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Mexican American War
The Mexican American War lasted from 1846-1848. It was a war fought over Texas becoming a U.S. state and the U.S. desiring to expand westward, taking more of Mexico's territory. This event brought the idea of manifest destiny(the belief that the U.S. was bound to expand westward) into use. President James K. Polk instigated the war by sending U.S. troops into questionable territories. In the end, the U.S. attained many major victories against Mexico, capturing Mexico City, and winning the war. -
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a political party from 1848-1854. People associated were opposed to the expansion of slavery into westward territories. Their slogan was, "free soil, free speech, free labor, free men". They didn't attack the issue directly, but instead tried to prevent its spread. They helped bring citizens attention to the problems surrounding slavery and helped shape future anti-slavery movements. This party laid the groundwork for the upcoming republican party. (McPherson 138-139). -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was a time period, beginning in 1848, sparked by gold nuggets found in Sacramento. From there, nearly 300,000 people rushed to the west coast to try and strike rich. This transformed the U.S. as major agricultural and technological advancements were made in order to transport people and dig for gold. Also, economically the state and the country both benefitted. Since it was a free state, the funding helped the Union in the Civil War. (pbs.org, The California Gold Rush). -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established that the border between Mexico and Texas would be the Rio Grande River and that Mexico would give lots of territory to the U.S. after the Mexican American War. This included modern day California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma. In exchange the U.S. paid Mexico $15 million. This new land allowed for coast to coast expansion in the U.S. However, problems over whether the new states should have slavery created tension. -
Wisconsin Enters the Union
On May 29, 1848, the Union gained another free state, Wisconsin. This was John H. Tweedy's, the territorial representative, second attempt at admitting the state as a part of the Union. His first bill was rejected by voters. However, the second try passed with ease. The state would go on to share popular northern state ideals, especially on the topic of slavery. This helped strengthen the Union's movement and their fight in the civil war. (Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin (State)). -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention held in the U.S., initiated by Elizabeth Stanton and 4 others. They were fed up by how women were treated in society. This convention advocated for females social, civil, and religious freedoms. During this they spoke on 11 resolutions to help women like, the right to education and power in the church. All were passed except the right to vote. This sparked the women's rights movement.(History.com, Seneca Falls Convention) -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of laws passed to address the issues with slavery and westward expansion. First, California was admitted as a free states. In return, southerners were granted more intensified fugitive slave laws. This was where it became a much bigger deal to catch runaway slaves, creating a more expansive U.S. Marshall service. The northerners didn't like this and the personal liberty laws were passed in favor of those states, allowing them to refuse cooperation. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a revolutionary, influential book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her and her husband had previously assisted fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad and this book was based on a few of their lives. This writing was a harsh critique of slavery, blaming every person for it. It was eye opening for many northerners, but the complete opposite for people in the south. They tried to counter it with their own book about the pros of slavery and even banned the book. -
Election of 1852
The candidates for this election were Franklin Pierce(democrat), Winfield Scott(whig), and John P. Hale(free soil party). Pierce defeated his contestants as the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act influences voters. After this, the Whig party fell apart due to disagreements between its northern and southern members. This election foreshadowed how tensions about slavery had not been resolved. This allowed for the republican party to enter and the U.S. got closer to war.(Varon 248-251). -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act was the answer the question of whether Kansas and Nebraska should enter the U.S. as slave states or free states. In the end, a senator from Illinois brought up the idea of popular sovereignty - letting the people of the state decide. This led to thousands of pro-slavery and thousands of anti-slavery citizens moving into Kansas. Violence continued to break out between the two groups within the state. Ultimately, both Nebraska and Kansas ended up joining the U.S as a free state. -
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was written by U.S. ambassadors who wanted the country to seize Cuba from Spain's rule. They went as far as stating we should declare war if Spain refused to give up the property. This happened because people were scared that a slave revolt from Cuba would expand into U.S. territory. This also lined up with America's ideas on manifest destiny. As southerners were on board, the idea faced backlash from abolitionists in the north.(Teaching American History, Ostend Manifesto). -
Caning of Sumner
Charles Sumner was a senator from Mass. who gave a controversial speech calling out certain pro-slavery citizens by name. Andrew Butler was one of those and was called a "slave rapist". This deeply upset his cousin, Preston Brooks, prompting him to take his cane and beat Sumner nearly to death. This infuriates the northern states and they want Brooks in jail. However, in the south, Brooks is being praised. This event intensified tensions between the north and south, especially about slavery. -
Election of 1856
This was the first election after the violence from the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The candidates were democrat James Buchanan, republican John C. Frémont, and whig Millard Fillmore. The main topic voters were concerned about was slavery. Buchanan took the victory by presenting himself as someone who could keep peace between the north and the south, which did not occur. The republican party was shown lots of support by abolitionists and the divide in the country continued to grow.(Varon 279-287). -
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 began when a bank in NYC crashed. This had a domino effect nationwide as banks were scared of failure so they started to call in loans, leading to bankruptcies. This led to a decline in trade, unemployment, and more. The north was hit very hard, but the south was less effected because they were reliant on cotton. They used this as an argument for how slavery helps the country economically. The panic showed how deep tensions were between the north and south. (McPherson 209-216). -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who was arguing that his enslavement was invalid because he was traveling to states where slavery was forbidden. The case was brought all the way to the Supreme Court, where the Chief Justice ruled enslaved people did not have the basis to be in any court room because they were not considered citizens. This upset the north and anti-slavery citizens as they saw the south winning and upheld slavery on any land, even if it was considered illegal. This is a controversial case. -
Freeport Doctrine
Stephen A. Douglass brought up the Freeport Doctrine during the Lincoln-Douglass debates. The doctrine stated that the population of a territory can determine whether they are free or include slavery based on popular sovereignty. And that the government could not overrule this because the government is based on the consent of the governed. This angered the south, showing the inability for politics and the north and south to agree on any idea of slavery and the growing divide. (Varon 315-317). -
Election of 1860
This violent decade was ended with an election. There were 4 candidates and each citizen voted based on their ideas of slavery. Lincoln was the representative for republicans, a new political party. He won the entirety of the north. Breckinridge won all of the south states. Bell won middle states and Douglas won Montana. In the end, Lincoln won the popular and electoral vote which was extremely frightening for the south. They realized even with their voices, the north was extremely powerful.