APUSH Study Guide – Unit VI “Manifest Destiny and Road to Secession”
Pages 371-389: Manifest Destiny
Vocabulary: “His Accidency”, Aroostook War, Webster-Ashburton Treaty, James K.
Polk, 1844 Election, “54, 40 or Fight”, Oregon Fever, Columbia River, “dark horse”
candidate, Manifest Destiny, Oregon Treaty of 1846, Lone Star Republic, Nueces River
border dispute, John Slidell, Gen. Zachary Taylor, “Spot Resolution”, Santa Anna,
Stephen Kearney, John C. Fremont, Bear Flag Republic, Gen. Winfield Scott, Treaty of
Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Conscience Whigs, Mexican Cession, Wilmot Priviso
Questions:
1. What were the terms of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty?
2. What foreign policy issues finally convinced the U.S government to annex Texas?
3. In what way was Polk’s election a mandate for Manifest Destiny?
4. What was the major reason for Polk settling for less than 54, 40 as the border for
Oregon?
5. What was the “Spot Resolution”?
6. What were the major U.S. battles (victories) of the Mexican War?
7. What were the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo?
8. How did the Wilmot Proviso create a fateful debate over slavery?
9. What did Southerners mean by “Blood and Treasure” in their opposition to the
Wilmot Proviso?
Pages 390 – 408: Debate over American Expansion
Vocabulary: Lewis Cass, Zachary Taylor, “popular sovereignty”, Free Soil Party, Fortyniners, California Gold Rush, Underground Railroad, fugitive slave law, slavocracy, Fireeaters, Compromise of 1850, Nashville Convention, “personal liberty laws”, Franklin
Pierce, “peculiar institution”, William Walker, Ostend Manifesto, Treaty of Wanghia,
Matthew Perry, Treaty of Kanagawa, Gadsden Purchase, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Senator
Stephen Douglas (The Little Giant), Republican Party,
Questions:
1. What was the platform of the Free Soil Party?
2. What political and economic impact did the Gold Rush have on California?
3. What were the terms of the Compromise of 1850?
4. In what way did the Compromise of 1850 win the Civil War for the Union?
5. How was trade with the Far East established in the mid 1800s?
6. How did the Kansas Nebraska Act repeal the Missouri Compromise?
7. How did the Kansas Nebraska Act give rise to the Republican Party?
Pages 409-420: Long term and immediate causes of the Civil War
Vocabulary: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Hinton R. Helper, The
Impending Crisis of the South, Bleeding Kansas, Pottawatomie Massacre, John Brown,
Lecompton Constitution, James Buchanan, Sumner-Brooks feud, John C. Fremont,
Know-nothing Party (American Party), nativism, Millard Fillmore, “fire-eaters”, Dred
Scott, Panic of 1857
Questions:
1. How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin help to further polarize the nation over the slave
issue? Explain from both a northern and southern point of view.
2. How did the Kansas Nebraska Act lead to the outbreak of violence in Kansas?
3. How did Stephen Douglas’ stand on the Lecompton Constitution hurt his chances
for winning southern votes in a presidential election?
4. Why did the Election of 1856 cast a “dark shadow” on the political future of the
nation? (see map on pp. 417)
5. What was the decision in the Dred Scott case, and why was it so devastating to
the Free-Soilers and the Republican Party?
6. How did the Dred Scott decision impact the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas
Nebraska Act?
7. How did the Panic of 1857 help to convince Southerners that cotton truly was
KING?
Pages 420- 433: Continue with Long term and immediate causes of the Civil War
Vocabulary: Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Freeport Doctrine, John
Brown’s Raid, Harpers Ferry, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, Constitutional Union
Party, Secessionists, Jefferson Davis, Confederate States of America, lame duck
president, Crittenden Compromise
Questions:
1. Describe Lincoln’s early legal and political career.
2. How did the Lincoln-Douglas Debates result in improving Lincoln’s chances for
the presidency, while injuring Douglas’ chances? Hint – Freeport Doctrine
3. How did John Brown’s Raid add “fuel” to the already volatile issue of slavery,
especially for Southerners?
4. How did the Democratic National Convention of 1860 foreshadow the coming of
the Civil War?
5. Who were the four candidates for president in 1860, and what were the primary
platforms of each candidate or party?
6. Why is Lincoln’s election considered the immediate cause of the breakup of the
Union?
7. Give three reasons why many southerners support secession from the Union.