| A | B |
|---|
| John Tyler | Vice prsident of Harrison. Took over when Harrison died and didn't follow Clay and Webster's advice and orders; Was a president without a party; Didn't have much support; Held both Deomocrat and Whig views on issues; Signed the Texas annexation right before leaving office |
| John Slidell | Sent to Mexico as minister to propose the selling of California; He was instructed by Polk to buy at a maximum of 25 million; Mexicans were too proud and wouldn't even receive him. This event helped bring about the Mexican War |
| Winfield Scott | General of the War of 1812 and Mexican War; Captured Mexico City despite his lack of troops, supplies, and experienced troops; Considered America's greatest general from 1783 to 1861 |
| Lord Ashburton | British ambassador that helped settle the Maine boundary issue with Secreatary of State Webster; was married to a wealthy American woman |
| Zachary Taylor | Led battles in Mexican War; Called the "Hero of Buena Vista;" battled straight through going across the Rio Grande river |
| Nicholas P. Trist | Handled the negotiations after the battling of the Mexican War; Got the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo agreed upon; Polk at one pint thought he was doing a bad job and ordered Trist back but he said no and answered with a 65 page letter explaining why. |
| James K. Polk | President after Tyler; Solved the tariff, Oregon, California, and independent treasury issues. He solved the tariff issue with the Tariff of 1842; Oregon with the Webster'Ashburton Treaty; California with the Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo; Soved the bank issue in 1846 with the pass of an indepedent treasury, fiscal bank |
| Stephen W. Kearny | Led a detachment of troops across the Santa Fe Trail to California where he then took it from Fremont and the other revolutionaries; Known for his battle at Santa Fe |
| David Wilmot | Provised the Wilmot Proviso that finally passed and was endorsed by all legislatures but one state; symbolized the slavery issue. |
| Robert Gray | American Captain tha tnamed the Columbus River in Oregon after his ship; Stayed in Oregon through the battle over it between British and Americans |
| John C. Freemont | Explorer that just "happened" to be in California with several dozen well armed men; led the Bear Flag revolt in 1846 |
| Joint resolution | Used to annex Texas; passes without the two-thirds vote required in both houses for treaties; requires only a simple majority of both houses of Congress |
| Manifest Destiny | Belief that God wanted us to explore and expand the American beliefs and concepts across the continent, and eventually across the world. |
| Fiscal Bank | Independent reasury was set up again in 1846 thanks to the efforts of Polk. |
| Webster-Ashburton Treaty | Solved the boundary problem in Maine; Gave American 7,000 of the 12,000 square miles that was disputed over. |
| "Spot" resolutions | Resolutions proposed by Abraham Lincoln to find out the exact spot that American blood was shed in Mexico, resulting from concerns that Americans had provoked the Mexicans into war. |
| Tariff of 1842 | Lowered tariffs from 32 to about 25 percent |
| "Conscience" Whigs | Opposed the invading of Mexico and the annexation of Texas on moral and ehtical grounds |
| Bear Flag Revolt | Led by Fremont; Overthrew Mexican rule in California in 1846; Hoisted a California Bear Flag after winning. |
| Caroline | Ship sending supplies to Canadian insurgents from America; Sunk by British forces off the coast of New York, enraging Americans. |
| Hudson's Bay Company | Explored much of the Oregon area and "furred" it out. |
| Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo | Ended the Mexican War. Gave America the right to much of Mexico; Americans paid the Mexicans 18,250,000 dollars for the land. Many said this was America's guilty conscience that made them pay Mexico. |
| Creole | American slaves rebelled and escpaed using this ship. They were given asylum in the Bahamas. |
| Liberty party | Abolitionist party of the 1840s |
| "All of Mexico" | What many Americans screamed after we had taken much of Mexico. |
| Aroostook War | War between British and American lumberjacks and frontiersmen in Maine; Was settled with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty; It gave America a majority of the 12,000 square miles; approx. 7,000 sq. miles total. |
| Walker Tariff | Considerably lower tariff. Northern industries fought against it saying that American manufacturing would be ruined. Same as the Tariff of 1842. Was designed by Robert J. Walker, Treasurer of President Polk |
| Wilmot Proviso | An amendment that stipulated that there would never be any slavery in the territory taken from Mexico. This flared up the slavery issue and fueled the flames for the Civil War. It finally was passed and was endorsed by all legislatures but one state; symbolized the slavery issue. |
