Deck 13: Expansion, Nationalism, and American Popular Culture, 1844-1854

Question 1

In an 1845 article in a New York literary magazine,James Kennard,Jr. ,suggested that America's real national artists were

A)slaves.
B)city dwellers.
C)people living on the western frontier.
D)Native Americans.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Martin Van Buren's 1844 candidacy was opposed by the Democratic Party by advocates of

A)a stronger foreign policy.
B)slavery.
C)abolition.
D)annexation.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

During the war that began in 1846,the Mexican army sought to lure which of the following groups away from the U.S.military with pamphlets and posters?

A)free blacks
B)Indians
C)Catholic immigrants
D)slaves

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Manifest destiny meant all of the following EXCEPT

A)westward expansion through treaties and generations of occupancy.
B)the westward spread of the United States.
C)the divine plan for U.S.expansion.
D)American expansion to spread free and democratic political institutions.

Question 5

Which of the following was NOT one of the writers who advocated the Young America theme in American literature?

A)Winfield Scott
B)Herman Melville
C)Walt Whitman
D)Nathaniel Hawthorne

Question 6

Polk's war message was based on his view that Mexico had invaded U.S.territory

A)along the Nueces River.
B)from new Mexico into Missouri.
C)along the Rio Grande River.
D)into California.

Question 7

Congressional Democrats were able to win approval for Texas annexation by treating it as

A)an individual nation.
B)an application for statehood.
C)part of Mexico.
D)a treaty with a foreign nation.

Question 8

The Wilmot Proviso

A)failed to pass in Congress but had a significant impact on the future of the Democratic Party.
B)failed to pass in Congress and had little impact on the future of the Democratic Party.
C)passed both in the House and in the Senate,and had a significant impact on the future of the Democratic Party.
D)passed both in the House and in the Senate,but had little impact on the future of the Democratic Party.

Question 9

The two important developments in American life by 1845 reflected in Kennard's essay were

A)new expectations of national growth,and universal suffrage.
B)the elimination of slavery,and new expectations of national growth.
C)a rising nationalism,and the elimination of slavery.
D)a rising nationalism,and new expectations of national growth.

Question 10

The 1844 presidential candidate who supported annexation if it could be achieved "without dishonor" was

A)James Birney.
B)James Knox Polk.
C)John Tyler.
D)Henry Clay.

Question 11

The U.S.-Mexican War ended when the authorities of ________ surrendered.

A)Veracruz
B)Santa Fe
C)San Diego
D)Mexico City

Question 12

The major issue facing the United States if it were to annex all of Mexico was

A)what to do with the many pockets of armed resistance throughout the country.
B)how to defend the vast territory from outside threats.
C)how to afford to pay for the immense private claims that would result from the war.
D)what to do with its seven million inhabitants.

Question 13

Who among the following was NOT opposed to the U.S.-Mexican War?

A)Abraham Lincoln
B)James Polk
C)Frederick Douglass
D)Henry David Thoreau

Question 14

For many northern Whigs,nationalism meant

A)encouraging expressions of American nationalism in popular culture.
B)adding new territories to the Union.
C)tightening the bonds of commerce and communication across the country.
D)the abolition of slavery.

Question 15

The conflict over Oregon was settled in 1846 through

A)invasion and war with Britain.
B)temporary American withdrawal of its territorial demands.
C)diplomacy.
D)a proxy war with Great Britain through its Indian allies.

Question 16

Tensions between Mexico and the United States were intensified after

A)the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
B)the election of 1844.
C)Texans declared independence from Mexico in 1836.
D)the Wilmot Proviso passed in 1846.

Question 17

The war with Mexico was the first war in American history to

A)be fought against a foreign nation.
B)be opposed by a majority of Americans.
C)be covered by the new mass medium of the cheap daily press.
D)last more than twelve months.

Question 18

The new argument in the 1840s made by nationalist movements for westward expansion was based on

A)access to the Pacific Ocean.
B)fulfillment of the nation's destiny.
C)good trade policy.
D)military strategy.

