Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–1848

CHAPTER 17NAME: ______________Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–1848A. True-FalseWhere the statement is true, circle T; where it is false, circle F.1. T F After President Harrison’s death, Vice President John Tyler carried on the strong Whigpolicies of party leaders like Clay and Webster.2. T F By the 1840s, American relations with British Canada were largely peaceful.3. T F The Aroostook War, over the Maine boundary, was settled by a territorial compromisein the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.4. T F A primary motive driving Americans to annex Texas was fear that the Lone StarRepublic would become an ally or protectorate of Britain.5. T F Texas was annexed by a simple majority resolution of both houses of Congress becausethe two-thirds vote necessary for a treaty of annexation could not be obtained in theSenate.6. T F The British claim to the disputed Oregon country was considerably strengthened by thethousands of British settlers in the region supported by the Hudson’s Bay Company.7. T F In the election of 1844, Clay lost to Polk partly because he tried to straddle the Texasannexation issue and thus lost antislavery support.8. T F Polk’s victory in the election of 1844 was interpreted as a mandate for ManifestDestiny and led directly to the annexation of Texas and a favorable settlement of theOregon dispute.9. T F President Polk proved unable to implement his four-point program for his presidencybecause of strong opposition from anti-imperialist Whigs.10. T F The immediate cause of the Mexican War was an attempt by Mexico to reconquerTexas.11. T F Polk’s primary objective in fighting the Mexican War was to obtain California for theUnited States.12. T F The overwhelming American military victory over Mexico led some expansionistAmericans to call for the United States to take over all of Mexico.13. T F The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo added Texas to the territory of the United States.14. T F The outcome of the Mexican War became a source of continuing bad feeling betweenthe United States and much of Latin America.15. T F The Wilmot Proviso prohibiting slavery in territory acquired from Mexico enabled theslavery issue to be temporarily removed from national politics.Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–1848 165B. Multiple ChoiceSelect the best answer and circle the corresponding letter.1. The conflict between President Tyler and Whig leaders like Henry Clay took place over issues ofa. slavery and expansion.b. banking and tariff policy.c. foreign policy.d. agriculture and transportation policy.e. Whig party leadership and patronage.2. Among the major sources of the tension between Britain and the United States in the 1840s wasa. American involvement in Canadian rebellions and border disputes.b. British support for American abolitionists.c. American anger at British default on canal and railroad loans.d. American intervention in the British West Indies.e. American involvement in the prohibited international slave trade.3. The Aroostook War involved aa. battle between American and French fishermen over Newfoundland fishing rights.b. conflict over fugitive slaves escaping across the Canadian border.c. battle between British and American sailors over impressment.d. battle between Americans and Mexicans over the western boundary of Louisiana.e. battle between American and Canadian lumberjacks over the northern Maine boundary.4. During the early 1840s, Texas maintained its independence bya. waging constant small-scale wars with Mexico.b. refusing to sign treaties with any outside powers.c. relying on the military power of the United States.d. establishing friendly relations with Britain and other European powers.e. declaring absolute neutrality in the conflicts between the United States, Britain, and Mexico.5. Which of the following was not among the reasons why Britain strongly supported an independentTexas?a. Britain was interested in eventually incorporating Texas into the British Empire.b. British abolitionists hoped to make Texas an antislavery bastion.c. British manufacturers looked to Texas as a way to reduce their dependence on Americancotton.d. A puppet Texas nation could be used to check the power of the United States.e. An independent Texas would provide a shield for European powers to re-enter the Americasand overturn the Monroe Doctrine.6. Texas was finally admitted to the Union in 1844 as a result ofa. the Mexican War.b. the Texans’ willingness to abandon slavery.c. an agreement that Texas would eventually be divided into five smaller states.d. a compromise agreement with Britain.e. President Tyler’s interpretation of the election of 1844 as a mandate to acquire Texas.Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

