Westward Expansion and the Mexican-American War

Westward Expansion and the Mexican-American War

• Economic factors fueled westward migration, including desire for land, resources, and economic opportunities.
• Romanticism's emphasis on nature and individualism inspired the westward movement.
• The Democratic Party supported westward expansion, while the Whigs were more cautious.
• James K. Polk's election pushed for Texas annexation and expansion into Oregon and California in 1844.
• Causes of the Mexican-American War included border disputes, U.S. expansionism, and Mexico's refusal to negotiate.
• Abraham Lincoln's "spot resolutions" challenged the war's justification, expressing widespread anti-war sentiment.
• Henry David Thoreau's tax refusal, documented in "Civil Disobedience", was a protest of the Mexican War.

Antebellum Slavery and Sectionalism

• The Wilmot Proviso proposed banning slavery in Mexican territory, intensifying sectional conflict.
• The Compromise of 1850 included California's admission as a free state, a stricter Fugitive Slave Act, and popular sovereignty.
• The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 forced Northerners to return runaway slaves, worsening anti-slavery sentiment.
• Southerners opposed California's free state status to maintain Southern influence in the Senate.
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed settlers to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty, leading to violence in Kansas.
• "Bleeding Kansas" involved violent conflicts over slavery, with John Brown as an active participant.
• John Brown's Harper's Ferry raid aimed to initiate a slave rebellion.
• The Dred Scott decision ruled that African Americans were not U.S. citizens; the Court's decision aimed at settling slavery's legality in the U.S.
• Abolitionists sought to end slavery entirely, while anti-slavery/free soilers opposed expansion but didn't necessarily support abolition.
• Political parties changed, with the Whigs dissolving and the Republican Party formed to oppose slavery.

1860 Presidential Election and Secession

• Lincoln's election in 1860 fueled Southern secession due to fears about slavery's future.
• Southern leaders argued for states' rights and the right to secede, citing the preservation of slavery.
• Union and Confederate soldiers fought for duty, honor, and their homes (primarily the Union to protect the country; Confederates to protect states' rights and slavery).
• Black men joined the Union military for freedom and equality.

The Civil War

• Lincoln insisted that the Confederacy was a rebel part of the U.S., declining to recognize it.
• The Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in Confederate states, excluding border states for political reasons.
• "Hard war" tactics, practiced by Union commanders like Grant and Sherman, aimed at total victory by destroying resources, but led to civilian suffering.
• The Union held advantages in resources and manpower, while the Confederacy benefited from better leadership and local military knowledge.

Reconstruction

• Lincoln aimed for a lenient approach to reintegrating the South, contrasting with Radical Republicans' harsher stance.
• Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan was similar to Lincoln's but allowed for greater Southern autonomy, based on his Southern background and previous stance on slavery.
• The Freedmen's Bureau assisted freedmen with education, healthcare, and legal support.
• "Black Codes" limited the rights of African Americans, primarily to maintain a cheap labor force.
• The Tenure of Office Act restricted presidential power, leading to Johnson's impeachment.
• Disputed results led to a contested 1876 election determined by a commission.