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Louisiana Purchase
The United States nearly doubled in size when president Thomas Jefferson purchased a chunk of territory west of the Mississippi from the French for $15 million. This territory included what is now Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, along with the majority of the land in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, and Wyoming. This purchase led to conflicts over which states would be slave states. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
President Jefferson sent a group of explorers led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly purchased land and beyond. They went all the way to the Pacific Ocean, making maps of the area as they went. This encouraged people to start journeying into these new lands, which eventually led to conflicts between people exploring the new territory. -
Indian Removal Act
Congress passed a law that allowed the president to grant land to the native Americans in exchange for any of their land that was within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted this policy, resulting in violent conflicts and eventually led to the Trail of Tears. This allowed Americans to move into previously occupied Indian lands, which caused a lot of conflicts between people who wanted the new territory to be a slave state or not. -
The Battle of the Alamo
The Mexican army laid siege to Texas militia soldiers stationed in the Alamo, and despite being outnumbered by the thousands, the militia managed to hold them off for 13 days. When the army finally broke through the Alamo’s defenses, they killed nearly all 200 soldiers. This battle became a symbol of resistance that helped them win their independence from Mexico a little over a year later. -
The Oregon Trail
Nearly 1,000 people got together and started their 2,000 mile journey west in a wagon train, which made it difficult to traverse terrain such as the Rocky Mountains. Somehow, their journey was a success, despite what many people thought. This paved the way for thousands more settlers in the coming years. It created more settlements in Oregon, which led to the debate of it being a slave state or not. -
Texas Statehood
Texas officially became a state in 1845. In 1844, the republic of Texas entered into a treaty of annexation with the US, which set it up for statehood. It being a state encouraged people to migrate there. -
Mexican-American War
After the US officially claimed Texas as a state, fighting broke out between Texas settlers and Mexican forces. This fighting led to the first American war primarily fought on foreign soil. After a series of US victories, Mexico had lost nearly one third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. (I know I should have a timespan but it wouldn’t let me put a picture with it) -
Mormons Settle Utah
The Mormons left their settlement in Illinois because they feared religious persecution. More than 2000 Mormons made the 1300 mile journey to the Great Salt Lake Valley by the end of the year. Many more Mormons would travel this same path in the coming years. -
California Gold Rush
Once gold was discovered in Northern California, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to California during the first year of the gold rush. It peaked in 1852 and ended in 1857. The idea of finding gold and becoming rich was their ultimate goal. -
California Statehood
California officially became a state after it was ceded to the United States from Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. California becoming a state welcomed many more settlers that felt like they weren’t going into complete foreign territory now that it was officially part of the US. -
Oregon Statehood
Oregon became a state after it was ceded to the US by England in the Oregon Treaty. As more and more territories became states, more people started to migrate into them because they wanted to claim land in the new parts of the US. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act gave people an opportunity to claim up to 160 acres of land in the new western states, and all they had to do was live there for 5 years and the government would pay for it all. During this time, nearly 500 million acres of land were given out. About 80 million were given to Homesteaders, and the rest was given to business interests.