Key

General Trends
● Immigration Waves
● Economic Outlooks
● Wars
● Civil Rights
Big Names
Hub Dates

5.2-5.4 Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny
● US had divine mission to extend power & civilization across N America

Texas
● Stephen Austin brought in 300 families ⇒ began steady settlers’ migration into W
frontier
● Mexico outlawed slavery & required all immigrants to convert to Roman Catholics
● Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: made himself dictator of Mexico & abolished federal
gov; attempted to enforce Mexico’s laws in Texas
● Sam Houston revolted; declared Texas independent
● Battle of Alamo: Mexican army killed all Americans
● Sam Houston captured Santa Anna
● Anna signed treaty recognizing Texas independence & granted it all territory N of Rio
Grande
● Mexico legislature rejected treaty

Webster-Ashburton Treaty
● settled Maine-Canadian border
● Minnesota territory
● left iron-rich Mesabi Range on US side of border

James K. Polk
● Democrat President
● wanted occupation of Oregon Territory all the way to Russian Alaska (54° 40´)
● campaign slogan: Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!

Far West
● Great American Desert: arid region between Mississippi Valley & Pacific Coast
● Mountain men: Rockies; trade animal skins from American Indians
● Overland trails: Oregon, CA, Santa Fe, & Mormon
○ attacks by American Indians, disease, depression
● Mining: CA gold rush (1848-1860) ⇒ population boom (⅓ miners Chinese)
● Farming: squatters settle public lands & purchase them for low prices once gov put
them up for sale
● Cities:
○ gold & silver rushes ⇒ San Francisco and Denver
○ offered fresh supplies to overland travelers ⇒ Salt Lake City
Matthew C. Perry
● pressured Japan to sign Kanagawa Treaty trade agreement
● increased exports & imports

US-Mexican War (1845-1848)

● Annexation of Texas: 1845; Polk recognized Texas as 28th state of Union
● Polk wanted Mexico to sell CA & settle border along Rio Grande (Mexico insisted
Nueces River)
● Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to move army toward Rio Grande ⇒ captured
by Mexican army
● Stephen Kearney: took New Mexico and S California
● John C. Fremont: overthrew Mexican rule in N California
● Bear Flag Republic: CA as new independent nation
● Winfield Scott: captured Mexico City
● Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
○ Rio Grande as S border of Texas
○ Mexican Cession - US took California and New Mexico
● Whigs: saw war as immoral effort to expand slavery
● Wilmot Proviso: forbid slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico; wanted to
preserve land for White settlers; did not pass in Senate

Ostend Manifesto
● S expansionists looked to Latin America to expand their slave land
● Polk wanted to buy Cuba from Spain ⇒ Spain refused
● Franklin Pierce sent 3 American diplomats to Ostend, Belgium to secretly negotiate
Cuba with Spain ⇒ angered antislavery members of Congress ⇒ failed

Walker Expedition
● William Walker wanted to develop proslavery Central American empire
● tried unsuccessfully to take Baja, California
● seized power in Nicaragua
● defeated by Central American countries, executed by Honduran authorities

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
● Americans wanted Central American canal as shortcut; GB also wanted one
● provided neither nation would attempt to take exclusive control of any future canal
route in Central America

Gadsden Purchase
● The Gadsden Purchase, or Treaty, was an agreement between the United States and
Mexico, finalized in 1854, in which the United States agreed to pay Mexico $10
million for a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico that later became part of Arizona
and New Mexico. Gadsden’s Purchase provided the land necessary for a southern
transcontinental railroad and attempted to resolve conflicts that lingered after the
Mexican-American War.

5.5-5.7 Sectional Tension

Free-Soil Movement
 ● Free-Soil Party: formed by Northerners who supported Wilmot Proviso; also
advocated for
○ Free homesteads (public land grants to small farmers)
○ internal improvements, ex: roads & harbors
● Popular sovereignty: Lewis Cass suggested letting people vote on slavery

Election of 1848
● Whigs: Zachary Taylor
● Democrats: Lewis Cass
● Free Soil Party: Martin Van Buren
○ barnburners: members that threatened to destroy Democratic Party
● Zachary Taylor won

Compromise of 1850
● Henry Clay
● Admit CA into Union as free state
● Divide rest of Mexican Cession into Utah & New Mexico
● Give disputed land between Texas & New Mexico territory to New Mexico in return
for gov assuming Texas’s public debt of $10 million
● Ban slave trade in District of Columbia but allow White to own slaves
● Adopt new Fugitive Slave Law

