James Frawley

Mr. McGoldrick
US History
10 February 2014
Identifications: Chapter 19
Bloody Kansas It was a series of violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery
Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas
Territory and the neighboring towns of the state of Missouri between 1854 and 1861. The
KansasNebraska Act of 1854 called for the "popular sovereignty"that is, the decision
about slavery was to be made by the settlers (rather than outsiders). It would be decided
by votesor more exactly which side had more votes counted by officials. At the heart
of the conflict was the question of whether Kansas would allow or outlaw slavery, and
thus enter the Union as a slave state or a free state. The viewpoint of this was to decide
whether or not Kansas should be admitted as a free or slave state. It is significant today
because it acted as a practice war between the north and the south or the civil war.
Kansas-Nebraska Act It created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new
lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by
allowing white male settlers in those territories to determine through popular sovereignty
whether they would allow slavery within each territory. The act was designed by
Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. The initial purpose of the Kansas
Nebraska Act was to open up many thousands of new farms and make feasible a
Midwestern Transcontinental Railroad. It became problematic when popular sovereignty
was written into the proposal so that the voters of the moment would decide whether
slavery would be allowed. Its viewpoint is to open the conversation about expansion and
admission into the union in the United States. It is significant today because it resulted in
bloody fighting and warfare, and eventually the Civil War.
Fugitive Slave Laws They were laws passed by the United States Congress in 1793
and 1850 to provide for the return of slaves who escaped from one state into another state
or territory. The demand from the South for more effective Federal legislation was
voiced in the second fugitive slave law, drafted by Senator James Murray Mason of
Virginia, grandson of George Mason, and enacted on September 18, 1850, as a part of the
Compromise of 1850. Special commissioners were to have concurrent jurisdiction with
the U.S. circuit and district courts and the inferior courts of territories in enforcing the
law; fugitives could not testify in their own behalf; no trial by jury was provided. Its
viewpoint is that slaves are property and they should be returned to their respective
owners. It is significant today because they enforced that slaves be returned even if they
escaped to gain freedom and this forced northern people to have to conform to southern
slave values.
Manifest Destiny It was the widely held belief in the United States that American
settlers were destined to expand throughout the continent. Historians have for the most
part agreed that there are three basic themes to Manifest Destiny. They were: the special
virtues of the American people and their institutions, America's mission to redeem and
remake the west in the image of agrarian America, and an irresistible destiny to
accomplish this essential duty. Historians have emphasized that "Manifest Destiny" was
a contested concept and many prominent Americans rejected it. It was used by
Democrats in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico and it was also used to divide half
of Oregon with Great Britain. Its viewpoint is that it is the right of white Americans to
expand and take the land of North America for their own country. It is significant today
because this value/principle caused the expansion of settling and eventually the United
States territory.
Stephen Douglass He was an American politician from Illinois and the designer of the
KansasNebraska Act. He was a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator, and the Democratic
Party nominee for President in the 1860 election, losing to Republican Abraham Lincoln.
Douglas had previously defeated Lincoln in a Senate contest, noted for the famous
Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. He was nicknamed the "Little Giant" because he was
short in physical stature, but a forceful and dominant figure in politics. His viewpoint is
that he needed to help the US and that he needed to settle disputes within the country. He
is significant today because he was instrumental in the Lincoln debates.
Lincoln-Douglass Debates They were a series of seven debates between Abraham
Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the Senate in Illinois, and Senator Stephen
Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. The format for each debate was: one candidate
spoke for 60 minutes, then the other candidate spoke for 90 minutes, and then the first
candidate was allowed a 30-minute "rejoinder." The candidates alternated speaking first.
At the time, U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and Douglas
were trying for their respective parties to win control of the Illinois legislature. The
debates previewed the issues that Lincoln would face in the aftermath of his victory in the
1860 presidential election. The main issue discussed in all seven debates was slavery.
After losing the election for Senator in Illinois, Lincoln edited the texts of all the debates
and had them published in a book. Their viewpoint was to settle some controversy about
slavery and other minor issues. They are significant today because they were beneficial
to the anti-slavery cause and gained popularity for Lincoln who would later become
president and outlaw slavery all together.
