Chapter 12 Study Guide Answers

Define:

Boomtown – town that formed quickly

Rancheros – Mexican ranch owners

Californios – Mexicans living in California

Ranchos – large Mexican land properties

Tejanos – Mexicans who claimed Texas as their home

Vigilantes – people who took the law into their own hands

Rendezvous – annual meeting of mountain men to trade and sell furs

Identify:

Manifest Destiny – idea that it was America's duty to spread from Atlantic to Pacific

Jim Beckworth – famous African American mountain man

Sam Houston – commander of the Texas forces

Jedidiah Smith – mountain man that helped find the South Pass

Joseph Smith – founder of the Morman faith

John C. Fremont – helped create the Bear Flag Republic

Levi Strauss – Invented blue jeans during the California gold rush

Mountain men – trapper/traders who became guides for pioneers

Stephen F. Austin – son of Moses Austin who received the first land grant from Spain in 1821

Davy Crockett – famous frontiersman who died at the Alamo

Deseret – founded by the Mormans – became Salt Lake City

Bringham Young – lead Morman followers from Illinois to Great Salt Lake

James K. Polk – president from 1845-1849, during Mexican War

  1. Which countries claimed the Oregon Country in the early 1800's? Great Britain, U.S., Russia, and Spain
  2. What drew many people to the Oregon Country? Cheap, fertile land
  3. What was meant by “54°, 40’ or Fight”? 1844 Democratic party campaign slogan that referred to the line of Latitude Democrats wanted for the boarder of Oregon Territory
  1. Who were the Old Three Hundred? First group of American settlers in Texas (led by Stephen Austin)
  1. Who was opposed to the war with Mexico? Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas
  2. Describe the importance of these battles:

a. Gonzales – Texans considered it to be first battle in fight for independence

b. Alamo – Santa Anna attacked after 12 day siege and killed all defenders

c. Goliad – all Texas defenders were killed after they surrendered

d. San Jacinto – final battle – Santa Anna captured and forced to sign peace treaty

  1. What river did the U.S. claim as the border? Rio Grand
  2. What was the significance of the Gadsden Purchase? Added land between Arizona and New Mexico giving U.S. its present day boarders.
  3. Why were merchants the most successful group of emigrants to California? They made the most profit by charging high prices for goods

Essay

How did the idea of Manifest Destiny affect the United States’ involvement in California, Oregon and Texas? Describe for EACH state

California – gold and land

Oregon – cheap, fertile land

Texas – independence from Mexico

** All had common thread of more Americans moving into the region and wanting to become part of the U.S.