Ch20

Front 1

Lewis Cass

Back 1

Dem. candidate chosen after Polk announced intention to step down; was a pro-slavery former general in War of 1812, voiced defense of slavery based on “popular sovereignty” est’d by prev. leaders; lost by slim margin to Taylor in election of 1848; many possible electoral votes were stolen by the Free Soil party, which received some 200k pop. votes

Front 2

Zachary Taylor

Back 2

12th pres. of the US, candidate chosen by Whig convention, despite lack of political exp.; was pop. choice for his “war hero” status; as president, showed some of the Jacksonian rashness in promising to practice veto power on any compromise w/the South on slavery, vowed to lead an army against Texas for its threat of ceding Santa Fe; died in office 1850, allowed passing of Compromise of 1850 by more moderate Fillmore

Front 3

Free Soil Party

Back 3

Third party created in 1840s, orig. as an antislavery base, but later incorporated Dems disillusioned by Polk’s policies, “conscience Whigs” against slavery; ran former pres. Van Buren as candidate in 1848, paved way for creation of the Republican party several yrs. later; made enough of an impact to rob Cass of needed electoral votes

Front 4

Martin Van Buren

Back 4

former pres. who ran for the new Free Soil party in 1848 election; despite carrying no electoral votes, was able to divert enough of the popular vote to rob Cass of a victory

Front 5

“conscience Whigs”

Back 5

Whigs who became involved in the “free-soil” movement based on their moral objections to slavery in the new Mexican acquisitions

Front 6

“fire eaters”

Back 6

referred to Southern pro-slavery advocates who refused to the “swept under the rug” policies of the Democratic party on the slavery issue; were the greatest advocates of secession of the South

Front 7

Underground Railroad

Back 7

network of safehouses in the South run by black and white abolitionists called “conductors” who led slaves to free-soil Canada; helped guide estimated 1000 slaves to freedom every year

Front 8

Harriet Tubman

Back 8

so-called “conductor” on the Underground Railroad who made about 20 trips into the South to lead 300 slaves to freedom; became most recognizable of the black female abolitionists of the antebellum period

Front 9

Henry Clay

Back 9

one of the last “senatorial giants,” whose reputation as the “Great Pacificator” cont’d in his old age; in line w/his prev. compromises, urged the North and South to reach an agreement over the California issue; as one of final significant acts, helped author the Union-saving Compromise of 1850

Front 10

Stephen A. Douglas

Back 10

young senator thought to be second only to Clay in efforts to author a compromise between North and South; aided in creation of the Compromise of 1850; later arranged Kansas-Nebraska Act out of interests for Western expansion as well as sectional reconciliation; personal motives and general apathy over slavery in the West angered his northern supporters, who branded him a “traitor,” but remained popular in the Dem. party ranks

Front 11

John C. Calhoun

Back 11

second of the “dying breed” of the influential senators; rose in opposition to Clay’s call for compromise on slavery, in last address to the Senate urged South to preserve the practice and for the North to agree to stricter fugitive-slave laws; died a hero for the eventual Southern secession

Front 12

Daniel Webster

Back 12

third of the dying “senatorial giants,” supported Clay’s call for compromise w/the South; re: expansion of slavery, greatly opposed it on both moral and pragmatic grounds, saying the new Mexican terr. didn’t suit plantation agriculture; final address to the Senate was a plea for reconciliation w/the South for fear of secession’s negative effects

Front 13

Seventh of March Speech

Back 13

Webster’s address to the Senate, arguably his most famous; helped convince the North of the virtues of compromise, greatly contributed to preserving the Union for the next decade; however, his assertion for compromise on slavery angered abolitionists

Front 14

William H. Seward

Back 14

one of the leaders of the “New Guard” Northern senators, spoke as strongest advocate of no compromise w/the South on slavery; created the ideal of “higher law, which lost him many supporters; thought to lack the foresight to see the detrimental effects of destruction of Union

Front 15

“higher law”

