(1) Explain Calhoun’s theory of nullification and his defense of it. Why did Jackson oppose Calhoun’s theory of nullification? How was the nullification crisis of 1832 settled?

Nullification is a constitutional theory that gives an individual state the right to declare null and void any law passed by the United States Congress which the state deems unacceptable and unconstitutional. The nullification doctrine was John Calhoun's first line of defense for the protection of minority rights against the tyranny of the majority, particularly the rights of southern agricultural slave-owners against the rising power of northern capitalists. Nullification was a special instance of the older notion of "states' rights." He claimed that states have the right to refuse to enforce a federal law with which they do not concur. In South Carolina, however, the nullifiers threatened secession if the Tariff of 1828 was not withdrawn. President Andrew Jackson warned that he would use armed force to preserve the Union. President Andrew Jackson considered nullification to be treasonous during the Nullification Crisis, President Jackson said in a famous toast, "Our federal Union—it must and shall be preserved." In Vice President Calhoun's toast, he replied, "The Union; next to our liberty most dear!" The break between Jackson and Calhoun was complete, and, in 1832, Calhoun ran for the Senate rather than remain as Vice President. The Nullification crisis was settled through a compromise that would benefit both the North and South, but mostly the South. In an effort to reconstruct the tariff, the National Government withheld from improving the infrastructure. As fate would have it, the economy began producing more revenue, whether it was domestic or foreign, and the government would not reduce the price of public land, which added to the governmental revenue that could be used to pay off the national debt by 1833. Henry Clay found this to be an opportunity to raise the taxes more on the goods that needed the most protection, but lower the taxes on goods that didn’t require that much protection. This was not a very good deal for the South because they would still be paying high taxes on goods that were probably much needed. Obviously, the taxes are placed mainly on the goods that are bought more often. Therefore, the North, again, would be profiting. It was brought to Henry Clay’s attention that this would not be a very beneficial action because it could lead to a civil war.

(2) What was the concept of Manifest Destiny? Identify the major causes of the Mexican War and results of the war.

Nationalistic revivalist preacher’s added fuel to the fire by proclaiming that Americans were God’s chosen people and that it was their right and duty to spread democracy and Protestantism from sea to shining sea. Many also looked to nearby Canada and Mexico, and even as far away as South America. Whereas the Old World had been dominated by monarchy and aristocracy, Americans were determined that the whole of the New World would be free. The westward movement is one of several factors attributed to this war. Manifest Destiny was a concept which heavily influenced American policy in the 1800s. The idea was the driving force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West from the East, and it was heavily promoted in newspapers, posters while Manifest Destiny was not itself an official government policy, it led to the passage of legislation such as the Homestead Act, which encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. It also played an important role in American thought. The causes of the Mexican War included: Texan Annexation Mexico had warned it would regard annexation as an act of war. When it took place, Mexico did not declare war, but broke diplomatic relations. The Boundary Dispute regardless of its status the United States maintained that the southern border of Texas was formed by the Rio Grande, but Mexico argued that the traditional boundary was at the Nueces River farther north.
The California Question President Polk clearly wanted to expand the country to the Pacific Ocean by taking control of California and lands in the Southwest. The United States also offered up to $5 million for the province of New Mexico which included Nevada and Utah and parts of four other states and up to $25 million for California. Polk was anxious to acquire California because in mid-October 1845, he had been led to believe that Mexico had agreed to cede California to Britain as payment for debts. Monetary Claims against Mexico the United States had extracted a promise from the Mexican government to pay $3 million to cover the claims of American citizens who had lost property during turmoil and revolution. Mexico defaulted on those payments and the American creditors pressed their government for action.

(3) Evaluate the Dred Scott decision and how did Chief Justice Taney view Africans Americans and slavery in the new territories?

Dred Scott was the name of an African-American slave. He was taken by his master, an surgeon in the U.S. Army, from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois and then to the free territory of Wisconsin. Scott was helped by Abolitionist lawyers to sue his master’s widow for his freedom in court, claiming he should be free since he had lived on free soil for a long time. As a non-citizen, the court stated, Scott had no rights and could not sue in a Federal Court and must remain a slave. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. The court's ruling affected the status of every enslaved and free African-American in the United States. The Supreme Court also ruled that Congress could not stop slavery in the newly emerging territories and declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to be unconstitutional. The Dred Scott decision had the effect of widening the political and social gap between North and South and took the nation closer to the brink of Civil War. Chief Justice Roger Taney intemperate language only added to the fury of those who opposed the decision. As he explained the Court's ruling, African-Americans, free or slave, could not be citizens of any state, because the drafters of the Constitution had viewed them as "beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect."

(4) What was the significance of the following battles: Bull Run, Antietam, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg on the North and South?

First Bull Run - The first major battle of the Civil War was the Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Manassas in the former Confederate states after the town of Manassas, Virginia. Here, Union forces of less than 20,000 were led into battle by General Robert Patterson as well as General McDowell leading an army 35,000 strong. They were confronting Confederate troops that they outnumbered by a few thousand troops, with Patterson's troops facing Joseph Johnston and McDowell's army fighting that of General Beauregard. All four forces would meet in battle, with General McDowell wanting to use tactics in order to outflank the Confederates. Union and Confederate troops met on July 21st, 1861. The Confederate victory meant the war would not end quickly. It was clear that it would now be a long term, large scale struggle. Antietam - Lee's retreat back into Virginia after the battle enabled the Union to claim a victory; Lincoln used this to issue his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This gave the Union the moral high ground in the conflict, and convinced European powers, not to officially recognize the Confederacy.
Vicksburg - the capture of Vicksburg (1863) effectively cut the Confederacy in two geographically. This made it impossible for them to coordinate their war effort in East and West. Further, the Union army was now able to redeploy thousands of troops to the eastern theatre. The capture of Vicksburg was perhaps the most decisive event of the war.
Gettysburg - Defeat for Lee in his second invasion of the North broke the spell of his and his army's invincibility in Northern eyes. After Gettysburg, the Confederates remained on the retreat until the end of the war.