APUSH Period Five (1844-1877) - Key Concepts Review

Sep 30, 2026

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Review worksheet for APUSH Period Five (1844-1877) Key Concept 5.1, focusing on U.S. expansion, foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, and migration into the United States. Explores economic and security motivations behind territorial acquisition, westward settlement, and overseas initiatives. Covers Manifest Destiny, popular enthusiasm, and debates over slavery and minority status following the Mexican-American War, including treaties, land loss, and political consequences. Also addresses how Civil War-era legislation accelerated western migration and development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Key Concept 5.1

Expansion, migration, and overseas initiatives

Motivations for settlement in the West

Manifest Destiny and annexation of western lands

Consequences of the Mexican-American War and territorial acquisition

Westward migration after the Civil War

APUSH PERIOD FIVE (1844-1877) KEY CONCEPTS REVIEW Use the space provided to write down specific details that could be used to discuss the key concepts. | Key Concept 5.1
The United States became more connected with the world, pursued an expansionist foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, and emerged as the destination for many migrants from other countries. | | | --- | --- | | I. Popular enthusiasm for U.S. expansion, bolstered by economic and security interests, resulted in the acquisition of new territories, substantial migration westward, and new overseas initiatives. | | | A) The desire for access to natural and mineral resources and the hope of many settlers for economic opportunities or religious refuge led to an increased migration to and settlement in the West. | * Texas drew cotton slavery / ranching
* Oregon Trail and “Oregon Fever” led to good farming lands in Oregon, California, and Pacific Northwest
* Missions up and down California coast abandoned by Spanish after Mexican Independence; Mexico set Native Americans free; New England merchants moved in to get access to cowhides for leather; intermarried with Mexican ranchers (Californios)
* Gold Rush led to 49ers heading in droves to California
* Mormons fled west from Nauvoo to settle Deseret / Utah / Salt Lake City in an attempt to leave the United States for their religious freedom and practice of polygamy (soon brought back into U.S. by Mexican-American War | | B) Advocates of annexing western lands argued that Manifest Destiny and the superiority of American institutions compelled the United States to expand its borders westward to the Pacific Ocean. | * Manifest Destiny coined by journalist John O’Sullivan in 1845 as Americans began moving to reach Pacific Coast via Oregon, California, Texas {theory was we were spreading liberty, freedom, and republicanism; reality was Manifest Destiny was driven by anti-Catholicism, nativism, hostility towards Native Americans and Mexicans, and Protestantism; Manifest Destiny drove the acquisition of the American Southwest from Mexico in the Mexican-American War)
* 54 40 or Fight! the rallying cry for 1844 election [which turned out to be a complete lie – Polk compromised with British in order to go to war with Mexico; southern aims thus trumped northern aims) | | C) The U.S. added large territories in the West through victory in the Mexican– American War and diplomatic negotiations, raising questions about the status of slavery, American Indians, and Mexicans in the newly acquired lands. | * Alamo and following battles led to Texas annexation by U.S.(after Texas was briefly independent – Jackson turned down their initial request for annexation out of fear over slavery causing more sectional conflict; Tyler, Clay, Van Buren, and Polk turned it into a major issue in 1844 election, when Tyler and Calhoun pushed through the annexation before election day)
* Polk set out to start a war with Mexico, with the primary goal of attaining as much territory as possible (he wrote a request for a declaration of war saying the US had been attacked months before we were “attacked”); he sent diplomat John Slidell to try and buy the territory first, but he also sent John C. Fremont to California with an army, told Oliver Larkin in California to prepare for independence and annexation, sent the Navy around South America to Monterey Bay, and Zachary Taylor into Texas; Mexico refused to sell, so Polk ordered Taylor to set up camp in disputed territory along Texas-Mexican border, where a Mexican army was on the other side of the Rio Grande; violence broke out, | | C) cont. | so Polk pulled out the letter he wrote months before and sent it to Congress; Lincoln questioned it (and for his troubles, was notre-elected to Congress; Conscience Whigs (like Lincoln and Thoreau) deeply opposed to war as an expansion of slavery
* Taylor won quickly, as did Polk’s other military commanders; all American Southwest rapidly;

FAQs

What factors drove popular enthusiasm for U.S. expansion in the West during Period Five?

Economic and security interests supported expansion, leading to new territories, major westward migration, and overseas initiatives.

How did Manifest Destiny shape U.S. westward expansion?

Advocates argued Manifest Destiny and the supposed superiority of American institutions required expansion to the Pacific, with claims that liberty spread across borders.

Which Civil War-era measures helped boost westward migration afterward?

Legislation such as the Homestead Act and the Transcontinental Railroad, along with banking reforms and protective tariffs, accelerated transportation and economic development in the West.

Sep 30, 2026

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