1. CHAPTER 13 Expansion, War, and Sectional Crisis 1844–1860
James A. Henretta
Eric Hinderaker
Rebecca Edwards
Robert O. Self
America’s History Eighth Edition America: A Concise History Sixth Edition
CHAPTER 13
Expansion, War, and Sectional Crisis
1844–1860
Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

2. 1. Identify the symbols of westward expansion in John Gast’s American Progress. (Answer: Wagons, trains, men traveling by foot and horseback, stagecoaches, telegraph wires and poles, animals and Native Americans being pushed westward.)
2. How does this painting illustrate the notion of Manifest Destiny? (Answer: Americans believed it was their God-given destiny to overspread the continent of North America; here an angelic female figure leads the charge and movement westward.)
3. In your opinion, does this painting depict “progress”? Why or why not? (Answer: Depending on how one defines progress, this question is debatable; from the perspective of Euro-Americans, spreading white culture and institutions westward was progress or improvement for the continent; for Native Americans, this “progress” led to the destruction of culture and a way of life that would never be recovered.)

3. I. Manifest Destiny: South and North
A. The Push to the Pacific 1. Oregon 2. California
I. Manifest Destiny: South and North
A. The Push to the Pacific
1. Oregon – Region claimed by both Britain and U.S., which agreed to allow people of both nations to settle; in 1840s, American interest increased with reports of excellent harbors and fertile soil; “Oregon fever” began; Americans headed to the region with wagons, oxen, cattle; thousands migrated on the Oregon Trail to settle there and in California; 34,000+ died of disease and exposure during the 2,000-mile journey; approx. 10,000 migrants settled in the Willamette Valley; settlers restricted voting to white men.
2. California – About 3,000 migrants settled in the Mexican province of California during the 1840s; Mexico granted land to the settlers to raise cattle; New England businesses sent agents to the area to buy leather for shoes/boots, and they then married the daughters of elite Mexican ranchers (Californios); Thomas Larkin was one of many agents who did not want to assimilate but instead annex California for the United States.

7. I. Manifest Destiny: South and North
B. The Plains Indians 1. The Great Plains 2. The Sioux
I. Manifest Destiny: South and North
B. The Plains Indians
1. The Great Plains – Vast sea of wild grasses that stretched from Texas north to Saskatchewan in Canada, and west from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains; home to nomadic people who hunted buffalo; tribes included Pawnees, Mandans, Apaches, Comanches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahos; desired European horses, weakened by European diseases; smallpox epidemic 1779–1781 killed approximately half the Plains Indians; others were killed by European weapons.
2. The Lakota Sioux – Traded for guns and ammunition with French, Spanish, and Americans; were buffalo hunters; nomadic lifestyle enable them to avoid major outbreaks of disease; by the 1830s, the Lakotas were the dominant tribe in the central and northern plains; became very prosperous selling buffalo hides to American Fur Company and Missouri Fur Company; herds were declining and Sioux did not understand the market system well enough to demand proper prices; by the 1860s, the number of buffalo herds had declined significantly. 7

8. 1. Describe this painting—who does it include? Where does it take place? (Answer: The painting illustrates the meeting of U.S. Army dragoons and Comanche Indians in Indian Territory on the southern plains in the 1830s.)
2. Describe the Comanche leader and his followers. How does the painting present the Indians as they meet the American soldiers in this painting? (Answer: The leader is riding a white horse and carrying a white flag, indicating his peaceful intent. Yet he is not intimidated by the soldiers and seems to be displaying his horsemanship. The Comanche followers are numerous, and the image suggests that they might go on and on, past the farthest distance visible in the painting. The group is not only plentiful but well equipped.)
3. What does the painting suggest about how the American soldiers responded to the Comanches at this point of their meeting? (Answer: The Americans look slightly intimidated. The horses seem to be flinching a bit, and the men are leaning slightly backwards as well. They appear to be somewhat afraid and somewhat expectant, as if they are waiting to see what the Comanches will do next. The painting does not insinuate that the meeting would become violent, however.)

9. I. Manifest Destiny: South and North
C. The Fateful Election of “Oregon conventions” 2. “Fifty-four forty or fight!”
I. Manifest Destiny: South and North
C. The Fateful Election of 1844
1. “Oregon conventions” – Election significantly altered U.S. policy in the West; southerners wanted Texas annexed to keep the British from making gains in North America; in 1843, Americans in Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes states organized conventions at which Democrats and Whigs called for U.S. control of entire Oregon Country, from Spanish California to Russian Alaska (which began at 54°40’ north latitude); southerners renewed called for annexation of Texas.
2. “Fifty-four forty or fight!” – In April 1844, Tyler administration wrote a treaty to annex Texas; Van Buren and Clay (both running for president) opposed because they did not want the Senate to undertake debate on slavery; 1844 election then centered on Texas and Oregon; James K. Polk (D-TN) used the campaign slogan “Fifty-four forty or fight” to show his support for claiming all of Oregon to the Alaska border; Polk won; calls for annexation of Texas increased; a joint resolution of Congress brought it into the Union (28th state) in December 1845.

