Deck 13: Manifest Destiny: an Empire for Liberty--Or Slavery

Question 1

The Supreme Court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) involved

A) the kidnapping of fugitive slaves.
B) territorial control of the slavery issue.
C) unfair labor practices in Pennsylvania mines.
D) aid for parochial schools in Pennsylvania.
E) removal of Indians to the lands west of the Mississippi.

Answer 1

the kidnapping of fugitive slaves.

Question 2

The religious prophet and founder of the Mormons was

A) Joseph Smith.
B) John O'Sullivan.
C) Robert Walker.
D) Jonathan Edwards.
E) William Miller

Answer 2

Joseph Smith.

Question 3

Anthony Burns

A) was a three-time invader of Nicaragua.
B) attempted to mediate the slavery dispute in the Senate.
C) was a runaway slave arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act.
D) ran for president in 1848.
E) introduced the Compromise of 1850.

Answer 3

was a runaway slave arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act.

Question 4

The term manifest destiny refers to the belief that

A) Providence had destined the American continent to be dominated by the United States.
B) war between the United States and Mexico was inevitable.
C) American Indians were to be driven from the continent.
D) the U.S. would defeat the British and become the leading world power.
E) all of these choices.

Question 5

The four-time invader of Central America and the self-proclaimed president of Nicaragua was

A) William Walker.
B) Narciso Lopez.
C) William Crittenden.
D) Franklin Pierce.
E) James Buchanan.

Question 6

Approximately how many of the 3 million slaves actually escaped to freedom each year?

A) 100
B) 1,000
C) 10,000
D) 100,000
E) 1 million

Question 7

The primary goal of President John Tyler was to

A) establish a strong national bank.
B) impose higher tariffs on English textiles.
C) abolish slavery.
D) build a transcontinental railroad.
E) annex Texas.

Question 8

The central theme of Uncle Tom's Cabin is

A) the decadence of southern society.
B) the tragedy of the breakup of families by slavery.
C) the wanton cruelty of slave owners.
D) the complicity of northerners in the continuance of slavery.
E) the cruelty of the African slave trade.

Question 9

The congressional act that opposed the extension of slavery into any territory ceded by Mexico was the

A) Ostend Manifesto.
B) Popular Sovereignty Act.
C) Crittenden Compromise.
D) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
E) Wilmot Proviso

Question 10

The Mexican War was least popular in which of the following regions?

A) Southwest
B) New England
C) Southeast
D) Midwest
E) Great Lakes region

Question 11

California's population increased dramatically in the late 1840s due to the

A) discovery of lush, fertile farm land.
B) discovery of gold.
C) excellent trade opportunities afforded by San Francisco.
D) building of the Union Pacific Railroad.
E) discovery of oil.

Question 12

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

A) authorized the United States to pay $15 million to Mexico.
B) fixed the Texas border at the Rio Grande.
C) ended the United States' war with Mexico.
D) ceded the Northwestern section of Mexico to the U.S.
E) all of these choices

Question 13

Abolitionists viewed the Fugitive Slave Law as all of the following except

A) immoral.
B) a significant victory.
C) unconstitutional.
D) draconian.
E) negative.

Question 14

The man most responsible for passing the Compromise of 1850 was

A) Daniel Webster.
B) William Seward.
C) John C. Calhoun.
D) Stephen Douglas.
E) Frederick Douglass.

Question 15

Which of the following was not part of the Compromise of 1850?

A) repeal of all existing fugitive slave laws
B) abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia
C) guarantee of slavery in the District of Columbia
D) admission of California as a free state
E) settlement of the Texas-New Mexico boundary.

Question 16

"Popular sovereignty" was the belief that

A) the United States was destined to control the entire continent.
B) the American Indian was the ward of the U.S. government.
C) settlers to a territory should decide for themselves whether or not to permit slavery.
D) the federal government had the final authority on slavery in the territories.
E) citizens should be free to choose their own reading material.

Question 17

In 1850, southerners were most upset by the

A) admission of California as a free state.
B) presidency of Zachary Taylor.
C) power of the abolitionists.
D) failure to annex Cuba.
E) settlement of the Texas boundary with New Mexico.

Question 18

The one issue in the Compromise of 1850 that clearly favored the South was

A) resolution of the Texas-New Mexico boundary dispute.
B) the Fugitive Slave Act.
C) the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.
D) the settlement of Texas war debt.
E) the admission of California.

Question 19

In response to the Whig Party nomination of Zachary Taylor in 1848, many "conscience Whigs" fled the party, joined with antislavery Democrats, and formed the

A) Liberty Party.
B) Republican Party.
C) Free Soil Party.
D) Know-Nothing Party.
E) Socialist Party.

Question 20

The Mexican commander who granted Texas independence from Mexico was

A) Santa Anna.
B) Narciso Lopez.
C) William Walker.
D) General Huerta.
E) General Lopez.

Question 21

The term Oregon fever refers to

A) a deadly disease that killed thousands of northwestern Indians.
B) the mass migration of thousands of farm families to the Northwest.
C) the call for war with Great Britain in 1846 for control of "all of Oregon."
D) a cattle sickness that bankrupted many ranchers.
E) the demand for western lands that led to war with Mexico.

