CSS History of USA Expansion and the Constitutional Framework Syllabus

Expansion and the Constitutional Framework syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Expansion and the Constitutional Framework in CSS History of USA, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Expansion of USA: From 13 to 50 States (1820-1949)

   3 topics

   • Manifest Destiny
   • Acquisition of Territories
   • Admission of New States
2. 2

   Constitution of the USA: Salient Features

   3 topics

   • Drafting and Ratification
   • Core Principles
   • Bill of Rights and Amendments
3. 3

   Separation of Powers: Checks and Balances

   2 topics

   • The Three Branches
   • System of Checks and Balances
4. 4

   The US Congress: Role and Functions

   2 topics

   • Structure of Congress
   • Powers and Functions
5. 5

   US Presidential Election

   2 topics

   • Electoral Process
   • Campaigns and Voting

Expansion and the Constitutional Framework flashcards for CSS History of USA

18 of 51 cards from the Expansion and the Constitutional Framework deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the doctrine of Manifest Destiny?

   The 19th-century belief that the United States was divinely ordained and destined to expand its territory and democratic institutions across the entire North American continent.

2. Who coined the term 'Manifest Destiny' and in what year?

   Journalist John L. O'Sullivan, in 1845, in a magazine article advocating the annexation of Texas.

3. Name three core ideas or justifications underlying Manifest Destiny.

   (1) The special virtue/exceptionalism of the American people and institutions, (2) a mission to spread democracy and redeem/remake the West, and (3) an irresistible divine destiny to accomplish this expansion.

4. The Louisiana Purchase (1803): from whom, for how much, and how much did it expand the U.S.?

   Purchased from France (Napoleon) for $15 million; it roughly doubled the size of the United States, adding about 828,000 square miles.

5. Which president oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, and what constitutional dilemma did it pose for him?

   Thomas Jefferson; a strict constructionist, he worried the Constitution did not explicitly authorize buying foreign territory, but he proceeded anyway under the treaty power.

6. How did the U.S. acquire Florida, and through which treaty?

   From Spain via the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 (ratified 1821); the U.S. assumed up to $5 million in claims against Spain and gave up claims to Texas (temporarily).

7. How and when was Texas annexed by the United States?

   Texas, an independent republic since 1836, was annexed in 1845 by a joint resolution of Congress, becoming the 28th state; this helped trigger the Mexican-American War.

8. What territory did the U.S. gain from the Mexican Cession, and via which treaty?

   The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) ended the Mexican-American War; the U.S. gained California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming for $15 million.

9. How was the Oregon Territory acquired?

   Through the Oregon Treaty of 1846 with Britain, which set the boundary at the 49th parallel and resolved the 'Fifty-Four Forty or Fight' dispute.

10. What was the Gadsden Purchase (1853)?

    The U.S. bought a strip of land in present-day southern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico for $10 million, mainly to secure a southern transcontinental railroad route.

11. How and when did the U.S. acquire Alaska?

    Purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, negotiated by Secretary of State William Seward (derided at the time as 'Seward's Folly').

12. How did Hawaii become a U.S. territory?

    American settlers overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy (Queen Liliuokalani) in 1893; the U.S. formally annexed Hawaii in 1898 during the Spanish-American War era.

13. What constitutional clause governs the admission of new states to the Union?

    Article IV, Section 3 (the Admissions Clause), which grants Congress the power to admit new states; no new state may be formed within another state without that state's consent.

14. What was the typical process by which a territory became a state in the 19th century?

    A territory reached a required population, drafted a state constitution, applied to Congress, and Congress passed an enabling/admission act; the president then signed it into law.

15. What was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and its significance for statehood?

    It established the procedure for admitting new states from the Northwest Territory on an equal footing with original states and prohibited slavery there, creating a model for orderly westward expansion.

16. What did the Missouri Compromise of 1820 establish regarding new states?

    It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to keep balance, and banned slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes.

17. How many states were admitted under the original Constitution, and which were the first and last of the 50?

    There were 13 original states; 37 more were admitted. Delaware was first to ratify (1787); Hawaii was the 50th state, admitted in 1959 (Alaska was 49th, also 1959).

18. When and where was the Constitutional Convention held, and what was its original stated purpose?

    Philadelphia, summer of 1787; it was convened ostensibly to revise the Articles of Confederation but instead drafted an entirely new Constitution.

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