166 Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–18487. Manifest Destiny represented the widespread nineteenth-century American belief thata. Americans were destined to uphold democracy and freedom.b. the irrepressible conflict over slavery was destined to result in a Civil War.c. Mexico was destined to be acquired by the United States.d. the American Indians were doomed to disappear as white settlement advanced.e. God had destined the United States to expand across the whole North American continent.8. The British finally agreed to concede to the United States the disputed Oregon territory betweenthe Columbia River and the forty-ninth parallel becausea. they did not really want to fight a war over territory that American settlers might overrun.b. they recognized that the Lewis and Clark expedition has established America’s prior claimto the territory.c. they determined that their own harbors at Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, weresuperior to those on Puget Sound.d. the Americans had concentrated superior military and naval forces in the region.e. the Hudson’s Bay Company no longer considered the area economically valuable.9. Henry Clay lost the election of 1844 to James Polk primarily becausea. his attempt to straddle the Texas annexation issue lost him votes to the antislavery Libertyparty in New York.b. his strong stand for expansion in Texas and Oregon raised fears of war with Britain.c. he supported lower tariffs and an independent Treasury system.d. he lacked experience in presidential politics.e. Polk persuaded voters that Clay would not aggressively seek to acquire California for theUnited States.10. The direct cause of the Mexican War wasa. American refusal to pay Mexican claims for damages caused by the Texas war forindependence.b. Mexico’s refusal to sell California to the United States.c. Mexican support for the antislavery movement in Texas.d. American determination to conquer and annex northern Mexico.e. Mexican anger at American discrimination against Latinos in Texas.11. President Polk was especially determined that the United States must acquire San Francisco fromMexico becausea. it was the most strategic fort on the entire Pacific Coast.b. it was the home of most of the American settlers in Mexican California.c. the discovery of gold in California meant that San Francisco would be the gateway to thegold fields.d. the harbor of San Francisco Bay was considered the crucial gateway to the entire PacificOcean.e. the Franciscan Catholic missionaries there were using it as a base to counteract AmericanProtestant missions in Oregon.Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–1848 16712. The phrase “spot resolutions” refers toa. President Polk’s message asking Congress to declare war on Mexico on the spot.b. the amendment introduced after the Mexican War declaring that not one new spot of landcould be opened to slavery.c. Congressman Abraham Lincoln’s resolution demanding that President Polk specify the exactspot, on American soil, where American blood had supposedly been shed.d. the congressional act determining which spots of Mexican land should be ceded to theUnited States.e. Congress’s resolution declaring that the key spot America should seize from Mexico wasSan Francisco Bay.13. The brilliant American military campaign that finally captured Mexico City was commanded byGenerala. Stephen W. Kearny.b. John C. Frémont.c. Zachary Taylor.d. Robert E. Lee.e. Winfield Scott.14. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican War provided fora. a return to the status quo that had existed before the war.b. the eventual American acquisition of all of Mexico.c. American acquisition of about half of Mexico and payment of several million dollars incompensation.d. the acquisition of California and joint U.S.-Mexican control of Arizona and New Mexico.e. American guarantees of fair treatment for the Mexican citizens annexed by the UnitedStates.15. The major domestic consequence of the Mexican War wasa. the decline of the Democratic party.b. a sharp revival of the issue of slavery.c. a large influx of Mexican immigrants into the southwestern United States.d. a significant increase in taxes to pay the costs of the war.e. a public revulsion against the doctrines of Manifest Destiny and expansionism.C. IdentificationSupply the correct identification for each numbered description.1. __________ American ship involved in supplying Canadian rebels that was sunk by Britishforces, sparking an international crisis between Britain and the United States2. __________ Outbreak of fighting between American and Canadian lumberjacks overdisputed Maine boundary3. __________ Antislavery Whigs who strongly opposed the annexation of Texas as aconspiracy by the slave power4. __________ Northern boundary of Oregon territory jointly occupied with Britain, advocatedby Democratic party and others as the desired line of American expansion5. __________ Two-thousand-mile-long path along which thousands of Americans journeyedto the Willamette Valley in the 1840s6. __________ The widespread American belief that God had ordained the United States tooccupy all the territory of North AmericaCopyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