10. II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
A. The War with Mexico, 1846– Polk’s Expansionist Program 2. American Military Successes
II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
A. The War with Mexico, 1846–1848
1. Polk’s Expansionist Program – Texas voted to join Union, and Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with U.S.; Polk began efforts to gain other northern provinces of Mexico (CA, NM); diplomatic relations broke down; Polk sent 2,000 soldiers to occupy disputed lands; war began between Mexico and U.S.; Polk accepted a negotiated settlement with Britain that divided the Oregon Country at the 49th parallel.
2. American Military Successes – Army led by Gen. Zachary Taylor; end of 1846, U.S. controlled most of northeast Mexico; secured California early in 1847; fighting continued with U.S. attacking Mexico City, seizing the capital in September 1847 and defeating Santa Anna.

12. II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
B. A Divisive Victory 1. The Wilmot Proviso 2. Free Soil 3. The Election of 1848
II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
B. A Divisive Victory
1. The Wilmot Proviso – Northern Whigs had opposed the war on moral grounds; split Democrats across sectional lines; Congressman David Wilmot (D-PA) proposed that slavery be prohibited in any territory obtained through the war with Mexico; Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats supported Wilmot; rejected by Senate; expansionist fervor continued, but not without hesitation by some who feared more war; in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), U.S. paid Mexico $15 million in return for more than one-third of its territory; agreements were reached on granting land in Oregon.
2. Free Soil – Fear increased of a “Slave Power” conspiracy growing in the U.S. to dominate national life; to thwart any such plan, northerners started a “free-soil movement” and organized the Free-Soil Party; claimed slavery threatened republicanism and Jeffersonian ideals.
3. The Election of 1848 – Polk did not run for reelection; Whigs nominated Gen. Taylor (LA slave owner) who did not support expansion of slavery to the new territories; Taylor won 47 percent of the popular vote and an electoral majority. 12

15. II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
C. California Gold and Racial Warfare 1. The Forty-Niners 2. Racial Warfare and Land Rights
II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
C. California Gold and Racial Warfare
1. The Forty-Niners – In 1848, gold was discovered in California; rush of men, ships, and wagons to the West began—more than 80,000 men by end of 1849; lived in cramped quarters amid gambling, alcohol, and prostitution; ruthless treatment of Indians, Mexicans, Chileans, and Chinese; disease killed many; many men were disillusioned by failure to find wealth.
2. Racial Warfare and Land Rights – Indians received no protection from what little law enforcement existed in California; faced disease; settlers murdered Indians to take their land; creation of a slave-like trade among whites taking Indians as labor; despite treaties with Mexico, whites wanted to push Californios off their land; many sold their land to whites simply to leave the region; whites who settled in the northern part of California had more success with crops.

17. II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
D. 1850: Crisis and Compromise 1. Constitutional Conflict 2. A Complex Compromise
II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846–1850
D. 1850: Crisis and Compromise
1. Constitutional Conflict – California ratified an antislavery constitution, opening debate for admission to Union; debate ensued about whether California to be admitted free or slave; Senator Stephen Douglas (D-IL) called for “popular sovereignty,” which gave power of choice to the people.
2. A Complex Compromise – Douglas achieved passage of five law “Compromise of 1850”: (1) new Fugitive Slave Act, (2) California admitted as a free state, (3) settled boundary dispute between New Mexico and Texas in favor of New Mexico, (4) abolished slave trade in District of Columbia, (5) established New Mexico and Utah with popular sovereignty on the slavery issue. 17

20. III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850–1858
A. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act 1. Fugitive Slave Act of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850–1858
A. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act
1. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 – Proved the most controversial piece of the Compromise of 1850; required federal judges in the North to determine the status of alleged fugitive slaves; denied blacks a jury trial or even the right to testify; northerners almost immediately resented the sight of slave catchers in their states; abolitionists assisted runaways.
2. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) – Aided opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act; increased the northern public’s outrage to slavery on moral grounds; sold millions of copies and increased antislavery action in Britain; northerners called for “personal-liberty laws” to enhance their rights, including the rights of fugitives in free states; the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Ableman v. Booth (1857) that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional because it violated the rights of Wisconsin’s citizens.