Question 19

In the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma,outnumbered U.S.troops

A)routed Mexican soldiers across the river.
B)retreated back into Texas.
C)laid siege at Monterrey.
D)occupied Santa Fe.

Question 20

With the approaching 1844 election,President Tyler began to advocate

A)abolition.
B)annexing Texas.
C)the invasion of Mexico.
D)the re-occupation of Oregon.

Question 21

In the 1845 Gadsden Purchase,the U.S.acquired

A)Utah and NevadA.
B)parts of northern California and Arizona.
C)parts of southern California and New Mexico.
D)parts of New Mexico and Arizona.

Question 22

Stories of the Donner party's journey westward

A)encouraged many immigrants to seek homesteads in Oregon.
B)proved that the Native American threat was very real for migrants.
C)dramatized the perils of the Overland Trail.
D)enticed future migrants to settle at Truckee Lake.

Question 23

The two stock characters who reappeared most frequently on the blackface stage and popularized stereotypes were

A)a contented plantation slave and a northern urban black.
B)a free northern black and an urban elite white.
C)a northern free black and a poor rural white.
D)a contented plantation slave and a poor rural white.

Question 24

The appeal of blackface to urban audiences included all of the following EXCEPT

A)its bawdy burlesque humor and sexual themes.
B)that it created a sense of common culture among a transient urban population.
C)that it was the product of slaves and a genuine reflection of slave life.
D)the cultural acceptance sought by Irish immigrants.

Question 25

Which of the following does NOT describe those who were lured to the west coast in search of gold?

A)predominantly from the South
B)mostly male
C)heterogeneous in origin
D)most arrived by ship

Question 26

All of the following describe California's Indians in the mid-nineteenth century EXCEPT that they

A)stole and sold horses.
B)performed ceremonial dances for money.
C)became U.S.citizens under the 1848 Treaty.
D)were often killed by private militias.

Question 27

Blackface performers

A)exercised great creativity in their interpretation of the genre.
B)followed the same basic format throughout the U.S.
C)were marginalized by elite society.
D)adapted their performances for southern audiences,where they were most popular.

Question 28

In 1843 Samuel Morse persuaded Congress to appropriate $30,000 for

A)the research and development of a new telegraphic code.
B)the construction of a telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore.
C)installation of optical signal systems across the northeastern states.
D)the purchase of his telegraph patent.

Question 29

Most of the immigrants that arrived from the Cantonese-speaking parts of southern China were

A)families in search of a new life in AmericA.
B)single young men bent on bringing wealth back home.
C)single young women seeking work as prostitutes.
D)single men hoping to start families in the U.S.

Question 30

The Mormon exodus to a promised land in the West in 1846 was prompted by

A)the community's interest in prospering as part of the gold rush.
B)the murder of their prophet,Joseph Smith.
C)the death of Brigham Young.
D)Joseph Smith's succession to leadership.

Question 31

During the early 1850s,hundreds of thousands of people migrated to California

A)to take advantage of acres of cheaply available land.
B)to farm its rich soil.
C)in hope of gaining wealth from gold.
D)for its temperate climate and lucrative fishing industry.

Question 32

The Overland Trail typically led travel parties from ________ to the Pacific Ocean.

A)North Texas
B)the Missouri River
C)the Ohio valley
D)the Mississippi River

Question 33

Phineas Taylor Barnum's first money-making attraction was

A)the Fejee Mermaid.
B)blackface minstrels.
C)the American museum.
D)Joice Heth,who was reputed to be 161 years olD.

Question 34

Most of the leading minstrel performers and composers were identified with the

A)Democrats.
B)Republicans.
C)Independents.
D)Whigs.

Question 35

The plays of P.T.Barnum's museum typically focused on

A)tales of famous Native American warriors.
B)dramas celebrating the rough masculine culture.
C)popular middle-class reform causes.
D)blackface minstrelsy.

Question 36

Which of the following best describes theatergoing audiences in the first half of the nineteenth century?