Question 22

President Polk provoked a war with Mexico

A) in order to acquire New Mexico and California.
B) by sending General Zachary Taylor and four thousand soldiers to patrol the Rio Grande.
C) by encouraging settlers in Monterey, California to dream of U.S. annexation.
D) by attempting to buy New Mexico and California.
E) all of these choices

Question 23

On the issue of slavery in the territories, John C. Calhoun asserted that

A) Congress could and should prohibit slavery there.
B) the Missouri Compromise line should be extended to the Pacific Ocean.
C) the Constitution protected the right of citizens to move from place to place and to take their property with them.
D) the topic should be ignored for a few years in order to let congressional tempers cool down.
E) the South should secede and take the western territories with them.

Question 24

Which of the following best describes Congress' handling of California?

A) Thoughtful and restrained
B) Respectful and civil
C) Quick and easy
D) Stalemated
E) Divided and violent

Question 25

Opponents of the Mexican War

A) were mostly merchants who feared the war would disrupt their profitable trade with Mexico.
B) were arrested and tried for treason.
C) claimed the war was a plot to expand slavery into new territories.
D) convinced the public that the war was a terrible mistake.
E) came primarily from the southern states.

Question 26

In the 1840s, the westward expansion of the United States

A) did not extend beyond the Mississippi River.
B) included the 2000-mile-long Oregon trail to the Pacific coast.
C) was prohibited by the territorial government of Mexico.
D) halted at the Rocky Mountains.
E) included Canada.

Question 27

Two Years before the Mast, which helped to encourage westward expansion, was written by

A) Richard Henry Dana.
B) Mark Twain.
C) Horace Greeley.
D) William Walker.
E) Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Question 28

In the Mexican War,

A) U.S. soldiers outnumbered the Mexicans in every battle.
B) the United States won every battle due to its superior leadership and weapons.
C) General Zachary Taylor arrested and executed the president of Mexico.
D) U.S. troops were humiliated by their failure to take Mexico City.
E) Texans refused to fight.

Question 29

Which of the following was true of the Texas Revolution?

A) Many Mexican tejanos joined with the Anglo-Americans to fight for independence.
B) It lasted seven years.
C) Both Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren offered statehood to Texas.
D) The government of Mexico recognized the independence of Texas in return for a payment of $20 million.
E) Mexican soldiers refused to fight against the Texans.

Question 30

The Mexican War's first phase was carried out by which of the following?

A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Zachary Taylor
C) Winfield Scott
D) Stonewall Jackson
E) Jefferson Davis

Question 31

All of the following statements regarding Brigham Young are true except he

A) was married to fifty-five women.
B) led the Mormons to Utah and created a prosperous community there.
C) was the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
D) was the governor of the Utah territory for seven years.
E) selected the site for the Mormon settlement.

Question 32

The Ostend Manifesto had to do with which of the following?

A) France
B) Columbia
C) Mexico
D) Cuba
E) Great Britain

Question 33

In the election of 1848, the idea of "popular sovereignty" was most closely identified with

A) James K. Polk.
B) John C. Calhoun.
C) Lewis Cass.
D) John P. Hale.
E) William Lloyd Garrison.

Question 34

The filibusters of the 1840s and 1850s

A) explored the New Mexico territory.
B) attempted to acquire new territories in which to extend slavery.
C) were Spanish pirates who attacked American seaports.
D) were heated congressional debates over slavery.
E) opposed slavery in all national territories.

Question 35

General Winfield Scott's nickname was

A) "Blood and Guts."
B) "Old Fuss and Feathers."
C) "Grizzly."
D) "Rough and Ready."
E) "Old Hickory."

Question 36

All of the following fought for Texas's independence from Mexico except

A) Andrew Jackson.
B) Sam Houston.
C) Jim Bowie.
D) Davey Crockett.
E) William Travis.

Question 37

Women in the migration westward

A) outnumbered men by three to one.
B) achieved economic and political status equal to that of men.
C) seldom survived long enough to reach their destinations.
D) fulfilled the same roles as homemakers and care givers as they did in the East.
E) none of these choices

Question 38

The United States increased its size by ____ percent between 1845 and 1848.

A) 25
B) 40
C) 50
D) 45
E) no

Question 39

The Ostend Manifesto was

A) a document in which the United States threatened to seize control of Cuba.
B) the treaty that gave Cuba its independence.
C) an attempted Spanish invasion of Louisiana.
D) the antislavery newspaper that published Uncle Tom's Cabin.
E) the U.S. demand for Texas.

Question 40

In the election of 1844, James K. Polk

A) advocated legislation prohibiting the admission of any more slave states to the union.
B) threatened to declare war on England.
C) promised to acquire Texas and Oregon.
D) lost the presidency to Henry Clay.
E) opposed slavery.

Question 41

The Wilmot Proviso

A) was passed by the House of Representatives, but failed in the Senate.
B) won the support of southern Whigs.
C) was passed in the Senate, but failed in the House of Representatives.
D) was passed by Congress, but vetoed by the President.
E) none of these choices

Question 42

President James Polk was prepared to declare war against Mexico even before news of hostilities arrived in Washington.

