Term
|
Definition
| First REPRESENTATIVE form of government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A ½ of the federal legislation made up of two members from each state |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Rights to life, liberty and property. (John Locke) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the houses of Congress. The number of representatives is based on the population of each state. |
|
|
Term
| Articles of Confederation- |
|
Definition
| The first government of the US; replaced by the US Constitution Gave to much power to the States, no executive or judicial branch, no power to tax |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Period in European history characterized by a rejection of traditional social, religious, and political ideas in favor of education and reasoning. Locke, Montesquie, Voltaire |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The first 10 amendments to the Constitution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| each branch of the federal government has the power to limit the actions of the other branches. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Freedom of Religion Speech and Press (Engle v. Vitale, Tinker v. DesMoines) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Search and Seizure (Mapp v Ohio, TLO v. NJ, Veronia v. Acton) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Right to remain silent, double jeopardy (Miranda v arizona) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Right to an attorney (Miranda, Gideon v. Wainwirght, Escobedo v. Illinois) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Powers are RESERVED for the states and the people |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| rights guaranteed to citizens by the US Constitution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Powers given to the federal government that are specifically listed in the Constitution. Declare War, coin money, post Offices |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| self-government based on the will of the people. Used to decide whether a state should be free or slave in Kansas and Nebraska |
|
|
Term
| Elastic Clause/Necessary and Proper Clause |
|
Definition
| Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the US Constitution that allows Congress to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out their responsibilities. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| System of government in which power is divided between the state and federal governments |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a person opposed to the Constitution during the ratification debate of 1787 wanted STATES to have the power |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the group of officials who head governmental departments and advise the President (part of the Unwritten Constitution) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the policy of avoiding alliances and other types of involvement in the affairs of other nations. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| power of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of laws and actions. Established in Marbury v. Madison. |
|
|
Term
| Chief Justice John Marshall |
|
Definition
| expanded the power of the Supreme Court through cases like Marbury v. madison and McCulloch v. Maryland |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a belief held in the first half of the nineteenth century that the US had a mission to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific. (Sea to shinig Sea) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| everything a nations government says and does in world affairs |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Special interest groups formed to try to influence the decisions of Congress and the President (part of the Unwritten Constitution) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an assembly elected by the voters that meets every four years to formally elect the President (knw the election of 2000) |
|
|
Term
| Equal Protection- (14th amendment) |
|
Definition
| Principle that all people should be treated equal under the law |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the right to vote Women's Suffrage-19th amendment African Americans-15th amendment 18 year olds-26th amendment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| African Americans right to vote |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
16-income tax 17 direct election of Senators 18-Prohibition 19-women's suffrage |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a person seeking the legal end of slavery.(Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown) |
|
|
Term
| Ways the South took away African American's rights after the Civil war |
|
Definition
| Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, Poll tax, literacy test |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 1862 law that offered 160 acres of western land to settlers if they farmed the land for 5 years. Encouraged ppl to move west |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| idea that individual states had the right to limit the power of the federal government (one of the causes of the Civil War) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Abraham Lincoln won and the South seceeded from the Union |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Supreme Court case where African Americans were declared property. SC ruled gov't can't take people's property away (5th amendment) so slavery was fine. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Events on the Road to Civil War |
|
Definition
| Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott, Missouri Compromise |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Doubled the size of the US, gained access to the Mississippi River. Purchased by Thomas Jefferson from France for 3 cents an acre |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This is our half of the world stay out! Western Hemisphere including Latin America was closed to Europe. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the indirect causes of the Civil war. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott Convention for Women's rights |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Workers organized as a group to seek higher wages,improve working conditions and obtain other benefits |
|
|
Term
| Samuel Gompers, Terence Powderly, Eugene Debs |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Government stays out of business |
|
|
Term
| Pros and Cons of Laissez Faire |
|
Definition
Pros Businesses can get rich, benefits country Cons, bad for workers and consumers (social darwinism) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| this outlawed trusts or made them illegal, but it was written too vaguely to make an impact |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Enforced Sherman Anti Trust Act, declared monopolies illegal |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Journalists who report on political or business corruption (dig up the dirt) Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, Jacob Riis |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| wrote The Jungle which led to Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| wrote How the Other 1/2 Lives, led to better conditions in tenement houses |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Reform movement that sought government solutions to the problems of industrialization |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| immigrants gradually blend into a single American nation, American culture is superior |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| belief that people born in their country should be the only ones who reside there |