Back 15

concept created by Seward, implied a greater moral authority in rulings on slavery, cast the Constitution aside as “secondary”

Front 16

Millard Fillmore

Back 16

13th pres. of the US, Taylor’s VP, who assumed office in 1850 after Taylor’s sudden death; was much more amenable to sectional compromise, gladly signed to the provisions of the Compromise of 1850

Front 17

Compromise of 1850

Back 17

bundle of compromises created in hopes of preserving sectional balance among the new terr.; CA was declared free, Utah and New Mexico were still open to slavery based on a popular vote; new terr. were formed out of the western half of Texas; DC was temporarily open to slavery; new Fugitive Slave Bill cons. favorable to South, but the compromise was overall seen as a victory for the North

Front 18

Fugitive Slave Law

Back 18

a.k.a. the “Bloodhound Bill,” law re: escaped slaves that was part of agreements made in Compromise of 1850; met heavy resistance in the North for severe punishment of whites aiding slaves to freedom, slaves were denied trial by jury once caught; creation of the law stirred further animosity toward the Southern practice, made abolitionists of many moderate Northerners “overnight”

Front 19

“personal liberty law”

Back 19

measures adopted by some Northern states that echoed nullification, closed local jails to fed. officials enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law; was a growing sign of protest against slavery in the North

Front 20

Franklin Pierce

Back 20

14th pres. of the US, nominee for the Democrats in 1852; despite relative obscurity, was able to win due to his lack of enemies, moderate views toward the South and slavery; as pres., promised return to expansionist policies, appealed to Southerners eyeing Latin Amer.

Front 21

Winfield Scott

Back 21

Mexican War hero, won the Whig nod for 1852 despite stronger choices in Fillmore or Webster; never won full support of the fragmented Whig factions, tepid views on Compromise of 1850 didn’t win supporters; lost votes from his own party, defeat signaled the end of the ailing Whigs

Front 22

William Walker

Back 22

Amer. adventurer who captured Nicaragua, imp. isthmus in Latin Amer.; legalized slavery, advised Southerners to move their plantations there; upon attack by alliance of other Central Amer. nations, Pierce withdrew support, Walker was overthrown and killed in 1860

Front 23

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

Back 23

agreement between Amer. and Eng. not to colonize any isthmian nation in Central America, in response to competing interests in the area; in the short-term, treaty stemmed fears of Brit. control over trade arteries between Pacific and Atlantic, but later hurt Amer. ambitions in Panama to build the canal

Front 24

Matthew C. Perry

Back 24

Amer. naval commander sent to isolationist Japan to create economic relations; treaty negotiated est’d Japanese involvement w/the West over the next decades

Front 25

Black Warrior

Back 25

Amer. steamship captured by Cubans, sparking added pressure for Pierce to purchase or attack the Spanish terr.; prompted talks w/the Euro. pwrs that resulted in the Ostend conference

Front 26

Ostend Manifesto

Back 26

secret agreement reached between Amer. ministers from Spain, France and Eng. that addressed the Cuban question; urged the Pierce admin. to offer purchase of Cuba for $120 million, advised that if offer was refused, Amer. had justification for attack; leaking of the document forced abandonment of Amer. ambitions in Cuba

Front 27

Jefferson Davis

Back 27

Secretary of War under Pres. Pierce who would eventually become the only pres. of the Southern confederacy; recommended appointment of fellow SC Gadsden as foreign minister to Mexico

Front 28

James Gadsden

Back 28

minister to Mexico under Pierce; appointed under rec. of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, sent to negotiate for purchase of Mexican terr. that was favorable for construction of Transcont. Railroad

Front 29

Gadsden Purchase

Back 29

land purchase acquired from Mexico for $10 million; provided necessary land for a Transcontinental Railroad that avoided the rough terrain of the Rockies, completed modern borders of the continental US

Front 30

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Back 30

Bill authored by Stephen A. Douglas, split the unorg. Nebraska terr. into Nebraska and Kansas; made steps toward restoring sectional balance, Nebraska was thought to remain free while Kansas would lobby to become slave state; Northern free-soilers protested b/c this violated MO Compromise

