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Treaty of Paris signed
In 1783 American delegates were sent to Paris in hope of peace with France. America was officially independent and acknowledged for the land all the way to the Mississippi River. -
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Events that led to the Manifest Destiny
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Land Ordinance
The land of the Ohio Valley area was divided up into squares of land to be sold. The land was sold for one dollar per acre so people flocked to this area for cheap land. -
Northwest Ordinance
There was a question on when "states" could become states. The conclusion was that once the territory got to 60,000 inhabitants it could write a constitution to get approved by the Congress. This was tied with the Manifest Destiny because it set a guideline on how states would become states, and we could grow west. -
Constitution went into effect
The United States wrote the constitution to break apart from its former "mother." This granted them freedom, and with this freedom came the thirst for more land. Many explorations and expansions followed this. -
Cotton Gin invented
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. This invention allowed for cotton to be handled much quicker. This led to more slaves and more land needed to grow the cotton. -
Pinckney Treaty signed
Pinckney Treaty was important to American expansion because it gave Americans the right to travel down and out the Mississippi River. America also gain land of Florida. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana territory was bought from France at a price of $15 million. With the United States now acquiring about 800,000 more acres of land, westward expansion was now easily done. -
Lewis and Clark begin exploration
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were sent by Jefferson to explore the nothern part of the Louisiana Purchase. They explored for two and a half years and came back with maps and knowledge of the area. This led to further expansion and the Manifest Destiny -
Zebulon Pike explored
Zebulon Pike led an expedition that covered the Mississippi River and the southern Louisiana Territory. He had a Colorado Mountain peak named after him, Pike's Peak. This led to further expansion because more was known about the western land, therefore, more land was wanted. -
First Steamboat built
The invention of the steamboat allowed rivers to become two-way streets. This lowered trade costs and allowed easier travel to the western country. People were able to get supplies easier. -
Erie Canal Built
The Erie Canal was an effective link between the Western rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. It also stole most of the trade from the Mississippi River and lowered shipping costs from the west to the east by twenty times. The was important because the canal allowed the western cities to expand. -
Indian Removal Act
Signed by Andrew Jackson, the Indian Removal Act a big effect on expansion. The Indians were moved west of the Mississippi River so their land could be used by non-Indians. With the fear of the Indians now gone expansion westward and more land could be acquired with relative ease. -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed to settle the boundary of Maine. Boundary disputes led to problems such as the Aroostook War. A clear boundary was set so the Americans knew what was off limits. This contributed to the Manifest Destiny because farther down the line the North wanted what they couldn't have, Canada. -
Texas became a state
In 1845, the Republic of Texas became a state. This made Mexico mad because they felt that we stole Texas from them. With this vast new expanse for land we could explore. Also it made some people want to go after all of Mexico, which never happened. -
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty was signed by the US and Britain for a compromise of the Oregon border. They decided in the treaty that the 49th parallel would be the border between the United States and Canada. This led to more land and more land led to search for more land. -
Mormon Trail
The Mormons travled across five states before they settled in Utah. This allowed more people in the west and brought a new religion to the west. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago
This treaty ended the war between Mexico and America. California was now in the hands of the United States. More land served as an area to explore and live in. -
Gold Rush of 1849
Gold was found in California. This led to many people traveling to California in hope of finding gold and thirsting for more land to find potential riches. -
Alaska Purchase
Secretary of State at the time, William Seward, purchased Alaska from Russia. Although it was considered a big "ice box," it was a large amount of land. One that would increase the United States' size by approximately 20 percent. This supplied the United States with a large amount of land to explore and a few years after discovery large amounts of gold were found which made Alaska much more appealing. Many people went to this area to get their hands on this prize. -
Transcontinental Railroad built
A railroad was built that went across the United States. This led to expansion because before this transportation was poor so the western areas were considered isolated. With the railroad they were much easier to get to.