|
|
Term
Initiative Referendum Recall |
|
Definition
| Gave voters more power and more say |
|
|
Term
| Problems farmers faced during Industrialization |
|
Definition
Machinery-produced more made lss money Railroads-charged more gave rebates to the rich Deflation-everything was worth less $ |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political Party organized by farmers to fix the problems caused by Industrialization. |
|
|
Term
| Unlimited Coinage of Silver |
|
Definition
| Something the farmers aka the Populists wanted to cause inflation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 1800-1860 era of immigration. England, Germany, Ireland. easily able to assimilate (blend in) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 1860-1920 era of immigration from Souther and Eastern Europe and Asia. Didn't blend, faced heavy discrimination |
|
|
Term
| Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemens Agreement, Quota Acts |
|
Definition
| Laws that limited immigration |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| exaggerated news stories designed to sell papers. one of the main causes of the Spanish American War. "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| addition to the Monroe Doctrine, allows the US to intervene in Latin America, makes us a world police power. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Foreign policy in which stronger countries take over other countries. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Teddy Roosevelt's Domestic Policy everyone gets equal access to government, everyone gets treated fairly. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| conrtols the nations money supply, sets interest rates |
|
|
Term
| What is the traditional role of third parties in history |
|
Definition
| to bring up ideas and issues the other 2 political parties (Democrats and Republicans) are ignoring |
|
|
Term
| Why did we fight the Spanish American War |
|
Definition
| Sinking of the Maine, DeLome Letter,Money in Cuba, Yellow journalism |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| President Wilson's proposal in 1918 for a postwar European peace |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Rejected by Senate after WWI because they didn't want to join the League of Nations Wilson proposed. Wanted to remain isolated/neutral |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The period 1920-1933 when the making and sale of liquor was illegal in the United States 18th amendment repealed(taken away) by the 21st amendment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Hoover’s belief that individuals and communities should take care of themselves rather than relying on the federal government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| thousands of unemployed WWII veterans who marched to Washington DC demanding early payment of their bonuses. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| FDR’s 1937 plan to add justices to the Supreme Court so his new deal programs would not be declared unconstitutional. Not approved by the Senate because it would have upset the system of Checks and Balances |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| secret American program during WWII to develop an atomic bomb |
|
|
Term
| Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) |
|
Definition
| set a minimum wage (originally 25 cents an hour) and maximum work week. Banned child labor in interstate commerce. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan for fighting the problems cause by the Great Depression |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A call up of military forces, usually in preparation for a war |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the easing of tensions between nations Nixon's foreign policy during the Cold War to deal with the Societ Union |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
post-WWII trials in which German government and military figures were tried for crimes committed during the war. First time ppl had been held accountable for crimes committed during war |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| authorized billions of dollars to pay for Veterans benefits such as college education, medical treatment, unemployment insurance and home and business loans |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| international peace keeping organization organized in 1945 to deal with world issues, resolve conflict in a military manner if necessary. Headquarted in NY City. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| term used to describe periods in the 1920s and 1950s when American fear and suspicion of communism was at its height. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the state of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union after WWII. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The US policy after WWII of trying to keep the Soviet Union from expanding its area of influence and dominance (holding communism in a container) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the idea, prevalent during the Vietnam War, that if one Asian nation became communist, neighboring nations would as well. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| rapid growth in population of the United States between 1945 and 1964. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Supreme Court Case. 1st amendments Court decided against Schenck, said rights can be limited in times of war. "You can't yell fire in a crowded theater" |
|
|
Term
| Cash and Carry/Lend Lease Act |
|
Definition
| Both acts in the beginning of WWII. Led to increased US involvement on the side of the Allies |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Two Italian immigrants, executed with little proof. Showed the distrust of immigrants during the 1920's |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| US would "contain" communism and support anyone who asked for help to defeat communism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| If Indians gave up their culture, the US would give them land |
|
|
Term
| Social Security Act - 1935 |
|
Definition
| Part of the New Deal Program. the government takes money out of your check towards a security system for the elderly. everyone gets a portion when they reach a certain age |
|
|
Term
| Americans With Disabilities Act - 1990 |
|
Definition
| Handicapped entries and exits must be on every public building, people who are disabled can't be barred from a job |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Congress had given President all their power to declare war with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution now Congress took their power back |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Gov't officials registered black voters in the South and voter registration increased by 50% |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Af. Am. were still being denied voting rights and were still segregated Jim Crow laws were declared illegal. Segregation was outlawed everywhere |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 1920's time period of increased art and literature for African Americans (Langston Hughes famous writer) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Lyndon Johnson's Domestice Policy a plan to help the poor, minorities, and the disadvantaged."declare War on Poverty" |
|
|
Term
| What should I know about Richard Nixon's (Republican) Presidency? (1969-74) |
|
Definition
Nixon exercised détente diplomacy (easing of tensions) during the Cold War.
