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The Oregon Trail is Created
It was a 2000 mile route from Missouri to Oregon.
Thousands of pioneers traveled this trail during the mid 1800s, so they could move westward to new lands.
Without the Oregon Trail the area known as the Oregon Territory might not have been apart of the United States.
https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/oregon-trail -
The Alamo
Settlers from other states made their way to Texas.
The American settlers decided that they wanted Texas.
There was a fight for independence.
https://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-alamo -
Texas Deceleration of Independence
This was the way final way of Texas claiming independence from Mexico. It was signed at the Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The deceleration was completed in record time.
http://www.lsjunction.com/docs/tdoi.htm -
Battle of San Jacinto
On April 21, 1836 Texas militia ordered by Sam Houston attacked the Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his forces.
The Battle took place close to present day Houston, Texas.
Santa Anna was taken prisoner and later signed a treaty. -
Zachary Taylor crosses the Rio Grande River
During the Battle of Palo Alto Zachary Taylor defeated a superior Mexican force north of the Rio Grande River.
It happened because the war on Mexico was about to be declared.
The president ordered Zachary Taylor to move and defend the Rio Grande border and they attacked and won the battle with 200 soldiers.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/zachary-taylor-fights-the-battle-of-palo-alto -
James K. Polk becomes President
James K. Polk became president in the 1844 election. He was a democrat he defeated Henry Clay who was apart of the Whig party.
Before he became president he served in the Tennessee legislature and the U.S. Congress. He settled a boundary dispute with the British.
https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-polk -
Annexation of California
The US paid for California in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The people of the US wanted to expand to the coast of the Pacific.
Two stages of the Mexican-American War took place in California. It was the period of resistance.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-annexation-of-california-from-mexico.html -
Mexican Cession
When Texas joined the US there became a boundary argument. Fighting began and lasted for over a year. The fight was over how far the boundary should come to the Rio Grande river. The fighting resulted in a treaty.
https://www.learner.org/interactives/historymap/states_mexican.html -
California Gold Rush
Many pioneers where mining around the river and they found a bunch of gold.
In the Sacramento Valley there was a ton of gold that flowed through the rivers.
Many people got rich until the rivers ran out of gold. There were about 100,000 people that were involved.
https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/gold-rush-of-1849 -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This was the official ending of the Mexican American war.
The treaty gave the US 525,000 square miles. The war went on for about two years before the treaty was signed. The war started over Texas and then grew because the US wanted more land.
Mexico gave up all the land on the boundary of the Rio Grande river.
https://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war/treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo -
Gadsden Purchase
This was an agreement between Mexico and the US.
The US paid Mexico 10 million dollars for a 29,670 square miles.
The land helped the US complete the transcontinental railroad.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/gadsden-purchase -
Oregon becomes a free Territory
Oregon was explored and mapped by Lewis and Clark.
Oregon decides that they wanted to be a free territoy.
They have nt became a state yet because either their population is not enough or they do not yet have a deceleration of Independence. The affects of this was westward expansion which allowed us to establish actual settlements and more crops.
https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/oregon -
Homestead Act
This Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862.
It encouraged Western migration but there was a small fee for a little bit of land.
If you stayed on the land for more than six months you had the option to purchase the land from the government.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/homestead.html -
The Transcontinental Railroad Completion
The railroad was a means of pasage from the east side of the country to the westward side of the country. The golden spike was driven into the ground at the Promontory point in Utah where the two sides of the railroad meet. It was an easier and faster way to get across the whole US.
https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/may-10-1869-first-transcontinental-railroad-completed/
