Chapter 18 Flashcards
Unit 10 (37 cards)
Lewis Cass
He was the democratic nominee for president in 1848 and firmly believed in popular sovereignty
Stephen A. Douglas
Supported Henry Clay on the opinion that the North and the South should make concessions and the South should create a stricter Fugitive Slave Law. Proposed the Kansas Nebraska Act.
Franklin Pierce
Was the president starting from 1852. He was a democratic candidate and not very well known. He was believed that during the Mexican War, he fell off a horse because he was drunk. Other than that, no one knew much about him, but the reason he won and Winfield Scott didn’t is because he didn’t have any enemies.
Zachary Taylor
The “Hero of Buena Vista” with absolutely no political experience. He was a slave owner, but had no “official’ position on slavery. He was nominated by the Whig party to be president, and won.
John C. Calhoun
“Great Nullifier” and argued in favor of states rights. He wanted the slavery issue to be left alone and for the North to return runaway slaves and keep the state to slave balance intact.
Winfield Scott
Whig party presidential candidate in 1852 who lost the election. He was a general and war heron of the Mexican War. Antislavery Whigs of the North and Southern Whigs mainly voted for him, but a lot of his votes were stolen by the Free Soil Party candidate, John P. Hale. He started the deterioration of the Whig Party.
Martin Van Buren
Was the leader of the Free Soil Party and the presidential candidate for that party.
Daniel Webster
was opposed to the expansion of slavery, but he gave the “Seventh of March” speech which urged the North to compromise. He believed that the Mexican Cession will not even need slavery and that the North should basically shut up and deal.
Matthew C. Perry
Helped write the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan to open up Japanese and American trade.
Harriet Tubman
Most famous “conductor” of the underground railroad. She went to South 19 times and freed over 300 slaves.
William H. Seward
He was a senator from NY and was the chief among the Young Guard. He was a strong abolitionist and argued that Americans must follow “Higher Law” in order to deal with slavery and to disregard the Constitution. This statement caused him a presidency in 1849.
James Gadsden
he negotiated a treaty with Mexico for a tiny strip of land called the Gadsden Purchase for $10 million.
Henry Clay
was the ideal candidate for the Whig party, but he was not nominated because he had already made too many speeches and made too many enemies. Also, he was known as the “Great Compromiser” and proposed many compromises for the CA free slave issue. Stephen Douglass seconded his decisions to urge the North and South to make concessions and for the North to further enforce the Fugitive Slave Law.
Millard Fillmore
Became president after Zachary Taylor suddenly died and passed the Compromise of 1850 after getting support from the Northern Whigs.
Popular Sovereignty
People should be the ones to hold authority in all government matters. As General Lewis Cass believed, it should be up to the people to decide whether slavery should continue or be abolished. This was a democratic self determination of “let the people decide”.
Fillubustering
: “Free booters” or pirates who invaded Cuba in hopes to take it over, but failed.
Free Soil Party
anti slavery men in the North who disliked both Cass and Taylor. They nominated Martin Van Buren as their representative. They were very upset with the candidates since they did not showcase their beliefs on slavery.
They talked about the Wilmot Proviso and were against slavery in the new territories since they not want blacks in the new land.
They favored federal money for internal improvements and free land in the West.
They attracted people who were upset that the U.S. got only ½ of Oregon and abolitionists.
Fugitive Slave Law
It was supposed to give runaway slaves to the North, back to the South, but recently, the South was very uneasy about this because the North did not give back slaves.
“Conscience” Whigs
Were usually in the North and opposed slavery, the annexation of Texas, and the U.S. Mexican War from the beginning based on moral grounds.
Personal Liberty Laws
The laws designed to protect free blacks, freedmen, and fugitive slaves by effectively nullifying the fugitive slave law without actually invoking the doctrine of nullification, which is unconstitutional.
Underground Railroad
The secret passage where slaves were led to North and then Canada. There was an informal chain of “stations”(black/white safehouses of abolitionists), “Conductors” (Black/white abolitionists), and “Passengers”(runaway slaves)
Fire Eaters
Southerners who had a problem with the Northern abolitionists.
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
Eased tensions between England and America where they both decided that neither country would attempt to obtain the canal across the Isthmus of Panama.
Ostend Manifesto
America wanted to obtain Cuba and they had a reason to after the Black Warrier was stolen. U.S. offered to pay $120 million for Cuba or else they would have to forcefully capture it. Pierce soon realized that this was not a smart idea.