2. He pulled out of Vietnam in 1973
3. Related to "ping pong diplomacy," (exchange of ping pong players) Nixon visited Communist China and Mao Zedong. Some believe this was the beginning of China's industrial boom of today.
5. Congress passed the War Powers Act, stating that the President can not use extensive overseas force (for more than 60 days) without consent of Congress |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In the 1972 Presidential Election Campaign, there was a break-in at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. Nixon claimed he knew nothing about it, but taped conversations proved otherwise. After VP Spiro Agnew resigned, Nixon would do the same in 1974 to avoid impeachment. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Proposed in 1923, this amendment that ensured equal rights for women under the law, passed both the House and Senate in 1972. The states never ratified it, and it expired in 1982. Betty Friedan - Feminist who wrote The Feminine Mystique supported the feminist movement, and equal rights.
Phyllis Schlafly - Opposed to modern feminism. She was outspoken against the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment.
So ... Betty wanted women to be FREE (Friedan), Phyllis wanted to give them the Shaft (Schlafly). |
|
|
Term
| Jimmy Carter's Presidency |
|
Definition
Carter battled stagflation ... high inflation, and high unemployment.
He negotiated the Camp David Accords of 1977, whereby Egypt would recognize Israel as a nation, and Israel would return the Sinai Peninsula.
There was an energy crisis in the 1970s, and rationing of gas took place. High energy prices only added to the problems in the economy |
|
|
Term
| Ronald Reagan's presidency |
|
Definition
1. He increased spending on the military with programs like Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars.
2. In his economic policy of Reaganomics, he supported big business so that profits would "Trickle Down" to the people. Reagan supported cutting taxes on the wealthy, while cutting social programs. |
|
|
Term
| George Bush's (Republican) Presidency (1989-1993) |
|
Definition
Operation Desert Storm was an undeclared war on Iraq. American forces liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein.
There was a deep economic recession that hurt his re-election campaign |
|
|
Term
| Bill Clinton's (Democratic) Presidency (1993-2001) |
|
Definition
1. He favored health-care reform
2. The economy recovered into prosperity.
3. He sent NATO troops into Bosnia to end ethnic cleansing (genocide).
4. Clinton was impeached by the House (but not convicted by the Senate) for obstruction of justice. He lied about doing something naughty in the White House (perjury) |
|
|
Term
| George W. Bush's (Republican) Presidency (2001-2009) |
|
Definition
1. He lost the popular vote in 2000, but won the electoral vote in a disputed election where the Democrats contended that not every vote was counted properly.
2. After 9/11/01, he led the military efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq in the War on Terrorism.
3. The War on Terrorism led to the creation of The Department of Homeland Security.
4. He signed the Patriot Act, which gave law enforcement more power to search , gather information, deport, or detain suspected terrorists. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Homer Plessy was part African American, but sat in a White's only railroad car. He was challenging the Separate Car Act of Louisiana which segregated Blacks from Whites on trains. The Supreme Court decided that "separate but equal" was Constitutional. "Separate but Equal" meant that Blacks and Whites could be separate, so long as their facilities were the same. So, in the Jim Crow South, that meant separate bathrooms, schools, drinking fountains, and restaurants. That was the way it was until 1954. |
|
|
Term
| Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 |
|
Definition
A landmark case for ending segregation in schools. A 9-0 decision of the Earl Warren Court declared that "separate but equal" was inherently unequal. Thurgood Marshall argued on behalf of Linda Brown, used "the dolls" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| After the Brown decision, controversy rocked Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The nation's media focused on the violence here, when 9 students attempted to go to school and were met by mobs of protestors. Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas Guard to support segregation , but President Eisenhower had the final say as Commander in Chief of the Army, and enforcer of laws. In the end, federal troops enforced integration. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Addams worked at Hull House. Founded in 1889, Hull House instructed English, and counseled newcomers on how to cope with the American big city life. Helping the poor was part of the Social Gospel movement. |
