Ap Us History: Unit 5: Key Terms: Chapter 14

Front 1

Aroostook War (began 1839)

Back 1

Series of clashes between American and Canadian lumberjacks in the disputed territory of northern Maine, resolved when a permanent boundary was agreed upon in 1842.

Front 2

Buena Vista, Battle of (1847)

Back 2

Key American victory against Mexican forces in the Mexican-American War. Elevated General Zachary Taylor to national prominence and helped secure his success in the 1848 presidential election.

Front 3

California Bear Flag Republic (1846)

Back 3

Short-lived California republic, established by local American settlers who revolted against Mexico. Once news of the war with Mexico reached the Americans, they abandoned the Republic in favor of joining the United States.

Front 4

Caroline (1837)

Back 4

Diplomatic row between the United States and Britain. Developed after British troops set fire to an American steamer carrying supplies across the Niagara River to Canadian insurgents, during Canada’s short-lived insurrection.

Front 5

Conscience Whigs (1840s and 1850s)

Back 5

Northern Whigs who opposed slavery on moral grounds. Conscience Whigs sought to prevent the annexation of Texas as a slave state, fearing that the new slave territory would only serve to buttress the Southern “slave power”.

Front 6

Creole (1841)

Back 6

American ship captured by a group of rebelling Virginia slaves. The slaves successfully sought asylum in the Bahamas, raising fears among Southern planters that the British West Indies would become a safe haven for runaway slaves.

Front 7

“Fifty-four forty or fight” (1846)

Back 7

Slogan adopted by mid-nineteenth century expansionists who advocated the occupation of Oregon territory, jointly held by Britain and the United States. Though President Polk had pledged to seize all of Oregon, to 54° 40', he settled on the forty-ninth parallel as a compromise with the British.

Front 8

Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of (1848)

Back 8

Ended the war with Mexico. Mexico agreed to cede territory reaching northwest from Texas to Oregon in exchange for $18.25 million in cash and assumed debts.

Front 9

Liberty party (1840-1848)

Back 9

Antislavery party that ran candidates in the 1840 and 1844 elections before merging with the Free Soil party. Supporters of the Liberty party sought the eventual abolition of slavery, but in the short term hoped to halt the expansion of slavery into the territories and abolish the domestic slave trade.

Front 10

Manifest Destiny (1840s and 1850s)

Back 10

Belief that the United States was destined by God to spread its “empire of liberty” across North America. Served as a justification for mid-nineteenth century expansionism.

Front 11

spot resolutions (1846)

Back 11

Measures introduced by Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln, questioning President James K. Polk’s justification for war with Mexico. Lincoln requested that Polk clarify precisely where Mexican forces had attacked American troops.

Front 12

Tariff of 1842

Back 12

Protective measure passed by Congressional Whigs, raising tariffs to pre-Compromise of 1833 rates.

Front 13

Walker Tariff (1846)

Back 13

Revenue-enhancing measure that lowered tariffs from 1842 levels thereby fueling trade and increasing Treasury receipts.

Front 14

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Back 14

Amendment that sought to prohibit slavery from territories acquired from Mexico. Introduced by Pennsylvania congressman David Wilmot, the failed amendment ratcheted up tensions between North and South over the issue of slavery.