genteel - Excessively or pretentiously refined and polite.".. . the genteel pro-British Federalists had died out...”
royalty - The share of the proceeds from work paid to an inventor, author, composer, and so on. “.... they were being denied rich royalties by the absence of an American copyright law.”
default - To fail to pay a loan or interest due. “…several states defaulted on their bonds...”
repudiate - To refuse to accept responsibility for paying a bill or debt. "When.., several states ... repudiated [their bonds] openly, honest English citizens assailed Yankee trickery."
protectorate - The relation of a strong nation to a weak one under its control and protection. “... Texas was driven to open negotiations ... in the hope of securing the defensive shield of a protectorate."
colossus - Anything of extraordinary size and power. "Such a republic would check the southward surge of the American colossus...
resolution - In government, a formal statement of policy or judgment by a legislature, but requiring no statute. “... annexation by a joint resolution."
intrigue - A plot or scheme formed by secret, underhanded means.".. . the Lone Star Republic had become a danger spot, inviting foreign intrigue that menaced the American people."
barter - To exchange goods or services without money. "Spain ... bartered away its claims the United States. . .
deadlock - To completely block or stop action as a consequence of the mutual pressure of equal and opposed forces. "The Democrats, meeting later in the same city, seemed hopelessly deadlocked."
dark horse - In politics, a candidate with little apparent support who unexpectedly wins a nomination or election. "Polk may have been a dark horse, but he was hardly an unknown or decrepit nag."
predecessor - The person who held an office before its present occupant. "But [he felt] bound by the three offers of his predecessors to London.
quibble - A petty evasion of a disputed point by sharp argument or legal maneuver. "The Mexicans were far less concerned about this boundary quibble than the United States."
no-man's-land - A territory to which neither of two disputing parties has clear claim and where they may meet as combatants. "… Polk was careful to keep American troops out of virtually all of the explosive no-man's-land between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. . .
indemnity - A repayment for loss or damage inflicted. "Victors rarely pay an indemnity...”
You just finished Chapter 18: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy, 1841-1848. Nice work!
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