Expansion Politics (POL)

Question 1

Oregon Territory

Answer 1

The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon.

Question 2

“Fifty-four Forty or Fight!”

Answer 2

Polk’s primary campaign issue was to expand the United States to include Texas and the Pacific Northwest. Polk’s battle cry was “Fifty-four forty or fight,” which meant the United States would accept nothing less from the British than all of the Oregon Country, as far north as the border of Alaska.

Question 3

Wilmot Proviso

Answer 3

The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the American Civil War.

Question 4

Ostend Manifesto