|
|
Term
| Results of the Spanish American War |
|
Definition
1. US gets Puerto Rico.
2. US purchases the Philippines 3. US gets Guam.
4. Cuba is independent.
Secretary of State John Hay called this, "a splendid little war."
5. Not directly related to the war, but ... as a battle to secure the Philippines broke out, the US annexed Hawaii making businessmen, like pineapple mogul Sanford Dole, very happy. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A controversial trial in 1925 where Tennessee teacher John Scopes was put on the stand for teaching about Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Also known as the Monkey trial. Showed division between Science and Religion |
|
|
Term
| Causes of the Great Depression |
|
Definition
Speculation of stocks. Because stocks could be purchased on margin (10% down with a promise to pay back 90%), they were being bought left and right. Stock prices boomed quickly. Buying on credit. Buying on credit loans, similar to modern day layaway, became prevalent in the 20s to help people purchase all of the new products that consumerism had to offer. Refrigerators, irons, washing machines, vacuum cleaners...everyone wanted them, but not everyone had enough money to make a purchase. Buying on credit was the solution, but not everyone paid off their debts.
Bank failures. Banks don’t hold all of your money. They loan it out or invest it. Panic led to bank runs, where people withdrew all of their cash before a failure could occur. This only accelerated bank failures. When banks failed, people lost their entire fortunes (no bank insurance existed until 1933). When people did lose their money, they certainly couldn’t pay back their stock margin or credit balances.
Stock market crash. All of the above led to stocks crashing on Black Thursday, and then again on Black Tuesday in October (24th and 29th) of 1929.
Worldwide depression |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the three R's of the New Deal. Relief meant to give a quick fix to what was wrong with the economy, and help people get back on their feet. Recover and Reform meant to legislate and make sure that the depression doesn't come back. |
|
|
Term
| Japanese Americans during WWII |
|
Definition
Executive Order 9066 permitted the US Government to transform places around the country into military zones. Remember, the President can suspend habeas corpus in a time of war.
2. About 120,000 Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were relocated to internment camps. These citizens wound up losing their homes and wages. The camps were in the middle of nowhere...led to Korematsu v. US |
|
|
Term
| Korematsu v. United States |
|
Definition
| Believing relocation was unconstitutional, Fred Korematsu refused to report to an internment camp. His criminal case went to the Supreme Court. The Court did not agree with him. The 1944 Korematsu decision stated that the 14th Amendment, though guaranteeing equality in regular instances, could be denied in a time of war. Thus, Executive Order 9066 was constitutional. The Federal Government eventually acknowledged the regret of internment, and gave all survivors $20,000 in 1988. Korematu's record was wiped clean. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Money Please-Secretary of State George Marshall's plan to give economic aid to countries who were not Communist. The idea was to make countries stronger, and less susceptible to Communist takeovers. About $12.5 Billion was given to countries all over Europe. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Think of these two as the gangs of the Cold War. NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was founded in 1949 and supported democracy. The Warsaw Pact was founded in 1955, by what was referred to more commonly as the Communist Bloc. |
|
|
Term
| Bay of Pigs Invasion, April 17, 1961 |
|
Definition
| Fidel Castro, a Communist, took over Cuba. Having a Communist country just 90 miles from the US was a scary thought to most Americans. Kennedy wanted to get rid of any Communist influence. The US supported a rebellion led by Cuban exiles. They were defeated at the Bay of Pigs. Not only did the US sponsor the failed rebellion, but the event strengthened the legitimacy of Castro. |
|
|
Term
| Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962 |
|
Definition
The closest the US and Soviet Union ever came to nuclear war were these two weeks in October. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban and Soviet relations were quite good. So good, in fact, that the Soviets moved enough missiles to Cuba to blow up the United States. When US intelligence learned of this, Kennedy took it as a threat of war. His solution was:
1. Blockade (quarantine) Cuba by surrounding it with US naval ships. The goal was to prevent the delivery of Soviet weapons.