Immigrants
● 2 million Irish came to America due to crop failures & famine in 1840s
● discriminated due to Roman Catholic religion
● communities developed in Boston, New York, Philadelphia
● able to join American politics: spoke English well & understood electoral politics
● 1880s controlled Tammany Hall (Democratic Party)
● 1 million Germans came to the US due to failed revolutions & economic crisis
● skilled as farmers and artisans
● settled in Old NW
● supported public education & opposed slavery

Nativism
● think newcomers would take their jobs & dilute Anglo culture
● American Party (aka Know- Nothing Party)
● support increasing time required for immigrants to attain citizenship & allowing only
native borns to hold public office
● favored in New England & Mid-Atlantic states
● American Indians, Mexican Americans: discriminated in SW

Market Revolution
● sewing machine: Elias Howe; took production of clothing out of homes & into
factories
● Samuel F.B. Morse: invented telegraph
● rail industry became America’s biggest industry
○ promoted agriculture in W
○ united commercial interests of NE & MW
○ gave N strategic advantages in Civil War
Panic of 1857
● declining intl economy & over-expansion of domestic economy
● sharp drop in prices for Mid W agricultural products
● sharp increase in unemployment in N cities
● cotton prices in S remain high & unaffected

Fugitive Slave Law(1850)

● help owners track down runaway enslaved people who escaped to N, capture them,
and return them to their S owners
● enforced by state and local officials
● resisted by Black and White activists in N through court cases & protests
● Underground Railroad: loose network of activists who helped slaves escape to N/
Canada
● Harriet Tubman: escaped slavery, made 13 missions to rescue 70 slaves
● Sojourner Truth: escaped slavery with infant daughter, advocate for abolition

Slavery Literature
● Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852): Harriet Beecher Stowe; conflict between Black slave Tom
& brutal owner Simon Legree
○ Impact: Northerners & Europeans regard slave owners as cruel & inhuman
● Impending Crisis of the South: Hinton R. Helper
○ show slavery ruined S’s economy
○ banned by S states
● Sociology for S: George Fitzhugh; attacked N wage slaves; used Bible & Constitution
to justify slavery

Election of 1852
● parties divided over how to resolve sectional differences over slavery
● Whig: Winfield Scott
● Democrat: Franklin Pierce

Kansas - Nebraska Act

● Stephen A. Douglas: wanted to build transcontinental railroad’s terminus in
hometown Chicago
● S wanted S route
● allow settlers in Kansas & Nebraska to decide whether to allow slavery
● New England Emigrant Aid Company: created by N abolitionists & Free-Soilers
● Bleeding Kansas (1854): fighting between proslavery & antislavery groups
● Pottawatomie Creek: John Brown attacked proslavery farm
● Sumner - Brooks: Sumner attacked Democrat Butler → nephew Brooks beat Sumner
over head

Republican Party
● Whigs who opposed expansion of slavery formed Republican Party
● opposed spread of slavery in new territories—not to end slavery

Election of 1856
● Republican: John C. Frémont
● Know-Nothing: Millard Fillmore
● Democrat: James Buchanan ⇒ won
Lecompton Constitution
● proslavery constitution for Kansas; accepted by Buchanan; rejected by Congress

Dred Scott c. Sanford (1857)

● Dred Scott sued for freedom: argued residence on free soil made him free citizen
● Supreme Court (Roger Tanay) decided
○ Scott could not sue federal court because African Americans were not US
citizens
○ Congress did not have power to deprive any person of property (slave)
○ Congress had exceeded its authority in Missouri Compromise

Lincoln - Douglas Debates

● Illinois senate
● Republican candidate: Abraham Lincoln
● house divided speech: I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half
slave and half free ⇒ made S view Lincoln as radical
● Freeport Doctrine: Douglas responded to Lincoln’s challenge that slavery could not
exist in community if local citizens did not pass laws (slave codes) maintaining it;
alienated S (think he did not go far enough in supporting Dred Scott decision)
● Douglas won

Harpers Ferry
● John Brown led slave revolt to attack federal arsenal
● moderates condemned his use of violence
● abolitionists hailed him as martyr
● S saw it as final proof of N true intentions—to use slave revolts to destroy S

Election of 1860
● Democrat: Stephen Douglas (popular sovereignty) & John C. Breckinridge
(unrestricted extension of slavery)
● Republican: Lincoln
● S threatened to leave Union if Lincoln was elected
● Constitutional Union Party
○ John Bell
○ feared Republican victory
○ enforcement of Constitution
○ preservation of Union

