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Period: to
Western Expansion
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Louisiana Purchase
With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States purchased approximately 828,000,000 square miles of territory from France, thereby doubling the size of the young republic. What was known as Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. -
War of 1812
The United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, in a conflict that would have an immense impact on the young country’s future. James Madison is considered to be the "Father of the Constitution," but it was the War of 1812 that ultimately defined his presidency. -
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route 900 miles long through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was used by thousands of gold seekers heading to California and Colorado gold fields , adventurers, fur trappers, and emigrants. In 1821, the Santa Fe Trail became America's first great international commercial highway, and for nearly sixty years thereafter was one of the nation's great routes of adventure and western expansion. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. American forces quickly occupied New Mexico and California, then invaded parts of Northeastern Mexico and Northwest Mexico; meanwhile, another American army captured Mexico City, and the war ended in a victory for the United States. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The gold-seekers traveled by sailing ship and covered wagon and often faced hardships on the trip. While most of the newly arrived were Americans, the Gold Rush attracted tens of thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. This gold rush made California the most richest and most popular state in the nation. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War. This compromise had a series of five bills which were passed during Millard Fillmore's presidency.