Oregon The Treaty of 1818 put the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase at the
49th parallel and provided for a ten-year joint occupation of the Oregon Territory with
Britain, without a surrender of rights and claims by neither Britain nor America. When
revolutions broke out in South and Central America, Spanish troops in Florida were
withdrawn to put down the rebellions, and Indian attacks ravaged American land while
the Indians would then retreat back to Spanish territory. The Florida Purchase Treaty of
1819 had Spain cede Florida and shadowy claims to Oregon in exchange for Texas. The
U.S. paid $5 million to Spain for Florida. Its viewpoint is one of expansion and new
opportunities. It is significant today because it gave northern Americans the chance to
expand west without slavery.
Uncle Toms Cabin It is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher
Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War",
according to Will Kaufman. Stowe, a Connecticut-born teacher at the Hartford Female
Academy and an active abolitionist, featured the character of Uncle Tom, a long-
suffering black slave around whom the stories of other characters revolve. The
sentimental novel depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting that Christian love
can overcome something as destructive as enslavement of fellow human beings. Uncle
Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling
book of that century, following the Bible. It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist
cause in the 1850s. Its viewpoint was that slavery is bad and that slavery should not
exist. It is significant today because youre not the only one.
Dred Scott He was a slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his
freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of
1857, popularly known as "the Dred Scott Decision." The case was based on the fact that
although he and his wife Harriet Scott were slaves, they had lived with his master Dr.
John Emerson in states and territories where slavery was illegal according to both state
laws and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, including Illinois and Minnesota. The US
Supreme Court decided 72 against Scott, finding that neither he nor any other person of
African ancestry could claim citizenship in the United States, and therefore Scott could
not bring suit in federal court under diversity of citizenship rules. Moreover, Scott's
temporary residence outside Missouri did not bring about his emancipation under the
Missouri Compromise, which the court ruled unconstitutional as it would improperly
deprive Scott's owner of his legal property. His viewpoint was that slavery is bad and
that it shouldnt happen. He is significant today because me worked for equality for
blacks.
James Buchanan He was the 15th President of the United States (18571861), serving
immediately prior to the American Civil War. He is, to date, the only president from
Pennsylvania and the only president to remain a lifelong bachelor. He represented
Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives and later the Senate and
served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was also Secretary of
State under President James K. Polk. After he turned down an offer for an appointment to
the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him minister to the Court of St.
James's, in which capacity he helped draft the Ostend Manifesto. The Democratic Party
in the 1856 Presidential election nominated Buchanan. His viewpoint was that the
abolitionists are trying to move too fast and that slavery did not need them to quicken its
decline. He is significant today because he is considered one of the worst presidents
because of his lack of peacemaking in the Civil War.
Mexican War It was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the
Centralist Republic of Mexico, which reestablished its 1824 federal constitution during
the war, becoming the Second Federal Republic of Mexico, from 1846 to 1848 in the
wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory
despite the 1836 Texas Revolution. Combat operations lasted a year and a half, from the
Spring of 1846 to the Fall of 1847. American forces quickly occupied New Mexico and
California, then invaded parts of Northeastern Mexico and Northwest Mexico;
meanwhile, the Pacific Squadron conducted a blockade, and took control of several
garrisons on the Pacific coast further south in Baja California. Another American army
captured Mexico City, and the war ended in a victory for the United States. Its viewpoint
was that Mexico wanted to gain its independence from the surrounding powers. It is
significant today because it involved Texas, an American state, and it ended in a victory
for the USA.
Sam Houston He was an American politician and soldier, best known for his role in
bringing Texas into the United States as a constituent state. Houston was born at Timber
Ridge Plantation in Rockbridge County of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston
became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third
President of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator for Texas after it joined the United
States, and finally as a governor of the state. He refused to swear loyalty to the
Confederacy when Texas seceded from the Union in 1861 with the outbreak of the
American Civil War, and was removed from office. To avoid bloodshed, he refused an
offer of a Union army to put down the Confederate rebellion. Instead, he retired to
Huntsville, Texas, where he died before the end of the American Civil War. His
viewpoint was that anything that is necessary and proper to further Texas and help it
scasue. He is significant today because he brought Texas into the United States as a
constituent state.
Lone Star Republic It was an independent sovereign nation in North America that
existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. It was bordered by the nation of
Mexico to the southwest, the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, the two US states of
Louisiana and Arkansas to the east and northeast, and the United States territories
encompassing the current US states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New
Mexico to the north and west. The citizens of the republic were known as Texians.
Formed as a separate nation after gaining independence from Mexico in 1836, the
republic claimed borders that included all of the present US state of Texas as well as parts
of present-day Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico based upon the
Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexico. Its
viewpoint was one of independence for the people of Texas. It is significant today
because it is part of our history that Texas was annexed in 1845.