Questions for Chapter 17

These are due on your class’s long day– Wednesday for 5th period and Thursday for 4th and 6th.

1. How did Tyler become “the accidental president?” What effects did his ascension to the presidency have?

2. Describe the main policies of the Whig party.  Why was the Whig party frustrated in its attempts to pass much of its platform?

3. Review previous chapters to determine why Clay was called “the Great Compromiser.”  Why did he and his supporters have to continue in this trend?

4. Outline the main reasons for continued American antipathy for Britain.

5. What was the Aroostook War?

6. Describe the controversy over the Maine boundary and the terms of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.

7. Why did Britain want Texas to remain independent?

8. Why did the US refrain from immediately annexing Texas in 1836?  What caused the US to finally seal the deal nine years later?

9. Compare the painting on p. 376 with the map on p. 325.  Was St. Louis really the “Gateway to the West?”

10. What were the main issues of the election of 1844?

11. What is a “dark horse” candidate?

12. Why did the Whigs condemn Clay as a “corrupt bargainer?”

13. How was Clay like George W. Bush?

14.  Why did the Walker Tariff increase imports?

15. What caused Britain to seek to settle the Oregon question? What do you think the phrase “54’40 or Fight!” meant?

16. Why did the US get into a war with Mexico?  Was war necessary? Justify your answer.

17. What was the Bear Flag Republic? How did it come into existence, and why was it called that?

18. Who was “Old Rough and Ready?” Who was the “Hero of Buena Vista?” Who was “Old Fuss and Feathers?”

19. What were the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?  What were the consequences of this treaty?

20. Who were the “Mexican Whigs” or “Conscience Whigs?”  Why were they called this?

21. Why did the US pay for the land in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo when they had already won the war?

22. Why does the author call the Mexican War a“blood-splattered schoolroom for the Civil War?”

23. What was the Wilmot amendment (aka Wilmot proviso)?

24. Explain the term “Santa Anna’s revenge.”