Unit 5 Events/Vocab

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Was a conflict between the United States and Mexico, sparked by territorial disputes over Texas and exacerbated by broader tensions, resulting in the U.S. gaining significant territory in the southwest.

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Mexican-American War

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In 1845 involved the incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States, a contentious decision driven by political and sectional interests, ultimately contributing to the outbreak of the Mexican-American War.

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The annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States

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Refers to the territory ceded to the United States by Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) after the Mexican-American War, comprising present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

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Mexican Cession

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What was the proposed U.S. legislative amendment in 1846 that sought to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War?

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Wilmot Proviso

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What was a package of legislative measures aimed at addressing the territorial and sectional disputes arising from the Mexican-American War, including the admission of California as a free state, the establishment of popular sovereignty in other territories, and the passage of a stricter Fugitive Slave Act?

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Compromise of 1850

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Is a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, which played a significant role in shaping public opinion against slavery in the United States by vividly depicting the harsh realities faced by enslaved individuals, contributing to the abolitionist movement.

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Uncle Tom's Cabin

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What U.S. law, passed in 1854, repealed the Missouri Compromise's restriction on slavery in the territories and introduced the principle of popular sovereignty?

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Kansas-Nebraska Act

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In the 1850s marked a response to the divisive issue of slavery, bringing together anti-slavery activists, Free Soilers, and former Whigs to form a political entity committed to preventing the expansion of slavery into new territories, ultimately playing a key role in the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

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Republican Party

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Was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that enslaved individuals, even if taken to free states or territories, were not entitled to freedom, further exacerbating tensions over slavery and contributing to the lead-up to the American Civil War.

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Dred Scott v. Sandford

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What were the debates in 1858 between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas during the Illinois senatorial campaign primarily focused on?

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The issue of slavery expansion.