President #11
James K. (Knox) Polk
1845-1849
Vice President: George M. Dallas
Although cities
and counties in
many states are
named after
him, including
Dallas County
in Texas, The
city of Dallas
may have been
named after his
brother,
Alexander.
Dallas was Mayor of Philadelphia, Senator
from Pennsylvania and U.S. Ambassador
to Russia and Great Britain.
Manifest Destiny
Key Events
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Mexican American War
Mexican Cession
54-40 or Fight!
Oregon Trail
Gold Rush
Bear Flag Republic
Mexican Cession
(525,000 Square Miles!)
President #12
Zachary Taylor
1849-1850 (Died)
Vice President:
Millard Fillmore
Old Rough and Ready
Key Events
• Southerners threaten to
secede.
• Taylor threatens to hang
rebels.
• President refuses to support
the Compromise of 1850.
• Taylor dies.
• Poisoned?
General Taylor dies suddenly and
mysteriously in July of 1850.
President #13
Millard Fillmore
1850-1853
Fillmore had no Vice President.
The Not So Great Compromise
Coming Apart at the Seams
Key Events
• Wilmot Proviso
• Compromise of 1850
Wilmot Proviso: PA congressman, David Wilmot, proposed
that a bill be amended to forbid slavery in any of the new
territories from Mexico. The proviso was passed through
the house twice, but was defeated both times.
Wilmot Proviso
Under Senator Wilmot’s Proviso, slavery
would be banned from the new territory
won from Mexico.
President #14
Franklin Pierce
1853-1857
Vice President: William Rufus
King
William R. King and his close friend,
James Buchanan were known as
Miss Nancy and Aunt Fancy.
Bloody Kansas
John Brown
Key Events
• Kansas Nebraska Act
• Bleeding Kansas
• Sack of Lawrence
• John Brown’s Raid
• Brook’s attacks Sumner
• Gadsden Purchase
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Gadsden Purchase was the last piece of
the puzzle.
Preston “Bully” Brooks assaults Charles Sumner.
President #15
James Buchanan
1857-1861
Vice President: John C.
Breckinridge
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3.
4.
5.
6.
Senator from Kentucky
Came in third behind Lincoln and Bell in 1860
Fought for Confederacy
Fled to Cuba to avoid treason charges
Granted Amnesty in 1869
Spoke out against Ku Klux Klan
Defended the Constitution but not the
Union
The Shooting Starts
Key Events
• Dred Scott decision
• South Carolina Secedes
• Battle of Fort Sumter
• American Civil War
December 1860 S.C. secedes.
April 1861 battle begins.
Buchanan felt that the
Constitution did grant him the
power to prevent South
Carolina from seceding.