APUSH ~ 5.3 ~ Mexican-American War Quiz (Heimler's History)

When did Texas declare independence?

• 1860

• 1836

• 1848

• 1854

Which president annexed Texas?

• James K. Polk

• Martin Van Buren

• William Henry Harrison

• John Tyler

Who led the U.S. Army to capture Mexico City?

• General Winfield Scott

• President Zachary Taylor

• General John Slidell

• President James K. Polk

What did the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo establish as the southern border of Texas?

• Nueces River

• Rio Grande River

• Colorado River

• Mississippi River

What was the purpose of the Gadsden Purchase?

• To gain more territory from Mexico

• To provide an easier path for the transcontinental railroad

• To expand the U.S. borders to the south

• To establish a military base

What did the Wilmot Proviso propose?

• That any lands gained from war with Mexico would not allow slavery

• That any lands gained from war with Mexico would allow slavery

• That any lands gained from war with Mexico would be sold to European countries

• That any lands gained from war with Mexico would be given to Mexico

What were the civil rights implications for non-American inhabitants in the Mexican Cession territories?

• Both groups faced voter discrimination and educational segregation

• Both groups were given equal rights

• Mexican citizens were NOT granted U.S. citizenship

• Natives were granted U.S. citizenship

What did the debates on the Wilmot Proviso directly lead to?

• The War of 1812

• The Civil War

• The Mexican-American War

• The American Revolution

What was the main cause of the outbreak of war in Texas?

• Failed negotiations

• Clashes between American and Mexican troops

• American troops stationed at the Rio Grande

• The deaths of 11 American troops

“It was not automatically apparent how any of the filibustering targets of the post-1848 period could ‘fit’ into an American republic, or even into an American empire. . . . While it seemed only logical to some to simply take all of Mexico as booty [spoils] of the war, cut Mexico up, and turn it into new territories and states, most Americans rejected this idea. They did so because central Mexico was densely populated. . . . Many Americans feared the result of the integration of Mexico’s people into the United States. Critics also doubted whether Americans could be happy in the alien landscape of central and southern Mexico.”

Amy Greenberg, historian, Manifest Manhood and the Antebellum American Empire, 2005

“American settlers had eclipsed the Mexicans in Texas and, with ample aid from southern Whites, had rebelled and won their independence. . . . A small band of Americans, many of them merchants, lived in Mexican California when war broke out in 1846. This dispersion of hardy migrants inspired observers to insist that pioneers and not politicians won the West. . . .

“Pioneers played a role in expansion, but the historical record points to politicians and propagandists as the primary agents of empire. Racial, economic, social, and political factors coalesced [combined] to make territorial and commercial expansion enticing to American leaders. . . .

“Denying any parallels between earlier empires and their own, expansionists insisted that democracy and dominion were complementary, not contradictory. Since leaders intended to transform [territorial] cessions into states and their inhabitants (at least Whites) into citizens, they scoffed at misgivings about governing a vast domain.”

Thomas Hietala, historian, Manifest Design: American Exceptionalism and Empire, 2003

Question

Which of the following arguments about the Mexican-American War do the excerpts best support?

• It resulted in the first efforts at western expansion.

• It generated debates over citizenship.

• It ended sectional tensions between the North and South.

• It contributed to the elimination of the domestic slave trade.

Answer explanation

As a result of the war, the United States added to its territorial holdings, raising questions about the status of enslaved people, Native Americans, and Mexicans in the newly acquired land.