APUSH – Chapter 17 Vocabulary and Guided Reading Questions You are responsible for all Guided Reading Questions, as well as, the terms below. Vocabulary Chapter 17: “Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy: 1841‐1848” 1.
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John Tyler *Manifest Destiny “Fifty‐four forty or fight” *Henry Clay *James K. Polk *Walker Tariff bill spot resolutions 8.
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*Abraham Lincoln California Bear Flag Republic Winfield Scott Battle of Buena Vista *Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo *Wilmot Proviso Guided Reading Questions: 1. Why were Whigs, like Clay and Webster, unhappy with Tyler’s accession to the presidency? 2. What issues caused tension between Britain and the United States? 3. How did rivalry with Britain affect the American decision to annex Texas, the Oregon dispute, and lesser controversies of the period? (See boxed quote on page 364.) 4. Why was Texas annexed into the United States at the time that it was? Why not earlier or later? 5. Why was the Texas annexation so controversial? What would have happened had Texas remained an independent nation? (See boxed quote on page 367.) 6. What circumstances resulted in the peaceful settlement of the Oregon dispute between Britain and the United States? 7. What was Polk’s four‐point program as president and how successful was he in accomplishing each part of his plan? 8. What caused the Mexican War? Did Polk provoke the Texas‐boundary conflict in order to gain California or expand slavery, as war opponents such as Lincoln charged? 9. Who led the major military campaigns during the Mexican War and how successful was each campaign? 10. What were the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo? 11. What were the benefits and costs of the Mexican War both immediately and in the longer run of American history? 12. How did the Wilmot Proviso reveal strong sectional differences? 13. Was American expansion across North America an inevitable development? How was the idea of Manifest Destiny used to justify expansionism? (See boxed quote on page 368.) 14. MAKERS OF AMERICA: The Californios ‐ What distinctive features of Spanish and Mexican society and culture affected the early history of settlement in California? 15. MAKERS OF AMERICA: The Californios ‐ In what ways was the Californios’ experience of being forcibly incorporated into the United States similar to that of voluntary immigrants and in what ways was it different? 16. CONTENDING VOICES: NEW YORK EVENING POST VS. HENRY CLAY ‐ How did the New York Evening Post justify U.S. actions in the war with Mexico? 17. CONTENDING VOICES: NEW YORK EVENING POST VS. HENRY CLAY ‐ Why did Henry Clay view the war with Mexico as such a negative development? APUSH – Chapter 17 Themes and Summary Chapter Themes: 1. American expansionism gained momentum in the 1840s, leading first to the acquisition of Texas and Oregon, and then to the Mexican War, which added vast southwestern territories to the United States and ignited the slavery question. 2. American international prestige grew as the United States expanded. Successful military campaigns against Mexico along with well‐negotiated treaties with Britain forced Europe to respect America more, while Latin America began to be wary of the Colossus of the North. Chapter Summary: As Tyler assumed the presidency after Harrison’s death, the United States became engaged in a series of sharp disputes with Britain. A conflict over the Maine boundary was resolved, but British involvement in Texas revived the movement to annex the Lone Star Republic to the United States. 2. The Texas and Oregon questions became embroiled in the 1844 campaign, as the Democrats nominated and elected the militantly expansionist Polk. After Texas was added to the Union, conflicts with Mexico over California and the Texas boundary erupted into war in 1846. 3. American forces quickly conquered California and New Mexico. Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor’s invasion of Mexico was also successful, and the United States obtained large new territories in the peace treaty. 4. Besides adding California, New Mexico, and Utah to American territory, the Mexican War trained a new generation of military leaders and aroused long‐term Latin American resentment of the United States. Most important, it forced the slavery controversy to the center of national debate, as first indicated by the Wilmot Proviso. 1.