2. Threaten force if Khrushchev did not remove the missiles.
Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed, as Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles, so long as the US would not invade Cuba, and would take missiles of their own out of Turkey. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Containment First War fought by the United Nations |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Richard Nixon's plan to gradually remove troops from Vietnam. The US pulled out in 1973. There were 47,355 combat deaths during the duration of the war. Plus, POW-MIA (Prisoners of War, Missing in Action). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| REPRESENTATION We will have a bicameral (2 house) legislature where the House of Representatives is based on population, and the Senate has equal representation (2 Senators per state). |
|
|
Term
| Powers of the Three Branches |
|
Definition
1. Legislative Branch - Makes laws, approves Presidential appointments, overrides vetoes, declares war, regulates interstate trade, makes impeachments.
2. Executive Branch - Commander-in-Chief of the military, can veto laws (strike them down), pardon people to erase their federal crimes, make treaties, appoint government officials, recommend laws for Congress, and deliver the State of the Union Address.
3. Judicial Branch - Decides if legislation is in line with the US Constitution. Can settle the disputes of state vs. state, and foreign vs. domestic. They can overturn legislation, as well as high state court decisions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This term is used to describe things that happen in United States government procedure, that’s not directly in the Constitution. Examples include political parties, the President’s cabinet, judicial review, and nominating conventions. |
|
|
Term
| Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969 |
|
Definition
| A student wanted to protest the Vietnam War, so he and some friends wore a black armband. They were suspended. The Supreme Court ruled that clothing is an extension of free speech (First Amendment), and the students should not have been suspended |
|
|
Term
| T.L.O v. New Jersey, 1985 |
|
Definition
| T.L.O. was a girl smoking in the girls room. The principal came in and confiscated her pocketbook which had rolling-papers for drugs and a list of contacts to sell them to. She was suspended. The New Jersey court said that the search was illegal. However, the Supreme Court ruled that in schools, search rights could be limited to protect the student body. This limited Fourth Amendment rights. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Dollree Mapp’s house was searched in Ohio, as the police were looking for a fugitive. Instead, they found indecent pornographic material that violated the law. The police seized the evidence and Mapp was convicted. The Supreme Court heard Mapp’s appeal, and ruled that the evidence was not admissible in court. This was because the protections of the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable searches and seizures), applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 1966 - Ernesto Miranda admitted to charges of rape and kidnapping after a lengthy interrogation. Because he did not know that he had a right to remain silent, the Supreme Court ruled that Miranda did not receive fair due process. Since his Fifth Amendment rights were violated, he had to be retried. The controversy of the Warren Court’s decision has changed the way police conduct arrests. Now, a priority is the reading of “Miranda rights” upon arrest. Miranda was later retried and convicted |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| First use of judicial review |
|
|
Term
| Schechter Poultry Corp. v. US - |
|
Definition
| Declared the NIRA unconstitutional in the New Deal |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "To the victor goes the spoils!" Back in the day, those who helped a President's campaign expected to receive a nice cushy job in government. Jackson was notorious for such appointments. |
|
|
Term
| Indian Removal Act of 1830 |
|
Definition
| Legislation that ordered Native Americans to move from the east, to west of the Mississippi River. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In the winter of 1837-38, approximately 15,000 Cherokees were uprooted from Georgia. On the western voyage, thousands died from starvation and cold temperatures |
|
|
Term
| Compromise of 1820 / Missouri Compromise |
|
Definition
The goal is to keep a balance of slave and free states.
1. Maine is a free state.
2. Missouri becomes a slave state, but:
3. No slavery is allowed north of 36 degrees 30' line in the Louisiana Territory. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. The US and President Polk are itching for a fight. They want territory, and believe that the border between Mexico and the US is the Rio Grande ... Mexico believes the border to be the Nueces River.
2. Polk and Congress believe that the Mexican Army shed American blood on American soil, so we fight a war and win. 3. The US gets California and a lot of western territory after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified (1846).
4. This creates an imbalance of slave to free states |
|
|