AP US History AMSCO Guided Notes
5.4: The Compromise of 1850
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP US History Guided Notes
AMSCO 5.4 - The Compromise of 1850
Learning Objectives
- Explain the similarities and differences in how regional attitudes affected federal policy in the period after the Mexican-American War.
I. Southern Expansion
1. Why were Southerners dissatisfied with the Missouri Compromise and the territorial gains from the Mexican War?
A. Manifest Destiny to the South
1. What territory did Southern expansionists most eagerly seek to acquire in the early 1850s and why?
1. Ostend Manifesto
1. What was the Ostend Manifesto and how did Congress respond to it?
2. What methods did Southern adventurers use to try to acquire Cuba, and what were the consequences?
2. Walker Expedition
1. What was William Walker's goal in Central America and what ultimately happened to his scheme?
3. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850)
1. What was the purpose of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and what did it prevent?
4. Gadsden Purchase
1. What was the Gadsden Purchase and why was this territory valuable despite being semidesert?
II. Conflict Over Status of Territories
1. Why did the Wilmot Proviso create such controversy and what would it have done to the balance between free and slave states?
III. Three Conflicting Positions on Slavery Expansion
A. Free-Soil Movement
1. What was the Free-Soil Party's position on slavery in the territories and what other policies did it support?
2. How did the Free-Soil position differ from the abolitionist position on slavery?
B. Southern Positions
1. What constitutional argument did Southern plantation owners make to justify expanding slavery westward?
2. What compromise position did some moderate Southerners propose regarding slavery expansion?
C. Popular Sovereignty
1. What was popular sovereignty and how did Lewis Cass propose it as a compromise solution?
IV. The Election of 1848
1. What positions did the three major parties take on slavery expansion in the 1848 presidential election?
2. How did the Free-Soil Party's performance affect the outcome of the 1848 election?
V. Compromises to Preserve the Union
1. Why did California's admission as a free state create a political crisis in the South?
2. What were the five main provisions of Henry Clay's compromise proposal?
3. How did the deaths of President Taylor and the election of Vice President Fillmore affect the passage of the compromise?
A. Passage and Impact
1. What were the immediate political consequences of the Compromise of 1850 for the North and South?
2. Which provisions of the Compromise of 1850 became sources of ongoing controversy?
Key Terms
Ostend Manifesto (1854)
Walker Expedition
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850)
Gadsden Purchase
free-soil movement
Free-Soil Party
barnburners
Lewis Cass
popular sovereignty
Zachary Taylor
Henry Clay
Compromise of 1850