APUSH Final: Unit 4 1844-1877 (The Second American Revolution)
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_cjb7bp
1. American econ- The Old South became increasingly committed to a cotton
omy under the economy based on slave labor. Despite efforts to diversify
Cotton Kingdom the economic base, the wealth and status associated with
(Chapter 11 p. cotton, as well as soil exhaustion and falling prices from
420-421, p. 448) Virginia to Georgia, prompted the westward expansion of
the plantation culture to the Old Southwest. Slaves worked
in harsh conditions as they prepared the terrain for cotton
cultivation and experienced the breakup of their families.
By 1860, the Cotton Kingdom stretched from the Carolinas
and Georgia through eastern Texas and up the Mississippi
River to Illinois. More than half of all slaves worked on
cotton plantations. As long as cotton prices rose, southern
planters searched for new land and invested in slaves.
2. Southern theo- Peculiar institution was a term used by John C. Calhoun
ries of race and to describe slavery. It allowed Southerners to avoid using
defense of slav- the charged word "slavery.' The profits and convenience
ery (Chapter 11, of owning slaves created a sense of social unity among
p. 430) whites. Poor whites still thought they were above blacks.
Because of slavery, everybody belongs to an elevated
class. Immigrants could not afford to live in the South
and manual laborers could not compete with slave la-
bor. Southerners said they were morally better with guns,
horses, and gardens. Southerners aggressively defended
slavery due to the success of the abolitionist movement
and the profitability of cotton. Southerners argued the
Bible held people in bondage and told people to obey
their masters. Argued if blacks were freed, they would
be shiftless and a danger to others. Political defense of
slavery-Southern legislatures were indivisible in their de-
fense of slavery. They equated the survival of their regions
with the preservation of slavery. Protecting their right to
own, transport, and sell slaves in new western territories
was the focus of southern leaders during the 1830s. Huge
rivalry between the North and South and whether rapidly
expanding western territories would be slave or free.
3. Arguments Texas immediately sought to join the United States, but
against the many northerners opposed the annexation because Texas
, APUSH Final: Unit 4 1844-1877 (The Second American Revolution)
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_cjb7bp
annexation of was a slave territory and they feared increased Southern
Texas (Chapter power in Congress. President Jackson opposed annexa-
00, p. 000) tion because he feared it would cause a war with Mexico
and increase sectional tension. Texas was a big issue in
the election of 1844 and wasn't annexed until 1845.
4. Manifest Destiny Manifest Destiny assumed the United States had a
(Chapter 13 p. God-given mission to extend its Christian republic and
538) capitalism from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It took for grant-
ed the superiority of American ideals and institutions,
including the opportunity to bring liberty and prosperity
to native peoples. Offered more justification for territorial
growth and the expansion of slavery. It was a flimsy ratio-
nalization of racist attitudes and justifying the conquest of
weaker peoples.
5. Cause of The Mexican-American War was an important event as it
Mexican-Ameri- serves as a link between Manifest Destiny and the Civil
can War (Chapter War. Westward expansion led to divisive debates over
00, p. 000) slavery in new territories. Texas gained its independence
from Mexico in 1836. Initially, the United States declined
to incorporate it into the union, largely because northern
political interests were against the addition of a new state
that supported slavery. The Mexican government was also
encouraging border raids and warning that any attempt
at annexation would lead to war. Nonetheless, annexation
procedures were quickly initiated after the 1844 election
of Polk, a firm believer in the doctrine of Manifest Destiny,
who campaigned that Texas should be "re-annexed" and
that the Oregon Territory should be "re-occupied." Polk
also had his eyes on California, New Mexico. When his
offer to purchase those lands was rejected, he instigated
a fight by moving troops into a disputed zone between
the Rio Grande and Nueces River that both countries had
previously recognized as part of Mexico
6. Effect of The net gain in U.S. territory after the Mexican-American
Mexican-Ameri- War was roughly 525,000 square miles --it would forever
change the economy of the United States. Though the
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