AP US History Unit 5 (1844-1877)

Overview

• Time period: 1844 to 1877
• Important for AP exam

Key Concepts

Manifest Destiny (1840s)

• Definition: Belief that Americans were destined to expand across the continent
• Motivations: Land equals opportunity (resources, fertile soil, gold)
• Groups: Farmers, miners, Mormons (relocated to Utah)
• Government Involvement:
  • Homestead Act: Free land for settlers
  • Pacific Railroad Act: Build railroads
• Transnational Trade:
  • Treaty with China and Treaty of Kagawa with Japan to open trade

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

• President: James K. Polk focused on westward expansion
• Texas Border Dispute: Led to war
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: US gains land known as the Mexican Cession
• Results:
  • Conflict over slavery in new territories
  • Increased tensions with American Indians and Mexican-Americans

Sectional Tensions and Compromises

• Wilmont Proviso: Proposed to ban slavery in Mexican Cession (failed)
• Compromise of 1850:
  • California as a free state
  • Utah and New Mexico territories to decide on slavery via popular sovereignty
  • Slave trade banned in Washington D.C.
  • Stricter Fugitive Slave Act
  • Texas receives $10 million for land claims
• Issues: Fugitive Slave Act angered Northerners, failure of compromises increased tensions

Immigration (1848)

• Causes: European revolutions and Irish famine
• Consequences: Large influx of Irish and German immigrants in northern cities

Abolitionism

• Notable Figures:
  • Frederick Douglass: Speeches highlighting hypocrisy of American freedom
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe: "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
  • Harriet Tubman: Underground Railroad

Prelude to Civil War

• Kansas-Nebraska Act: Popular sovereignty leads to "Bleeding Kansas"
• Dred Scott Decision: Slaves not citizens, Congress can't ban slavery in territories
• John Brown: Anti-slavery violence at Harper's Ferry

Election of 1860

• Candidates: Lincoln (Republican), Douglas (Northern Democrat), Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), Bell (Constitutional Union)
• Outcome: Lincoln wins, Southern states secede

Civil War (1861-1865)

• Outbreak: Fort Sumter attack, Lincoln calls for troops
• Strategies:
  • Confederacy: Defensive, seek European support
  • Union: Anaconda Plan to blockade and control Mississippi
• Key Battles:
  • Bull Run: Early Confederate victory
  • Gettysburg and Vicksburg: Turning points in favor of the Union

Political Developments

• Emancipation Proclamation: Freed slaves in Confederate territories, reframed war against slavery
• Gettysburg Address: Lincoln redefines war as a fight for democracy

Reconstruction (Post-Civil War)

• Plans:
  • Lincoln's 10% Plan: Lenient reintegration of Southern states
  • Radical Republicans: Punish South, protect black rights
• Amendments:
  • 13th: Abolished slavery
  • 14th: Birthright citizenship and equal protection
  • 15th: Black male suffrage

Challenges and Failures

• Black Codes: Limited African American freedoms
• Sharecropping: Economic exploitation
• Terrorism: KKK and White League violence
• Supreme Court:
  • Slaughterhouse Cases: Limited 14th Amendment
  • US v. Cruikshank: Limited federal enforcement of black rights
• Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction, led to return of white Southern control

Legacy

• Failures of Reconstruction: Segregation and voter suppression
• Future Impact: Set foundation for civil rights movement a century later

Conclusion

• Unit 5 covers critical events leading up to and during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
• These events set the stage for significant shifts in American society and governance.