Manifest Destiny
Name the idea that Americans believed gave them the right to expand westward across the continent.
"Manifest Destiny" (belief in United States expansion across North America).
What 1820 compromise tried to maintain the balance of free and slave states and where did it apply?
Missouri Compromise (1820) — applied to territories from the Louisiana Purchase (36°30' line).
Which side had more industrial capacity and railroad mileage at the start of the war?
The Union.
Who was president during the Mexican–American War?
James K. Polk.
After the Civil War, what general period (years) is known as Reconstruction?
Roughly 1865–1877.
Identify one major land acquisition that fulfilled Manifest Destiny between 1845 and 1853.
Examples: Annexation of Texas (1845), Oregon Treaty (1846), Mexican Cession via Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Gadsden Purchase (1853).
Name the 1854 law that repealed the Missouri Compromise and heightened North–South tensions.
Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854).
Name one key advantage the Confederacy had in military leadership or strategy early in the war.
Confederate generals like Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson; familiarity with local terrain/military culture.
Which president signed the Compromise of 1850 measures into law (or oversaw that Congress passed them)?
Millard Fillmore (Compromise of 1850 was passed under President Zachary Taylor’s death; Fillmore signed parts into law / oversaw enforcement) — acceptable answer: Millard Fillmore (signed the Fugitive Slave Act portion enforcement).
Name one major aim of Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction.
Aim examples: protect rights of freedpeople, rebuild Southern economy/government, readmit seceded states under new terms.
Explain how the Oregon Trail and westward migration affected relations with Native American tribes.
Westward migration led to displacement, conflict, and negotiated/forced removals of Native tribes; increased military encounters and treaty pressures.
Explain how the Dred Scott decision (1857) affected national politics and sectional trust.
Dred Scott decision declared African Americans not citizens and struck down congressional authority to ban slavery in territories, inflaming Northern opposition.
Explain how control of the Navy and blockades affected the Union war strategy.
Union naval superiority allowed blockades (Anaconda Plan) restricting Confederate trade and resupply.
Name the president elected in 1860 and explain why his election prompted several Southern states to secede.
Abraham Lincoln; his election led Southern states to secede due to fear of anti-slavery policies and perceived threats to slavery.
Explain the purpose of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 regarding Southern state governments and military districts.
Reconstruction Acts (1867) divided the South into military districts, required new state constitutions guaranteeing black male suffrage, and conditions for readmission.
Describe the role of the Mexican–American War in advancing Manifest Destiny and name one treaty that ended the war.
Mexican–American War; Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848).
Identify and describe the significance of John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry (1859) for Northern and Southern reactions.
John Brown’s raid alarmed Southerners who saw it as proof of violent abolitionism; Northerners were divided but some abolitionists praised his action.
Discuss how population and manpower differences shaped the long-term strategies of the Union.
Larger population for conscription and manpower; greater industrial base to produce weapons and supplies.
Describe President James K. Polk’s expansionist goals and one outcome of his presidency related to territorial growth.
Polk sought territorial expansion to the Pacific; outcome: acquisition of Oregon Territory, Mexican Cession after war, expanded U.S. borders.
Describe the significance of the 14th Amendment and how it changed citizenship or legal protections.
14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and provided equal protection under the law.
Analyze how Manifest Destiny contributed to sectional tensions over slavery — include at least two specific ways expansion intensified the debate.
Examples: admission of new territories raised question of slavery expansion; debates over popular sovereignty and federal vs. state control increased sectionalism.
Evaluate the role of economic, political, and cultural differences in causing the Civil War — give one clear example for each category.
Economic (industrial North vs. agrarian South), Political (representation and slavery in new states), Cultural (different social systems and views on slavery) with specific examples such as tariffs, Fugitive Slave Act, and abolitionist literature.
Compare how each side’s political goals and leadership structure (e.g., centralized vs. states’ rights) helped or hindered their war efforts.
Union: centralized government and industrial economy helped sustained war production; Confederacy: states' rights limited central coordination but motivated fierce defense.
Analyze how presidential leadership between 1840 and 1860 affected sectional compromise attempts — cite at least two presidents and one policy or event each.
Example pairings: Polk (Mexican-American War, territorial growth) and Pierce (Kansas–Nebraska Act) showing expansion and sectional tensions that undermined compromise.
Evaluate the successes and failures of Reconstruction in protecting the civil and political rights of formerly enslaved people — include at least two specific examples.
Successes: constitutional amendments (13th, 14th, 15th), temporary political gains for African Americans; Failures: rise of Black Codes, sharecropping, Ku Klux Klan violence, eventual federal withdrawal and Jim Crow.