Secession
● South Carolina left Union
● Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas followed
● Confederate constitution placed limits on gov’s power to impose tariffs & restrict
slavery
● P Jefferson Davis & VP Alexander Stephens
● Buchanan did nothing to prevent secession
● Crittenden Compromise: guarantee right to hold slaves in all territories S of old
Missouri Compromise line
● opposed by Lincoln
Fort Sumter
● seized by S Carolina
● Lincoln gave it choice of permitting fort to hold out/ open fire
● S Carolina opened fire ⇒ united Northerners for war
● clear Lincoln would use military force ⇒ Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Arkansas seceded
● Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Virginia
● W Virginia: remained loyal to Union & became separate state
● Border states
○ their loss would increase Confederate population by 50 percent and weaken
the North’s strategic position
○ ⇒ Lincoln rejected calls for emancipation of slaves

5.8-5.9 Civil War

Second American Revolution

● deaths of 750,000 people
● freed 4 million enslaved African Americans
● transformed American society by accelerating industrialization and modernization in
North and destroying much of South

Union
● More factories
● More people
● loyal U.S. Navy
● Greater food production
● Extensive railroad system
● Controlled most banking, capital, & factories

Confederacy
● only need defensive war to win
● highly motivated soldiers
● fighting on home ground
● experienced military leaders
● long, indented coastline that was difficult to blockade
● believed Europe would acknowledge them due to demand for its cotton

Long War (1861-65)

● Union General Winfied Scott
○ Anaconda Plan: use Navy to blockade S ports, cutting off essential supplies
○ Take control of Mississippi River, dividing Confederacy in two
○ Raise and train army of 500,000 strong enough to conquer Richmond
● First Battle of Bull Run
○ inexperienced Union troops defeated by Stonewall Jackson
○ ended illusion of short war
● George B. McClellan: new Union commander; invaded Virginia & defeated by Robert
E. Lee
● 2nd Battle of Bull Run: Lee’s forces decisively defeated Union General John Pope’s
invasion of Virginia
 ● Antietam: near Sharpsburg, Maryland; Union forces under McClellan clashed with
Confederate forces led by Lee; bloodiest single-day battle in American history;
22,000 casualties; ended in tactical draw but forced Lee to retreat from Maryland;
strategic opportunity for Lincoln to issue Emancipation Proclamation
○ slaves freed in Confederate states
○ 200,000 African Americans joined Union army (MA 54th Regiment)
● Fredericksburg: Confederate forces under Lee defeated Union forces led by General
Ambrose Burnside; part of the Union’s campaign to capture Richmond; Union
suffered immense loss; improved weaponry took romance out of heroic charges
against entrenched positions
● Monitor vs Merrimac: Confederate ironclad Merrimac attacked & sank several Union
ships → defeated by Union ironclad Monitor; turning point in naval battle:
ironclad ships replaced wooden ones

Trent Affair
● Confederate diplomats James Mason and John Slidell traveling to England on GB
steamer, Trent; stopped by Union warship & captured as prisoners of war
● GB threatened war but did not aid Confederacy

Confiscation Acts
● gave Union army power to seize enemy property, including slaves
● empowered president to use freed slaves in Union army
● freed slaves owned by individual in rebellion against United States

Union Triumphs: Turning Point

● Vicksburg: Union victory under General Ulysses S. Grant, securing control of
Mississippi River and dividing Confederacy in two; Vicksburg bombarded for seven
weeks before Confederates surrendered city
● Gettysburg (1863): turning point; Union forces repelled Confederate Lee’s invasion of
the North, forcing Lee’s retreat back to Virginia
○ Gettysburg Address: famous speech delivered by Lincoln, commemorating
Union soldiers who died at Battle of Gettysburg & emphasizing equality
● War of Attribution: Grant wanted to wear down Confederacy’s armies by destroying
their lines of supply
● Battle of Shiloh: Union forces under Grant repelled surprise Confederate attack,
securing Union victory & paving way for Union advances in W theater
● Sherman’s March: Union General William Sherman targeted Confederate
infrastructure and resources across Georgia, contributing to eventual collapse of
Confederacy ⇒ hunger plagued S
● Appomattox Courthouse: Lee retreated from Richmond & escaped to mountains,
forced to surrender to Grant; Confederate gov tried to negotiate for peace but Lincoln
wanted restoration of Union

Political Change
● Copperheads: opposed civil war war & wanted negotiated peace
● Lincoln: suspended writ of habeas corpus
○ persons could be arrested without being informed of charges against them
● Ex Parte Milligan: landmark Supreme Court case; ruled that application of military
tribunals to citizens when civilian courts are still operational is unconstitutional
● Irish/ German immigrants feared when they returned from draft, their jobs would be
 taken by freed slaves ⇒ draft riots

