US History I Practice milestone 4

Place the events in the correct chronological order. 1. 2. 3. • a. Following border disputes, Congress declared war on Mexico • b. The United States formally annexed Texas. • c. Thousands of people flocked to California in search of gold RATIONALE Sectional tensions over slavery increased as the nation expanded westward. This process began in earnest after Congress annexed Texas in 1845, and intensified after Congress declared war on Mexico in 1846. At the war's end, the U.S. acquired land from Mexico stretching from Texas to California. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the rapid influx of settlers prompted California to apply for statehood as a free state, which once again threatened to upset the sectional balance in Congress. CONCEPT The Dilemma of the West The Compromise of 1850 A House Divided: Crises of the 1850s 2 Consider the painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, completed by Emanuel Leutze in 1861, and how it represents core ideas behind manifest destiny. Choose the statement that does NOT reflect an element of manifest destiny. RATIONALE Manifest destiny, or the idea that white Americans had a calling and a duty to seize and settle in western North America, contained three elements at its core: a belief in White superiority, a belief that westward expansion would guarantee the survival of the United States by providing economic opportunities for American settlers, and the belief that western settlement was part of God's divine plan for the United States. CONCEPT Think About It: What Were Some Responses to Slavery? 3 Consider the sketch published in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper in 1867.