APUSH (Period 5)

• Manifest Destiny


  The idea that it was America's god-given duty to expand across the rest of the continent
• John O'Sullivan


  Journalist who coined the term "Manifest Destiny"
• James K. Polk


  The "Manifest Destiny" president who campaigned on the slogan "54-40 or fight" to gain the Oregon territory from Britain
• The discovery of gold in California in 1848 fueled the idea of Manifest Destiny
• Many Americans were willing to risk the hardships found along the westward Trails like the Oregon, Santa Fe, and Mormon Trails in hopes of a brighter future and economic opportunities out west
• Texas Independence


  Debates increased over the annexation of Texas into the Union
• Congress worried that annexing Texas would upset the balance between slave and free states that had been established since the Missouri Compromise
• Texas was ultimately annexed in 1845 by President Polk
• Border dispute between America and Mexico at the Rio Grande River


  Fighting broke out, leading to the Mexican-American War
• During the Mexican-American War, Pennsylvania representative David Wilmot proposed that the institution of slavery be banned from any land gained as a result of the war, even though this proposal failed
• The Mexican-American War officially ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which significantly extended American land
• America's borders were extended West to the Pacific Ocean and South to the Rio Grande River, although the southern border wasn't finalized until the Gadsden Purchase
• Following the Mexican cession, tension increased over the status of the new land - would slavery be permitted?
• Free Soil Party


  Many Americans who wanted to prevent slavery from expanding into the new territories
• Compromise of 1850


  Negotiated by Henry Clay, it added California as a free state but allowed for popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, and strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act
• The Compromise of 1850 angered Northerners because they felt it made them complicit in the institution of slavery
• Kansas-Nebraska Act


  Passed in 1854, it allowed for popular sovereignty in the two territories, nullifying the 3630 line established under the Missouri Compromise
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to "Bleeding Kansas" as pro- and anti-slavery factions flooded into the territory hoping to influence the vote
• Republican Party


  Formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, they were able to unify Americans who opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories
• Harriet Tubman


  Helped an estimated 300 slaves escape to the north on the Underground Railroad
• Harriet Beecher Stowe


  Published her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which showed the cruelty and inhumanity of enslavement
• George Fitzhugh


  A Southerner who argued that the working condition and treatment of Northern Industrial laborers was worse than slavery
• Dred Scott Case


  The Supreme Court declared in 1857 that African-Americans were not citizens and therefore could not sue in a US court
• John Brown


  An abolitionist who led the raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia in an attempt to arm a slave rebellion
• The North had a diverse economy based on manufacturing and trade, while the Southern economy almost exclusively relied on plantation agriculture
• These economic differences also led to debates over tariffs, which helped Northern manufacturing but hurt Southern cotton sales
• 1860 Presidential Election


  Four candidates ran, including a split Democratic ticket, enabling Lincoln to win despite not receiving a single Southern vote
• South Carolina seceded shortly after Lincoln's election, followed by six more Southern States who formed the Confederate States of America
• Jefferson Davis


  Elected president of the Confederacy
• Union Advantages


  • Larger population, control of the US Navy and banks, more infrastructure like railroads and farmland
• Confederate Advantages


  • Determination to keep slavery, better military leadership with experienced generals like Robert E. Lee
• Fort Sumter


  The official start of the Civil War
• Antietam


  The Confederate loss here discouraged foreign intervention
• Battle of Gettysburg


  Considered the turning point of the war, officially ending Southern attempts to invade the North
• Atlanta Campaign


  General Sherman used Total War to destroy the Southern morale and supplies, weaving a path of Destruction from Atlanta to Savannah
• Appomattox


  Where the Confederacy was forced to surrender
• Abraham Lincoln


  His leadership was instrumental in the Union victory, he was determined to restore the Union
• Lincoln approved the draft of 75,000 troops and the Conscription Act was passed in 1863 to draft additional troops
• Lincoln restricted civil liberties during the war by suspending habeas corpus, allowing anyone rebelling or interfering with the war effort to be arrested and denied legal rights
• Emancipation Proclamation


  Issued by Lincoln, it officially made the war about slavery and allowed African-Americans to join the Union Army