Chapter 17
“Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841-1848”
Study Guide

1.  Explain the spirit of “manifest destiny” that inspired American

     expansionism in the 1840s.
2.  Indicate how American anti-British feeling led to various conflicts over debts, Maine,
     the Canadian rebellions, Texas, and Oregon.

3.  Explain why the movement to annex Texas gained new momentum and why

     the issue aroused such controversy.
4.  Indicate how the issues of Oregon and Texas became central in the election of 1844
     and why Polk’s victory was seen as a mandate for manifest destiny.
5.  Describe how the issues of California and the Texas boundary created conflict and
     war with Mexico.
6.  Describe how the American victory in the Mexican War led to the large territorial
     acquisition of the whole Southwest.
7.  Explain the consequences of the Mexican War, especially its effect on the slavery
     question.



Identification:

Tippecanoe

“Conscience Whigs”

54° 40’

Oregon Trail

Manifest Destiny

Liberty party

49° (49th parallel)

Nueces River

spot resolutions

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Wilmot Proviso

More Identification:  John Tyler, Henry Clay, Aroostook War, Daniel Webster,
James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott, Santa Anna, Nicholas Trist, David Wilmot