Front 31

popular sovereignty

Back 31

thought applied to issue of slavery in the Western terr., belief in leaving decision to the residents of the state as opposed to fed. mandate; enacted in the Nebraska, Kansas, Utah terr. among others

Front 32

Republican Party

Back 32

political party to emerge out of debate over Kansas-Nebraska Act; stood against all concessions to slavery by the conciliators who allowed the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850; incorporated remnants of the Whig Party, Free Soilers and disgruntled Democrats among others, took role as main opposition party

Front 33

General Lewis Cass

Back 33

The Democratic Nat’l Convention elected this fool to run in the 1848 election; believed that states should decide on whether or not they want slavery

Front 34

Popular sovereignty

Back 34

Doctrine that stated that the sovereign people of a territory should themselves determine own laws

Front 35

Zachary Taylor

Back 35

The “Hero of Buena Vista” who the Whigs nominated for the 1848 ticket; didn’t really talk about slave issue even though he himself owned a shitload o’ blacks; won the 1848 election

Front 36

Free Soil party

Back 36

Party in the N. that feared the possibility of conspiracy in the silence on issue of slavery in two main platforms; they promoted Wilmot Proviso & were against slavery in all territories

Front 37

Conscience Whigs

Back 37

Whigs who were heavily influenced by abolitionist crusade & condemned slavery

Front 38

Martin Van Buren

Back 38

Guy who Free Soilers chose to be their candidate for 1848 election, accidentally got Whig guy in office by diverting votes from Democrats

Front 39

District of Columbia

Back 39

Capital of the US that outlawed slavery

Front 40

Underground Railroad

Back 40

The covert movement to free black slaves from the south & move them across the Mason-Dixon Line to the North where they could be free

Front 41

Harriet Tubman

Back 41

Abolitionist, freed slave, and leader of the railroad who purportedly freed 300ppl & earned the title “Moses”

Front 42

“fire-eaters”

Back 42

Southerners who were pissed that CA might not be admitted as slave state and began to propose secession

Front 43

Henry Clay

Back 43

KY Senator who appeared in 1850 to give a 3rd compromise

Front 44

Stephen A. Douglas

Back 44

Senator from IL who aided Clay; was known as the “Little Giant”;

Front 45

John C. Calhoun

Front 46

Daniel Webster

Back 46

Northern section leader that urged reasonable concessions to So.

Front 47

Seventh of March Speech

Back 47

Speech by Webster that swayed the No. towards compromise; mailed out 100,000 copies of the speech

Front 48

Young Guard

Back 48

Northern newer leaders who hadn’t grown up w/ the union and were more interesting in purging and purifying the union than patching and preserving it

Front 49

William H. Seward

Back 49

Senator from NY who was an able spokesmen for these young northern radicals, was an ardent abolitionist against compromise

Front 50

Millard Fillmore

Back 50

VP to Prez Taylor who was a lot more into compromise than Taylor was and gladly signed all of the documents that passed Congress, yo.

Front 51

Compromise of 1850

Back 51

Series of compromises forged by Calhoun, Webster, and Clay to prevent secession; CA was admitted as free (benefits No.) & a harsh fugitive slave law was enacted (benefits So.) slave-trade banned in DC

Front 52

“higher law”

Back 52

What Seward referred to the iron law of nature as, this cost him the prez nomination cos it said something was more powerful than the Constitution in law

Front 53

Fugitive Slave Law

Back 53

Nicknamed the Bloodhound Bill; said that runaway slaves would be deported from the No. w/o being able to testify at their own trial

Front 54

“personal liberty laws”

Back 54

What some states passed to deny local jails to federal officials in order to hamper the fugitive slave law

Front 55

Franklin Pierce

Back 55

Dark-horse Democratic nominee for 1852 presidency; supported the Compromise of 1850 in its entirety; won the presidency

