Chapter 14 Study Guide
APUSH
Overview
This chapter covers the territorial growth of the United States. Supported by the ideology of
“manifest destiny,” Americans added Oregon, Texas, California, and the Southwest to the
nation’s territory. Through diplomacy and war, the United States became a continental nation.
Settlers repeated the old pattern of initial friendliness to natives and earlier settlers, followed
by hostility and domination. Adding new territory also caused intensification of sectional
hostility over extending slavery into new territory.
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
Use the Texan and Tejano community groups to illustrate recurring patterns in American
frontier expansion and occupation.
Trace the patterns and causes of continental exploration, including its effects on the Indians.
Explain the concept of manifest destiny and its effects on Oregon and Texas settlement.
Outline the causes and results of the Mexican War, including its connection with manifest
destiny.
Discuss American involvement in California and the effects of the Gold Rush.
Connect the issues of frontier expansion and manifest destiny to party politics, including the
election of 1848.
Trace the territorial expansion of the United States from the Louisiana Purchase territory to
the Pacific coast. (Review Chapter 9.)
Key Terms:
Santa Fe’ Trail
Manifest Destiny
Oregon Trail
Tejanos
Empresarios
Alamo
Mexican-American War
People:
John O’Sullivan
Davy Crockett
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Zebulon Pike
Stephen F. Austin
James K. Polk
Zachary Taylor
Wilmot Proviso
Popular Sovereignty
. James Marshall
Short Answer Questions
You need to respond to the following questions in no less than two sentences.
1. What is the significance of the Battle of the Alamo?
2. What was the importance of the rendezvous to the fur trade?
3. Who were some of the government sponsored explorers, and what was the
purpose of their explorations?
4. How were the five tribes in Oklahoma territory different from the Indian tribes in
the Kansas-Nebraska territory?
5. What was manifest destiny and what impact did it have on American society?
6. What were some of the problems associated with traveling on the overland trails?
7. What was life like in Oregon?(Describe how the society was set up)
8. How would you describe the Santa Fe’ Trade?
9. What was life like for people in Texas?(all people)
10. Why were people so divided over the issue of annexing Texas?
11. How did the issue of annexing Texas hurt President Tyler?
12. What caused the Mexican-American War to start?
13. What role did Slidell play in the start of the war?
14. Why was the Mexican-American War called “Mr. Polk’s War?”
15. What was the fighting like in the Mexican-American War?
16. What was the result of the Mexican-American War?
17. What was the Gadsen Purchase, and how did it change America?
18. What role did the Russians play in California?
19. How did the discovery of gold impact the social makeup of California?
20. What was life like in the mining camps?
21. What impact did the Wilmot Proviso have on the debate on annexation?
22. What was the Free-Soil Party, and what did they believe in?
23. What role did expansion play in deciding the 1848 Presidential Election?
24. Who won the 1848 Presidential Election and why?