“positive good”: In the South, George Fizhugh established the philosophy that slavery was "positive good." It was believed that slavery benefited slaves by providing them with food, shelter, and often Christian religion. Also, Fitzhugh argued that free laborers in northern factories were not treated any better than slaves.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850/ Northern response: Part of the Compromise of 1850; a law that made it a crime to help runaway slaves; allowed for the arrest of escaped slaves in areas where slavery was illegal and required their return to slaveholders. The Fugitive Slave Act further deepened tensions between the North and the South. Northern resistance to the Act, verging on nullification, brought renewed threats of secession from the South. This measure was one more example of how Southern slavery contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861. status of white yeoman farmers in the South: What does this even mean
Basis of African American society: Seriously what is this violence in Congress: (Guessing here) 1856 - Charles Sumner gave a two day speech on the Senate floor. He denounced the South for crimes against Kansas and singled out Senator Andrew Brooks of South Carolina for extra abuse. Brooks beat Sumner over the head with his cane, severely crippling him. Sumner was the first Republican martyr.
Manifest Destiny: This expression was popular in the 1840s. Many people believed that the U.S. was destined to secure territory from "sea to sea," from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This rationale drove the acquisition of territory.
Oregon Territory : For twenty years, the British and the United States agreed to jointly occupy this region. But in the mid-1840s this region became a political issue in the United States, with many expansionists willing to risk war to get all of the territory, including present-day British Columbia (54 40 or fight!). In 1846, Britain and the United States agreed to extend the 49th Parallel, forming the modern border between Canada and the United States. The settlers quickly applied for territorial status, which Congress granted in 1849. The territory was gradually split up, and in 1859, it—with its present borders—became the 33rd state.
Plains Indians/ dominant tribes: Sioux, Lakota, Cheyenne, Apache, Nez Perce, Blackfeet (Among others) Posed a serious threat to western settlers because, unlike the Eastern Indians from early colonial days, the Plains Indians possessed rifles and horses.
Wilmot Proviso: Dispute over whether any Mexican territory that America won during the Mexican War should be free or a slave territory. A representative named David Wilmot introduced an amendment stating that any territory acquired from Mexico would be free. This amendment passed the House twice, but failed to ever pass in Senate. The "Wilmot Proviso", as it became known as, became a symbol of how intense dispute over slavery was in the U.S.
End of the Second Party System: The Democratic Party was unable to maintain its alliance of southern and western farmers once slavery became the dominant political issue in America. The party therefore split into two factions: one representing proslavery Democrats in the South and another representing antislavery Democrats in the North. In 1860, the party ran two different candidates for the presidency, each representing a different part of the country. But the Whigs were unable to exploit this division. They, too, found themselves divided over slavery, with northern and southern Whigs increasingly struggling to establish common ground. Furthermore, following the deaths of Clay and Webster, the Whigs suffered from a lack of leadership. The beneficiary of this political void was the new Republican Party, founded in 1854. It ran its first candidate for president in 1856, John C. Fremont, and elected its first president, Abraham, in 1860.
James Gadsen: American diplomat, politician, and railroad promoter who