Economic Change
● Union raised money for war by selling $2.6 billion gov bonds
○ instituted 1st income tax
○ $430 million in paper currency, greenbacks, not backed by gold
● Civil War on N industry: consolidation of manufacturing business
○ Morrill Tariff Act: raised tariff rates to protect American manufacturers
○ Homestead Act (1862): promoted settlement of Great Plains by offering
parcels of 160 acres of public land free to any person or family that farmed
that land for at least five years
○ Morrill Land Grant Act: encouraged states to use sale of federal land grants to
start agricultural & technical colleges
○ Pacific Railway Act: authorized building of a transcontinental railroad

Assassination of Lincoln
● John Wilkes Booth: Confederate sympathizer

5.10-5.11 Reconstruction

Lincoln’s Policies
● Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction: each S state required to rewrite
constitution to abolish slavery
● Wade - Davis Bill: required 50% of S population to take oath; only non-Confederates
allowed to vote for new state constitution ⇒ vetoed by Lincoln
● Freedmen’s Bureau: gave food, medical, aid, shelter to both Black & white people
○ Built schools, colleges; taught African Americans to read

Congressional Reconstruction Acts (1867)

● Radical Republicans led by Charles Sumner
○ Placed S under military occupation
○ divided former Confederate states into 5 military districts
○ required all ex-Confederate states to adopt 14th Amendment
● 13th Amendment: free all enslaved people
● Civil Rights Act: pronounced all African Americans US citizens
● 14th Amendment: declared all persons born/ naturalized US citizens
○ equal protection under law
○ due process of law

Johnson’s Policies
● Republican; White supremacist; appealed to racial prejudices of White citizens
● Waving bloody shirt: inflamed anger of N by reminding them of hardships of war
● Pardon system: wealthy S planters escaped Reconstruction plan
● Impeachment: disobeyed Tenure of Office Act (prohibited president from removing
federal official without Senate approval) by removing Edwin Stanton
● Kept presidency (1 vote short)

15th Amendment
● Black men helped Grant win election of 1868
● motivated Republicans to pass the 15th Amendment:
 ○ Prohibited any state from denying citizen’s right to vote on account of race
● Civil Rights Act of 1875
○ equal accommodations in public places (hotels, railroads, and theaters) &
prohibited courts from excluding African Americans as juries

S Reconstruction
● scalawags: Southern whites who supported Reconstruction policies
● carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often to
take advantage of economic opportunities or participate in political activities
● redeemers: S Democrats who sought to regain political control in S during
Reconstruction, often through voter intimidation, violence, & Jim Crow laws
● Blanche K. Bruce: prominent African American Senator from Mississippi during the
Reconstruction era; first African American to serve full term in Senate
● Hiram Revels: African American politician and minister; 1st African American to
serve in Senate

Spoilsmen
● patronage: giving jobs and government favors (spoils) to their supporters
● Thaddeus Stevens: leader of the Radical Republicans during Reconstruction; advocate
for racial equality, land redistribution, and civil rights for freed slaves
● Benjamin Wade: Senator from Ohio; radical views & advocacy for civil rights for
African Americans; leading figure in impeachment trial of Johnson
● Jay Gould: corned gold market with help from Grant’s brother-in-law
● Credit Mobilier: insiders gave stock to influential members of Congress to avoid
investigation of profits they were making
● Whiskey Ring: federal revenue agents conspired with liquor industry to defraud gov
of millions in taxes
● William Tweed: stole $200 million from New York’s taxpayers

Election of 1872
● Republican: Ulysses Grant ⇒ win
○ Liberal Republicans: scandals of Grant administration drove reform-minded
Republicans to break with the party
● Democrat: Horace Greeley

Panic of 1837
● economic disaster that rendered thousands of Northern laborers both jobless and
homeless

White Supremacy & KKK

● to intimidate African Americans & White reformers
● Force Acts: gave gov power to stop KKK

Black Codes
● adopted by S legislatures to restrict rights & movements of African Americans
● person convicted of minor or even made-up offense could be enslaved
● sharecropping: landlord provided seed & needed supplies in return for ½ of harvest

Amnesty Act
● removed last restrictions on ex-Confederates, except for top leaders
 ● allowed Democrats to retake control of state gov

Election of 1876
● Republican: Rutherford B. Hayes
● Democrat: Samuel J. Tilden
● Contested returns ⇒ special electoral commission elected Hayes
● Compromise of 1877: Democrats agreed to let Hayes be president if he withdraw
federal troops from S & support building of S transcontinental railroad