APUSH Chapter 13: Expansion, War, and Sectional Crisis (1844-1860)

Overview

• Focus on westward expansion influenced by Manifest Destiny.
• Key events: Mexican-American War, Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act.
• Tensions between North and South over slavery issues.

Manifest Destiny

• Defining idea of the 1840s.
• Depicted through a painting showing westward movement.
• Concept: God-given right to expand coast to coast.
• Coined by journalist John O'Sullivan.

Oregon Territory

• Joint occupation with Britain.
• "54-40 or fight" slogan by Polk for expansion.
• Settled at 49th parallel as the border.

California and Great Plains

• California part of Mexico post-1821 independence, missions established.
• Native Americans’ lives transformed by European weapons.

Election of 1844

• Henry Clay (Whig) vs. James K. Polk (Democrat).
• Polk supports annexation of Texas.
• Texas annexed as a slave state in 1845.
• Clay and Whigs opposed expansion due to slavery concerns.

Mexican-American War

• Polk tries to buy California and New Mexico; fails.
• Boundary dispute between Rio Grande and Nueces River.
• War begins with skirmish between U.S. troops and Mexico.

Wilmot Proviso

• Proposed amendment to prohibit slavery in lands gained from Mexico.
• Passed in House, not in Senate due to sectional divides over slavery.

Free Soil Party

• Emerges in the 1840s opposing slavery expansion.
• Slogan: "Free labor, free soil, free men."

Compromise of 1850

• Five key parts:
  • Popular sovereignty in Mexican cession.
  • California admitted as a free state.
  • Strict Fugitive Slave Law.
  • Slave trade outlawed in Washington D.C.
  • Texas relinquishes land claims for money.

Fugitive Slave Act

• Increased Southern power to retrieve runaway slaves.
• Northern states pass personal liberty laws opposing it.
• Wisconsin State Supreme Court deems it unconstitutional.

Decline of the Whig Party

• Henry Clay and Daniel Webster die in 1852.
• Franklin Pierce (Democrat) becomes president, supports expansion.

Ostend Manifesto

• U.S. plan to buy Cuba from Spain; blocked due to slavery concerns.

Gadsden Purchase

• Purchase for transcontinental railroad purposes.
• Completed current U.S. continental boundaries.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Proposed by Stephen Douglas.
• Introduces popular sovereignty in Nebraska Territory.
• Overturns Missouri Compromise.

Lincoln and the Freeport Doctrine

• Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858; Douglas wins but alienates South.
• Freeport Doctrine suggests territories can exclude slavery.

John Brown's Raid (1859)

• Attempted slave rebellion at Harper's Ferry.
• Increased tension between North and South.

Election of 1860

• Lincoln wins without southern support.
• Leads to Southern secession.

Key Terms and Events Summary

• Manifest Destiny, Mexican-American War, Wilmot Proviso.
• Free Soil Platform, Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Act.
• Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Decision, Election of 1860.

Closing

• Encouragement for APUSH exam preparation.
• Reminder to watch related videos and review materials.