Front 56

Baltimore

Back 56

City where the 1852 caucuses took place for both Democrats & Whigs

Front 57

Winfield Scott

Back 57

The ablest US general of his time that was nominated as Whig presidential candidate for 1852 race;

Front 58

“finality men”

Back 58

Term applied to the 5,000+ GA Whigs who voted for Scott in the 1852 election

Front 59

Jefferson Davis

Back 59

Future president of the Confederacy that served as Pierce’s Secretary of War

Front 60

William Walker

Back 60

US adventurer who tried to grab control of Nicaragua several times & finally succeeded, hoping to add it as a slave state to the Union; was eventually killed by a Honduran firing squad

Front 61

Greytown

Back 61

Trade town of importance to GB, was the eastern end of the proposed Nicaraguan canal route

Front 62

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

Back 62

Treaty forged in 1850 stipulating that neither US or GB would secure exclusive control over any future isthmian waterway

Front 63

Commodore Matthew C. Perry

Back 63

Minister US sent to JP to open up exclusive trade between the 2 nations; persuaded Japan to sign a treaty in 1854

Front 64

Black Warrior

Back 64

US steamer seized by SP in 1854 on a technicality, cos of being in Cuban waters

Front 65

Ostend Manifesto

Back 65

Document forged between a buncha ministers from GB, FR, SP, & US @ Ostend, Belgium; urged that US offer $120 million for Cuba & if SP refused & its ownership of Cuba endangered US, the US had every right to seize it from them; after this was leaked, the outraged public forced Pierce to stop attempting to get Cuba

Front 66

James Gadsden

Back 66

Prominent SC railroad man who was appointed minister to MX, negotiated a land purchase from Santa Anna

Front 67

Gadsden Purchase

Back 67

What the purchase from MX was called; paid $10 million for a strip of land under CA that would allow a railroad to be easier to build by bypassing the mountains

Front 68

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Back 68

Act that was heavily supported by Douglas; basically stated that the new NE territory be split into 2 states & the 2 states would vote on whether or not they wanted slavery, therefore repealing the MO compromise & compromise of 1850

Front 69

Republican Party

Back 69

Party that arose from the Kansas-Nebraska Act; was made up of disgruntled Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings, & foes of NE-KA act; elected speaker of the house within 2yrs

Front 70

Free-soilers

Back 70

Movement that tolerated existing slave states but oppose slavery spreading to new ones; organized in 1848; not a part of the abolitionist movement

Front 71

Popular sovereignty

Back 71

What the majority of the people in a territory think about slavery; idea that the spread of slavery would be the decision of the population in that state/territory

Front 72

Panacea

Back 72

“cure-all”; what pop. Sovereignty was considered to be

Front 73

Sutter’s mill

Back 73

Where gold was discovered in CA leading to the Gold Rush of ‘49

Front 74

Underground railroad

Back 74

Secret network in the south created to help slaves escape to the No.; Quakers greatly aided this movement

Front 75

Stations

Back 75

Houses of abolitionists where slaves would hide for the daylight hours; where they would get food, shelter, etc.

Front 76

Station masters

Back 76

Owners of the homes who provided the shelter

Front 77

Conductor

Back 77

The actual guides of the runaway slaves, @ great risk because they physically aid the runaways & lead them No.

Front 78

Tubman

Back 78

Most famous of the conductors; makes 19 trips as conductor, about 300 slaves taken to the No. by her; price on her head in the So. Was a whopping $40,000

Front 79

Young Lions

Back 79

New voices of the different sections to take over the “immortal trio”

Front 80

Seward

Back 80

Sen. From NY who replaced Webster as the Young Guard’s section-leader for the No., preached “higher law” than the constitution

Front 81

Douglas

Back 81

Young Lions’ leader from the West; a proponent of the pop. Sovereignty ideal; from IL

Front 82

Davis

Back 82

Sen from MI who becomes Calhoun’s successor in the So.

Front 83

Secession

Back 83

Calhoun (in 1850 debate) says there’s no accommodation for the So. So they should just break off from the Union & form their own sovereign nation