A)respectful
B)predominantly female
C)serious
D)boisterous

Question 37

Wealthy Californio rancheros,who had received substantial land grants from the Mexican government,

A)attempted to attract more Mexicans to migrate to southern CaliforniA.
B)joined whites in their efforts to discourage Chinese immigration.
C)were generally accepted by Anglos.
D)sought to define themselves as white in the eyes of the law.

Question 38

All of the following describe the effects of the booming economy of San Francisco EXCEPT that

A)a Committee of Vigilance was formed to promote democratic politics.
B)middle-class,American-born Protestants campaigned against violence in the streets.
C)some residents sent their laundry to Hawaii because it was more affordable.
D)land values in the city soareD.

Question 39

The federal government sent troops to Utah in 1857 in order to assert U.S.sovereignty over the territory because of

A)Native American harassment of white settlers.
B)the influx of Chinese immigrants.
C)the outcry over Mormon polygamy.
D)a massacre conducted by a Mormon militia.

Question 40

Which of the following was NOT a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?

A)the U.S.refused to pay the Mexican government any monetary compensation
B)the U.S.assumed $3.25 million in private claims against Mexico
C)the U.S.acquired 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory
D)the U.S.agreed to grant citizenship to all Mexicans residing in ceded territories

Question 41

Filibuster efforts of the mid-nineteenth century

A)used delay tactics in Congress to block legislation.
B)employed private armies to invade foreign countries.
C)used local militias to block American expansion into foreign countries.
D)attempted to pushed legislation through Congress using procedural loopholes.

Question 42

Lajos Kossuth,nationalist leader from ________,toured the U.S.in 1851 in hope of gaining aid to launch a second revolution.

A)Russia
B)Bohemia
C)Hungary
D)France

Question 43

In 1848,who clamored for further territorial acquisitions and made expansionism a consistent plank in their party platform?

A)both Democrats and Republicans
B)neither Democrats nor Republicans
C)Republicans
D)Democrats

Question 44

In the 1850s the pro-expansion journal,Democratic Review,asserted that ________ would become states in the growing union.

A)Cuba and Mexico
B)Canada and Mexico
C)Canada and Oregon
D)Cuba and Haiti

Question 45

Discuss what American nationalism meant to different groups in the mid-nineteenth century and how it was expressed in popular culture.

Question 46

Summarize the mid-nineteenth-century advances in communication in the United States.

Question 47

Describe the demographic,economic,and cultural effects of the gold rush on California.

Question 48

Postal reformers argued that

A)lower rates could be offset by additional taxes.
B)westward expansion would likely increase postage rates.
C)lower rates would be offset by a higher volume of correspondence.
D)westward expansion would reduce personal correspondence.

Question 49

Explain the ideology of manifest destiny.

Question 50

Examine the role played by the issue of expansionism in the election of 1844.

Question 51

Leading figures of the American Renaissance were

A)in favor of universal male suffrage,but not women's voting rights.
B)opposed to territorial expansion.
C)strongly identified with the Democratic Party.
D)supporters of middle-class reform causes such as temperance.

Question 52

According to the new postage reform law of 1845,letters would now be assessed primarily on the basis of

A)the purpose of the correspondence.
B)distance.
C)the number of pages.
D)weight.

Question 53

Analyze the content and cultural significance of theater and blackface minstrelsy in the mid-nineteenth century.

Question 54

All of the following were female novelists that produced sentimental literature EXCEPT

A)Joice Heth.
B)Maria Cummins.
C)Susan Warner.
D)Fanny Fern.

Question 55

Which of the following authors was NOT considered part of the American Renaissance?

A)Herman Melville
B)George Lippard
C)Walt Whitman
D)Edgar Allan Poe

Question 56

The first wire service,the Associated Press,was initially intended to harness the power of the telegraph for relaying news about

A)sporting events.
B)the California Gold Rush.
C)the election of 1844.
D)the Mexican War.

Question 57

Compare and contrast the various forms of popular national literature