168 Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–18487. __________ Small antislavery party that took enough votes from Henry Clay to cost him theelection of 18448. __________ Reduced tariff law sponsored by President Polk’s secretary of the Treasury thatproduced substantial revenue and bolstered the U.S. economy9. __________ Rich Mexican province that Polk was determined to buy and Mexico refused tosell10. __________ River that Mexico claimed as the Texas-Mexico boundary, crossed by Taylor’stroops in 184611. __________ Resolution offered by Congressman Abraham Lincoln demanding to know theprecise location where Mexicans had allegedly shed American blood onAmerican soil12. __________ Short-lived West Coast republic proclaimed by American rebels againstMexican rule just before the arrival of U.S. troops in the province13. __________ Site of major victory by American troops under Zachary Taylor over Mexicantroops under Santa Anna.14. __________ Treaty ending Mexican War and granting vast territories to the United States15. __________ Controversial amendment, which passed the House but not the Senate,stipulating that slavery should be forbidden in all territory acquired fromMexicoD. Matching People, Places, and EventsMatch the person, place, or event in the left column with the proper description in the right column byinserting the correct letter on the blank line.1. ___ John Tyler2. ___ Henry Clay3. ___ Aroostook War4. ___ Daniel Webster5. ___ Texas6. ___ Oregon7. ___ James K. Polk8. ___ John C. Fremont9. ___ Abraham Lincoln10. ___ Rio Grande11. ___ Zachary Taylor12. ___ Winfield Scott13. ___ Santa Anna14. ___ Nicholas Trist15. ___ David Wilmota. Congressional author of the spot resolutionscriticizing the Mexican Warb. “Old Fuss and Feathers,” whose conquest ofMexico City brought U.S. victory in theMexican Warc. Leader of Senate Whigs and unsuccessfulpresidential candidate against Polk in 1844d. Long-winded American diplomat whonegotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgoe. Whig leader and secretary of state whonegotiated an end to Maine boundary disputein 1842f. Claimed by United States as southernboundary of Texasg. Dashing explorer/adventurer who led theoverthrow of Mexican rule in California afterwar broke outCopyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

170 Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–18483. ___ British support for theTexas Republic4. ___ Rapidly growing Americansettlement in Oregon5. ___ The upsurge of ManifestDestiny in the 1840s6. ___ Clay’s unsuccessfulattempts to straddle theTexas issue7. ___ Polk’s frustration atMexico’s refusal to sellCalifornia8. ___ The overwhelmingAmerican military victoryover Mexico9. ___ The rapid Senateratification of the Treaty ofGuadalupe Hidalgo10. ___ The Wilmot ProvisoGuadalupe Hidalgoc. Helped lead to a controversialconfrontation with Mexico along theTexas borderd. Increased American determination toannex Texase. Split the Whigs and caused the entirecabinet except Webster to resignf. Heated up the slavery controversybetween North and Southg. Sparked bitter feuds over Canadianrebels, the boundaries of Maine andOregon, and other issuesh. Turned antislavery voters to theLiberty party and helped elect theexpansionist Polki. Created widespread popular supportfor Polk’s expansionist policies onTexas, Oregon, and Californiaj. Strengthened American claims to theColumbia River country and madeBritain more willing to compromiseH. Map MasteryMap DiscriminationUsing the maps and charts in Chapter 17, answer the following questions.1. Maine Boundary Settlement, 1842: The Webster-Ashburton Treaty line settled the boundarybetween the American state of Maine and which two Canadian provinces?2. The Oregon Controversy, 1846: The part of the Oregon Country that was in dispute between theUnited States and Britain lay between what two boundaries?3. The Oregon Controversy, 1846: How many degrees and minutes (°, ΄) of latitude were therebetween the northern and southern boundaries of the whole Oregon Country?4. Major Campaigns of the Mexican War: Which major western river did Stephen Kearney have tocross on his route from Santa Fe to the Battle of San Pasquial in December 1846?Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841–1848 1715. Major Campaigns of the Mexican War: Name any three of the cities within present-day Mexicothat were occupied by the armies of generals Taylor or Scott.PART III: APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED(Complete 2 of the following questions in a one page minimum/maximum answer.)1. What led to the rise of the spirit of Manifest Destiny in the 1840s, and how did that spirit showitself in the American expansionism of the decade?2. How did rivalry with Britain affect the American decision to annex Texas, the Oregon dispute,and other controversies of the 1840s?3. Most Americans believed that expansion across North America was their destiny. Was expansionactually inevitable? What forces might have stopped it? How would American history havechanged if, say, the Mexican War had not occurred?4. Could the United States have accepted a permanently independent Texas? Why or why not?5. Did James Polk really receive a mandate for expansion in the election of 1844?6. Did Polk deliberately provoke the Mexican War, as Congressman Abraham Lincoln charged? Orwas the war largely inevitable given U.S.-Mexican tensions following the annexation of Texas?7. How was the Manifest Destiny of the 1840s—particularly the expansion into Texas and Mexico—related to the sectional conflict over slavery?8. Many conscience Whigs and others believed that the annexation of Texas and the Mexican Waritself were part of a conspiracy by the slave power to expand slavery and guarantee its future inthe United States. Is there any evidence to suggest such goals on the part of Polk or others?9. Why was the Wilmot Proviso proposal, prohibiting slavery in the whole territory acquired fromMexico, so divisive and explosive? Was it intended to reignite sectional controversy or actually todefuse it?Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.