← US History syllabus

United StatesUS History

Unit 5, Period 5 (1844 to 1877): Expansion, Civil War, and Reconstruction

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What broad forces drove the United States from continental expansion into civil war and then into the contested reconstruction of the South?

Topic 5.1 Contextualizing Period 5: the expansionist, demographic, and sectional context that drove the United States toward civil war and Reconstruction between 1844 and 1877.
Sets the scene for AP US History Period 5, covering continental expansion and Manifest Destiny, mass migration, the deepening sectional conflict over slavery in the territories, and how to write contextualization for a DBQ or LEQ on the Civil War era.
11 min answer →

What was Manifest Destiny, and how did it drive United States expansion and intensify the conflict over slavery?

Topic 5.2 Manifest Destiny: the ideology of continental expansion, its cultural and economic roots, and the territorial gains and conflicts it produced.
A focused answer to AP US History Topic 5.2, covering Manifest Destiny: the belief in United States continental expansion, its racial, religious, and economic roots, the annexation of Texas and the Oregon settlement, and how expansion reopened the conflict over slavery.
11 min answer →

Why did the United States go to war with Mexico, and how did the war intensify the conflict over slavery?

Topic 5.3 The Mexican-American War: the causes, course, and consequences of the war with Mexico, including the Mexican Cession and the reopening of the slavery debate.
A focused answer to AP US History Topic 5.3, covering the Mexican-American War: its causes in Texas annexation and the border dispute, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Mexican Cession, the Wilmot Proviso, and how the war reopened the conflict over slavery in the territories.
11 min answer →