "bloodhound bill", this bill caused fleeing slaves to lose the right to testify on their own behalf, as well as the right to trial by jury. The federal commissioner was even subject to essential bribery, receiving 5 dollars if the slave was given their freedom, and 10 dollars if they were not. Significance: This abhorrent measure set off a chain reaction in the North, changing many previous moderates into staunch, fiery abolitionists. Often the law was enforced only by threat of federal force in the North, or not at all.
California Gold Rush
Definition: An event spurred by the discovery of gold in California, in which hordes of bearded hopefuls poured into the state, attempting the "strike it rich". Most did not prosper, and the most profitable occupations were those that mined the miners, charging outrageous rates for laundry and other services. Significance: The tens of thousands of new immigrants completely overwhelmed the territorial California government, causing an outburst of crime due to the influx of ruffians. This desperate need for order was the major cause of California's early entrance into the union, bypassing the usual territorial stage and angering the South.
Zachary Taylor
Definition: The 12th U.S. president and leader in the Mexican-American War, he was a strong nationalist compromiser and did much to keep the union together, in part through the Compromise of 1850 and in part through threat of military force to be used against any possible practitioners of secession. Significance: The efforts he enacted to preserve the essential integrity of the union delayed the conflagration of Civil War for many years, and he is still remembered as an opponent of radicals and as a mediator.
Popular Sovereignty
Definition: The doctrine stating that the sovereign people of a territory should themselves determine the status of slavery within that territory. Significance: This idea held great promise for becoming a potential final settlement of the issue of slavery, as its democratic nature and neutral idea made it very promising for both contending sides. However, it became opposed by abolitionists who believed it would unduly protect slavery in the western territories.
Treaty of Wanghia
Definition: The first treaty signed between China and the United States, signed at the persuasive bay of Caleb Cushing, it secured many vital trade and commercial rights from the Chinese. These included "most favored nation", which allowed America any and all boons granted by the Chinese to all other powers, and "Extraterritoriality", which allowed Americans accused of crimes in China to be tried before American officials, rather than in Chinese courts. (This boon was likely sought by Cushing due to the memory of a seamen on a U.S. vessel who had been strangled to death by Chinese authorities for what was apparently the accidental drowning of a Chinese woman). Significance: Trade flourished under this treaty, though perhaps not as much as Cushing and his backers had hoped for. American missionary work in China was greatly aided by the terms of the treaty.
Millard Fillmore
Definition: The thirteenth president of the United States. As Vice President, he sagely oversaw the negotiations of the pivotal compromise of 1850. As president, he oversaw expansionist motions such as the Gadsden Purchase and the treaty of Kanagawa. Significance: Much like his predecessor, James K. Polke, he greatly believed in Manifest Destiny and used that to direct many expansionist policies, particularly in the South. These actions transformed the American landscape and elevated America still further on the ladder of relevance within the larger, worldwide political sphere.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Definition: This highly controversial 1854 act, championed by Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, usurped the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by opening both Kansas and Nebraska to popular sovereignty in an attempt to open a railroad line for the North. The bill met with heated discussion in Congress, as it was unappealing to both North and South, but the violently gesticulating Douglas rammed the bill through congress with the strong support of many southerners, causing great furor throughout the nation. Significance: Antislavery northerners became furious, after the passage of the act, at this so - called "nebrascality", and would prevent any sort of further co,promise with the South, greasing the slopes toward civil war. This act, while shattering the democrats and preventing them from winning another election for 28 years also birthed the republicans, a new party purely based in the North, founded on abolitionism and free-soil ideals. Thus, it thundered the nation by creating a purely sectional political atmosphere.