Question 43

The Ostend Manifesto claimed that Cuba should be part of the United States.

Question 44

Southern Democrats were unhappy about the nomination of Franklin Pierce as their party's presidential candidate in 1852.

Question 45

"Conscience Whigs" refers to those members of the party that most vigorously opposed the war with Mexico.

Question 46

In the election of 1848, Zachary Taylor carried southern states primarily because he

A) had opposed the Mexican War.
B) was a slaveholder.
C) opposed the admission of any free states to the Union.
D) supported popular sovereignty.
E) supported the acquisition of Oregon.

Question 47

All of the following statements regarding the "Conscience Whigs" are true except they

A) were antislavery.
B) hoped to convince their party to renounce the expansion of slavery.
C) condemned their party's decision to nominate Zachary Taylor for president.
D) eventually forged a coalition with the Liberty Party and antislavery Democrats.
E) formed the basis of the Free Soil Party.

Question 48

American settlers who migrated to Texas defied Mexican law by

A) abolishing slavery.
B) adopting polygamy.
C) attacking the Indians.
D) bringing slaves.
E) becoming Mormons.

Question 49

"Mr. Polk's War" refers to the war between Great Britain and the United States over Oregon.

Question 50

Relations between the Mormon settlement in Utah and the U.S. government became strained, especially when

A) the Mormons attacked and killed peaceful Plains Indians.
B) the Mormons sided with Mexico in the Mexican War.
C) the settlement authorized polygamy.
D) gold was discovered in Utah.
E) the Mormons opposed the admission of California.

Question 51

The Wilmot Proviso stated that African Americans were not allowed to enter any territory ceded by Mexico to the United States because of the Mexican War.

Question 52

Anglo settlers in Texas declared their independence when

A) a conservative Mexican government attempted to consolidate authority over their settlements.
B) the Mexican government abolished slavery.
C) the Catholic Church attempted to abolish their Protestant churches.
D) the Mexican government refused to protect them from Indian raids.
E) Texans were executed for opposed the Mexican government.

Question 53

The United States won virtually every battle during the Mexican War.

Question 54

The idea of "one big reservation" for Native Americans in the West was replaced in the 1850s with a policy calling for

A) exterminating of all Indian tribes.
B) electing Indians to public office.
C) expelling all Indians to California.
D) recognizing the independence of Indian nations.
E) forcing Indians onto small reservations.

Question 55

President William Henry Harrison caught pneumonia on his inauguration day and died one month later.

Question 56

Democrats dropped the idea of annexing Cuba after the Ostend Manifesto.

Question 57

President Polk's compromise with the British on the Oregon Treaty

A) united the Democratic Party.
B) angered Southern Democrats.
C) angered Democrats from the Old Northwest.
D) alienated Whigs.
E) started war with Mexico.

Question 58

Attempts to enact the new Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made little or no impression on northerners.

Question 59

Most Hispanics in the West lived in

A) Oregon.
B) California.
C) Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico.
D) Utah.
E) Idaho.

Question 60

Henry Clay's position on the annexation of Texas in the campaign of 1844 is best described by which of the following statements?

A) Texas should be annexed immediately regardless of the consequences.
B) Texas should be annexed only when New Mexico was ready for annexation.
C) Texas should be annexed under no circumstances.
D) Slavery should be abolished in Texas prior to annexation.
E) Texas should be annexed if it could be accomplished without starting a war with Mexico.

Question 61

The Liberty Party supported the Wilmot Proviso.

Question 62

The Democratic Party took an extreme states'-rights stance in the election of 1848.

Question 63

President James K. Polk supported a rivers and harbors bill to provide federal aid for transportation improvements in the Old Northwest.

Question 64

Most Whigs supported war with Mexico.

Question 65

Although the territorial legislatures of Utah and New Mexico legalized slavery, few slaves were brought there.

Question 66

By 1821, 80,000 Mexicans lived in New Mexico and California.

Question 67

San Francisco became a boom town as a result of the discovery of gold in California.

Question 68

General Scott had little impact on the Mexican War.

Question 69

Manifest Destiny was universally popular throughout the United States.

Question 70

The United States won the Mexican War despite having a weaker economy.

Question 71

With regard to the idea of "popular sovereignty," northerners believed that the decision on slavery should come earlier in a territory's history than southerners did.

Question 72

James K. Polk consistently opposed efforts to acquire "all Mexico."

Question 73

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo resolved the question of slavery in the new territories acquired by the United States.

Question 74

Henry Clay remained steadfastly opposed to the annexation of Texas throughout the presidential campaign of 1844.

Question 75

The question of slavery paralyzed Congress in discussions over California.

Question 76

General Zachary Taylor established the "bear flag republic" in California in 1846.

Question 77

Stephen Kearny's campaign to occupy Santa Fe was long and bloody.

Question 78

The first battle of the Mexican War occurred two weeks after Congress had declared war.

Question 79

The Whigs in 1848 had no party platform.

Question 80

During the first year of the California gold rush 5,000 people died in a cholera epidemic.