318 Chapter 11 Westward Expansion
Key Terms
Compromise of 1850 Several laws that together
sought to settle several outstanding issues involv-
ing slavery. They banned the slave trade, but not
slavery in Washington, DC; admitted California as
a free state; applied popular sovereignty to the
remaining Mexican Cession territory; settled the
Texas-New Mexico boundary dispute; and passed
a more stringentFugitive Slave Act, 315
Free Soil party A party that emerged in the 1840s
in opposition to the expansion of slavery into the
territories. Formally organized in 1848, it nomi-
nated Martin Van Buren for president. In 1856,
Free Soil party members joined with former
Whigsand other disaffected voters to form the
Republican party, 311
Fugitive Slave Act Initially, a 1793 law to encour-
age the return of runaway slaves; this law was
amended, as part of the Compromise of 1850,so
as to authorize federal commissioners to compel
citizens to assist in the return of runaway (fugitive)
slaves. The law offended Northerners and its
nonenforcement offended Southerners, 315
gold rush Term for the gold-mining boom in the
U.S. western territories in the late 1840s and
1850s, 309
manifest destiny Originating in the 1840s, a term
that referred to support of the expansion of the
United States through the acquisition of Texas,
Oregon, and parts of Mexico. The term was also
used in the 1890s in reference to the conquest of
foreign lands not meant to be incorporated into
the United States, 300
Mexican War Fought between the United States
and Mexico from May 1846 to February 1848,
the Mexican War greatly added to the national
domain of the United States; see alsoTreaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, 305
popular sovereignty The principle of allowing people
to make political decisions by majority vote. As
applied to American history, the term generally refers
to the 1848 proposal of Michigan Senator Lewis
Cass to allow settlers to determine the status of slav-
ery in the territories, 310
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Signed in 1848,
this treaty ended the Mexican War, forcing that
nation to relinquish all of the land north of the
Rio Grande and Gila Rivers, including what would
eventually become California, in return for mone-
tary compensations, 309
Wilmot Proviso A proposed amendment to an
1846 appropriations bill that banned slavery from
any territory the United States might acquire from
Spain. It never passed Congress, but generated a
great debate on the authority of the federal gov-
ernment to ban slavery from the territories, 3101835 Alamo falls to Santa Anna’s Mexican army
1836 Sam Houston routs Santa Anna at Battle of San
Jacinto
1837 United States recognizes Republic of Texas
1840 Richard Henry Dana describes voyage to
California in Two Years Before the Mast
William Henry Harrison is elected president
1841 William Henry Harrison dies; Vice President John
Tyler becomes president
Preemption Act grants “squatters’ rights” in West
1842 Webster-Ashburton Treaty determines Maine
boundary
1843 Oregon Trail opens
1844 James K. Polk is elected president
1845 United States annexes Texas
John L. O’Sullivan coins the expression
manifest destiny1846 United States and Britain settle Oregon boundary
dispute
1846– United States wages “Mr. Polk’s War” with Mexico
1848
1846 House of Representatives adopts Wilmot Proviso
prohibiting slavery in Mexican cession, but
Senate defeats it
1847 General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City
1848 James W. Marshall discovers gold at Sutter’s Mill,
California
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo brings United States
huge territorial gains
Zachary Taylor is elected president
1850 Taylor dies; Vice President Millard Fillmore
becomes president
Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850 preserves
UnionMilestones
Chapter Review