HIS 108: History of the United States through 1865

Study Sheet

EXPANSION AND SLAVERY

1. Explain the circumstances leading to the annexation of Texas, including the role of "Manifest Destiny."
2. Explain the circumstances surrounding the Mexican War, including causes, terms of the peace treaty, and long-term implications.
3. Discuss the accomplishments of President James K. Polk and the consequences of his success.

SECTIONAL CONFLICT

1. Explain the circumstances, terms, and impact of the Compromise of 1850.
2. Explain the circumstances surrounding the Kansas-Nebraska Act, including the motivations of its sponsor and the consequences of its passage.
3. Explain the situation in "Bleeding Kansas" in the late 1850s, including the Kansas territory's efforts to become a state and the violence that resulted.
4. Explain the difficulties facing the Buchanan Administration (1857-1861).

1. Discuss the candidates, parties, issues, results, and consequences of the presidential election of 1860.
2. Explain the reasons for southern secession in 1860-1861 and the reasons for northern resistance to secession.
3. Discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of the North and the South as they began the Civil War.
4. Discuss the major battles of the Civil War and their consequences.
5. Explain some of the Civil War’s long-term effects on American society and government

Reading Assignments

Students are responsible for the following items as well as all material covered in class.

Review Questions

• How did economic and demographic pressures in the East spur Western migration?

• Why was James K. Polk so eager to provoke a war with Mexico?

Chapter 14: The Politics of Sectionalism, 1846-1861

Review Questions

• Why was the issue of slavery in the territories so contentious?

• What factors contributed to the Republicans’ rise to political prominence?

• Why were Southerners so alarmed by the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860?

Chapter 15: Battle Cries and Freedom Songs: The Civil War, 1861-1865

Review Questions

• What were the North’s key advantages at the onset of the war?

• What convinced Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

• What was Grant’s strategy for ending the war?