21. III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850–1858
B. The Whigs Disintegrate and New Parties Rise 1. Proslavery Initiatives 2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act 3. The Republican and American Parties 4. Bleeding Kansas
III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850–1858
B. The Whigs Disintegrate and New Parties Rise
1. Proslavery Initiatives – As president, Pierce pursued an expansionist foreign policy; the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 led to the building of a transcontinental rail line from New Orleans to California; supported covert military expeditions to Cuba; criticized for aggressive diplomacy.
2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act – Proposed by Stephen Douglas, who wanted to open Permanent Indian Territory by allowing a transcontinental railroad that linked Chicago to California; this act repealed the Missouri Compromise, formed the Kansas and Nebraska territories, and organized region on basis of popular sovereignty.
3. The American and Republican Parties – Northern Whigs and “anti-Nebraska Democrats” joined Free-Soilers and abolitionists in the new Republican Party; party leadership was staunchly antislavery (argued that slavery degraded manual labor and drove down wages of free whites); advocated republican liberty and individual enterprise; faced strong competition from the American or Know-Nothing Party (anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic).
4. Bleeding Kansas – Thousands migrated to Kansas to settle, supporting both sides of the political debate; Missouri residents crossed the border to elect a proslavery government; most Kansas residents supported free soil; violence erupted; to avenge the sack of Lawrence by a proslavery force of seven hundred strong, abolitionist John Brown led a free-state militia that murdered five proslavery settlers; these attacks started a guerrilla war in Kansas that took nearly two hundred lives.

22. III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850–1858
C. Buchanan’s Failed Presidency 1. The Election of Dred Scott: Petitioner for Freedom
III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850–1858
C. Buchanan’s Failed Presidency
1. The Election of 1856 – Republicans denounced Kansas-Nebraska Act and nominated John Frémont (free-soiler); American Party split over slavery; James Buchanan (D-PA) won a three-way race; Democrats were now the only national party; Republicans split over sectional issues.
2. Dred Scott: Petitioner for Freedom – In 1856, Dred Scott had lived with his master in the free state of Illinois and in part of Wisconsin Territory where slavery was prohibited; argued that he was free as a result; seven of the nine justices declared that Scott was still a slave, but they disagreed on the legal rationale; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (a slave owner from MD) argued that since slaves were not citizens, they had no right to sue in federal court, that Congress could not prevent a person from “taking” his property into new territories, that the Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise were not constitutional, and that Congress could not give to territorial governments any powers that it did not possess; Republicans accused Taney and Buchanan of being part of the Slave Power conspiracy; Buchanan recommended Kansas be admitted as a slave state and resumed negotiations to buy Cuba.

25. IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858–1860
A. Lincoln’s Political Career 1. An Ambitious Politician 2. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858–1860
A. Lincoln’s Political Career
1. An Ambitious Politician – Born in Kentucky, lived in Indiana and Illinois; became a store clerk, read Shakespeare, and studied law; had volatile relationship with wife, Mary; joined the Whig Party; elected to Congress in 1846; opposed the spread of slavery; advocated gradual emancipation and colonization of freed blacks in Africa; was viewed as moderate; lost reelection bid; withdrew from politics and prospered as a lawyer; returned to the political fray because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
2. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates – Lincoln quickly emerged as the leading Republican in Illinois; ran against Douglas for Senate in 1858; gave famous “House Divided” speech about slavery dividing the nation; during series of seven debates, Douglas supported white supremacy; Lincoln advocated economic opportunity for black Americans but not political rights; Douglas won.

26. IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858–1860
B. The Union Under Siege 1. The Rise of Radicalism 2. The Election of 1860
IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858–1860
B. The Union Under Siege
1. The Rise of Radicalism – Southern Democrats divided in 1858 into moderates (defended “southern rights” and ironclad protection for slavery) and fire-eaters (repudiated the Union and actively promoted secession). In October 1859, John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to arm slaves and start a rebellion; Republicans condemned Brown; Democrats blamed his actions on the Republicans; northern and southern Democrats split at the party’s convention.
2. The Election of 1860 – Republicans chose Lincoln as candidate; courted white voters with a free-soil platform that opposed both slavery and racial equality. The Republican strategy worked and Lincoln was elected.

27. 1. Describe this image. Who are the people presented, and what are they doing? (Answer: The men in this political cartoon are the four candidates for president in the election of 1860 and they are depicted as four baseball players. From left to right, they are Constitutional Union Party candidate John Bell, Democratic Party candidate Stephen Douglas, the southern Democrat John Breckinridge, and Abraham Lincoln on home plate. There is a skunk in the center of the field.)
2. What symbols did the artist use in this cartoon to illustrate the different candidates’ political agendas? (Answer: Each man’s belt and bat is inscribed with a different message. Lincoln’s large bat is labeled “Equal Rights and Free Territory,” Bell’s “Fusion,” Douglas’s “Non-Intervention,” and Breckinridge’s “Slavery Extension,” illustrating each candidate’s position on slavery in the western states.)
3. What is the cartoonist’s view of the election? Which candidate does he support, and which does he think will win? (Answer: The cartoon is pro-Lincoln. Lincoln is depicted in the most complementary light, advising his opponents saying “Gentlemen, if any of you should ever take a hand in another match at this game, remember that you must have a ‘good bat’ and strike a ‘fair ball’ to make a ‘clean score’ and a ‘home run.’” Lincoln’s position on home plate, his large bat, and his opponents’ responses to him indicate that the cartoonist is counting on Lincoln’s victory.)