Sean Celli
Mr. Jackson
APUSH-chapter 14 dates and terms
Dates:
1821- Mexico gains independence from Spain
1836- Americans are defeated at the Alamo
1841- John Tyler becomes president
1842- Americans and British agree to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
1845- United States annexes Texas; Mexican War begins
1846- Most of the Donner party die en route to California
1848- Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ends the Mexican War
1849- California gold rush begins
1851- Plains Indians agree to the Fort Laramie Treaty
Terms:
1) Manifest Destiny (pg 530)-John L. O’Sullivan coined this phrase to describe the
aggressive American spirit of expansion. It was first used in 1845 to urge
annexation of Texas, but later it was used to encourage American settlement of
European colonial and Indian lands in the Great Plains and the Far West.
2) Mountain Men (pg 534)- Inspired by fur trade, these men left civilization to work
as trappers and reverted to a primitive existence in the wilderness. They were the
first whites to find routes in the Rocky Mountains, and they pioneered trails to
settlers later used to reach the Oregon country and California in the 1840s
3) Oregon Fever (pg 534)- term given to describe the Enthusiasm for emigration to
the Oregon Country in the late 1830s and early 1840s
4) Franciscan missions (pg 537)- As far back as 1769, Franciscan missioners
accompanied Spanish soldiers to California and over the next fifty years
established a chain of missions from San Diego to San Francisco. At these
missions, friars sought to convert Indians to Catholicism and make them members
of the Spanish empire. The friars stripped the Indians of their native heritage and
used soldiers to enforce the wall.
5) Overland trails (pg 539)- Trail routes of wagon trains bearing settlers from
Independence, Missouri, to the Oregon Country in the late 1840s to 1860s.
6) John C. Fremont “the Pathfinder” (pg 544)- Fremont was an explorer and
surveyor who helped inspire Americans living in California to rebel against the
Mexican government and declare Independence.
7) Stephen F. Austin (pg 545)- Austin established the first colony of Americans in
Texas on the lower Brazos river, which eventually attracted 2,000 people. By
1830, the coastal region of Texas had about 20,000 whites and 1,000 black slaves
brought in to work the cotton.
8) Tejanos (pg 546)- Texas settlers of Spanish or Mexican descent.
9) Battle of the Alamo (pg 546)- The siege in the Texas War for Independence of
1836, in which the San Antonio mission fell to the Mexicans. Davy Crockett and
Jim Bowie were among the courageous, patriotic defenders who fought against
General de Santa Anna and the Mexican Army.
10) Sam Houston (pg 547)- During Texas’s fight for independence from Mexico,
Houston was the commander in chief of the Texas forces, and he led the attack
that captured General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. After Texas gained its
independence, he was named its first president.
11) Lone Star Republic (pg 547)-After winning independence from Mexico, Texas
became its own nation that was called the “Lone Star Republic.” In 1836, Texans
drafted themselves a constitution, legalized slavery, banned free blacks, named
Sam Houston president, and voted for the annexation to the United States.
However, quarrels over adding a slave state and fears of instigating a war with
Mexico delayed Texas’s entrance into the Union until December 29th, 1845
12) James Knox Polk “Young Hickory” (pg 550)- As president, his chief concern was
the expansion of the nited States. In 1846, his administration resolved the dispute
with Britain over the Oregon Country border. Shortly, after taking office, Mexico
broke off relations with the United States over the annexation of Texas. Polk
declared war on Mexico and sought to subvert Mexican authority in California.
The United States defeated Mexico. The two nations signed the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo in which Mexico gave up any claims on Texas north of the
Rio Grande River and ceded New Mexico and California to the United States.
13) Winfield Scott (pg 556)-He was the American general who captured Mexico City,
ending the war. Using his popularity from his military success, he ran as a Whig
candidate for president.
14) Zachary Taylor (pg 556)- He was a general in the Mexican War, who scored two
key victories against Mexico, gaining American popularity. President Polk chose
Taylor as commander in charge of the war. However, after he was not put in
charge of the campaign to capture Mexico City, he chose to return home. Later,
he used his popularity from his military victories too be elected as president as a
member of the Whig Party in 1848.
15) Bear Flag Republic (pg 556)- On June 14, 1846, a group of Americans in
California captured Sonoma from the Mexican army and declared it the Republic
of California, whose flag featured a grizzly bear. In July, Commodore of the U.S.
Pacific Fleet landed troops on California’s shores and declared it a part of the
United States.
16) General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (pg 558)- In 1834, he seized political
power in Mexico and became a dictator. IN 1835, Texans rebelled against him
and he led his army to Texas to crush their rebellion. He captured the Alamo,
inspiring Texans to continue resistance have volunteer more Americans to fight
for Texas. The Texans captured Santa Anna during a surprise attack and he
bought his freedom by signing a treaty recognizing Texas’s independence.