Period 5 (1844-1877)
Expansionist foreign policy
U.S. became more connected w/ world as pursued expansionist foreign policy in Western Hemi. &
emerged as destination for immigrants.
I. Enthusiasm for U.S. expansion, fueld by economic & national security interests & supported claims of
U.S. racial & cultural superiority, resulted in war, opening of new markets, acquistion of new territories,
& increased ideological conflicts.
A. Idea of Manifest Destiny, which asserted U.S. power in Western Hemi. & supported U.S. expansion
westward, built on belief in American superiority & helped shaped the era’s political debates.
B. Acquisition of new territory in West & U.S. victory in Mexican-American War were accompanied by
heated controversy over allowance of slavery in new territories.
-New Mexico & Arizona Territory, California
-Gadsden Purchase
C. Desire for access to western resources led to environmental transformation of the region, new
economic activities, & increases settlement in areas forcibly taken from American Indians
D. U.S. interest in expanding trade led to economic, diplomatic, & cultural initiatives westward to Asia
-Clipper ships
-Commodore Matthew Perry & opening up Japan to west
-Missionaries
II. Westward expansion, migration to & w/in the U.S. & the end of slavery reshaped North Am.
boundaries & caused conflicts over American cultural identities, citizenship & question of extending &
protecting rights for various groups
A. Large number of new immigrants, often living in ethnic communities & retained religion, language &
customs, enter U.S. prior to Civil War, giving rise to an often violent nativist movement that was
strongly anti-Catholic & aimed at limiting immigrant’s cultural influence & political/economic power
-Know-Nothings: political party formed in 1850s to work against influence of immigrants
B. Asian, African-American, & white peoples sought new economic opportunities or religious refuge in
West, efforts that were boosted during & after Civil War w/ passage of legislation promoting national
econ. development.
-Mormons: settle in Salt Lake City after pushed from New York & Illinois
-Gold Rush: California; population surge quickly to statehood as many migrated there
-Homestead Act: 160 acres in West to those willing to settle & work it for 5 years
C. As territorial boundaries of U.S. expanded & migrant pop. increase, U.S. gov’t interaction & conflict w/
Hispanics & Am. Indians increased, altering these group’s cultures & ways of life & raising questions
about status & rights
-Sand Creek Massacre
-Little Big Horn
-Century of Dishonor: Helen Hunt Jackson exposes treatment of Native Am. by gov’t
Nation leading into Civil War
Expansion & regional division intensify debates over slavery, economic, cultural, & political issues
I. Slavery & its ideological debates, along w/ econ. & demographic changes, territorial expansion in the
1840s & 1850s, & cultural differences b/w the North & South, all intensified sectionalism.
A. N’s expanding econ. & increasing reliance on free-labor manufacturing econ. contrasted w/ S’s
dependence on slave-based agri. & slow pop. growth.
B. Abolitionists, though a minority in N, mount campaign against slavery, adopting strategies of
resistance – from arguments against slavery to assistance in slave escapes to use of violence to achieve
goals.
-Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Tubman & Underground RR, Harriet Beecher Stowe
& Uncle Tom’s Cabin, John Brown
C. States’ rights, nullification, & racist stereotyping provided the foundation for Southern defense of
Slavery
-John C. Calhoun
II. Attempts at political compromise failed to calm tensions over slavery, often making sectional tensions
worse, breaking down trust b/w leaders, & culminating in bitter election of 1860, followed by
secession of South.
A. Variety of proposals (Comp. of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision) to resolve issue of
slavery in territories ultimately failed to reduce tensions
-Comp. of 1850: Calif. as free state, creating of Utah & New Mexico territories & use of popular
sovereignty, ban slave trade in DC, & fugitive slave law
-Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854, create Kansas territory & Nebraska territory, use of popular sovereignty
repealing Missouri Compleads to Bleeding Kansas
-Dred Scott decision: 1857, slaves are not considered citizens, therefore can’t sue in federal court;
Slaves are form of property; Missouri Comp unconstitutional
B. Second party system ended when slavery & anti-immigrant issues weakened loyalties to two major
parties & fostered growth of sectional parties (Republican) in N & MidW
-split going into election of 1860
-Northern & Southern Democrats
- Republican Party
-Constitutional Union Party
C. Lincoln’s election on free soil platform in election of 1860 led Southern leaders to conclude their states
must secede, precipitating civil war
Union victory in Civil War & Reconstruction in South
Settled issues of slavery & secession, but left unresolved questions about power of fed. Gov’t &
citizenship rights.
I. North’s great manpower & industrial resources, its leadership, & decision for emancipation led to
Union military victory over Confederacy in Civil War
A. Both Union & Conf. mobilized their economies & societies to wage war even while facing home front
Opposition
B. Lincoln’s decision to issue Emancipation Proclamation changed purpose of war, enabling many Af-Am
to fight for Union & help prevent Conf. from gaining full diplomatic support from European powers
-Original purpose, at start of war, to preserve union
C. Conf. leadership showed initiative & daring early in war –Union ultimately succeeded due to improved
military leadership, more effective strategies, key victories, greater resources, & wartime destruction
of South’s environment & infrastructure
-Gettysburg
-Grant
-Anaconda Plan
-March to sea
-Lincoln
II. Civil War & Reconstruction altered power b/w states & fed. Gov’t & among the three branches, ending
slavery & notion of a divisible union but leaving unresolved questions of relative power & largely
unchanged social & economic patterns
A. 13th Amendment abolished slavery, bringing war’s most dramatic social & economic change, but
sharecropping system endured for several generations
B. Efforts by radical & moderate Republicans to reconstruct South changed balance of power b/w
Congress & presidency –yielded some short-term successes, reuniting the union, opening up political
opportunities & other leadership roles to former slaves, & temporarily rearranging relationships b/w
white & black people in South
C. Radical Republicans’ efforts to change southern racial attitudes & culture & establish a base for their
party in South ultimately failed due both to determined Southern resistance & North’s waning resolve
-Compromise of 1877: ends Reconstruction – allows for election of Hayes if remove troops from South
III. Constitutional changes of Reconstruction embodied Northern idea of American identity & nat’l
purpose & led to conflicts over new definitions of citizenship – Af. – Am., women, other minorities
A. Citizenship, equal protection & voting rights were granted to Af-Am. in 14th & 15th amendments –
rights were progressively stripped away through segregation, violence, Supreme Court decisions &
local political tactics
-14th: equal protection of rights
-15th: suffrage for African American males
B. Women’s rights movement both emboldened & divided over 14 th & 15th amendments
-Many women felt should gain suffrage rights as well
C. Civil War amendments (13, 14, & 15) established judicial principles that were stalled for many decades
but eventually became basis for court decisions upholding civil rights