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Louisiana purchase
United States payed $15 million to receive the territory which extends west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Napoleon, the leader of France, was in financial trouble due to war and was willing to give that huge chunk of land for a very little price. -
Louis and Clark expedition sets off
Lewis and Clark set out to explore the unknown territories of the Louisiana purchase. -
The war of 1812
U.S. declared war on Britain over Britian's interference and prevetion of American shipping to Europe and over their interference of America's westward expansion. Also Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner as he watched Britian's attack on Fort McHenry at Baltimore. -
Erie canal completed
The first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians.The canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, and the westward expansion of the United States. It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway." -
First public railroad system
Construction began on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This is the first public railroad in the U.S. It was a key factor in America's westward expansion and it made trade much easier and less expensive. This threw America into the Industrial Revolution. -
California gold rush
Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in California. After news spread that gold had been discovered there, thousands of Americans dropped everything they had and moved to California. -
Gadsen purchase
Gadsden purchase was made for $10,000,000 from Mexico. -
Civil War
The Civil War was the conflict between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy) over the expansion of slavery into western states and over the preservation of the Union. -
Abraham lincoln is elected
Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest and most remembered presidents of the America, was elected on this day. His election spurred on the most brutal and deadliest war in American history. Soon after he was elected, South Carolina seceded from the Union and was then followed by the Civil War. -
Confederate states are formed
11 states had seceded from the U.S. and the Confederate states were formed. Jefferson Davis was elected as president of them a day later. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln was shot while attending a play at Ford's Theatre. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated.[4] His funeral and burial were marked by an extended period of national mourning.