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Period: to
Westward Expansion
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The Indian Removal Act is Passed
The Indian Removal Act grants President Andrew Jackson the funding and authority to remove the Indians residing east of the Mississippi River. -
New Echota Treaty
Signed Federal agents persuaded a pro-removal Cherokee chief to sign the Treaty of New Echota, which ceded all Cherokee land for $5.6 million and free transportation west. Most Cherokees rejected the treaty. Between 1835 and 1838 bands of Cherokee Indians moved west of the Mississippi along the so-called Trail of Tears. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of the 16,000 migrating Cherokees died. -
Texas Admitted
Texas is officially granted statehood and becomes the 28th state. -
Gold in California
An American carpenter finds gold at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, sparking a gold rush which brings tens of thousands of new settlers to California. -
California Admitted
Under the Compromise of 1850, engineered by Henry Clay, California is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
Arizona Admitted
Arizona, the last of the 48 contiguous United States, is admitted to the Union, completing the century-long process of conquering and organizing the American West.
