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Indian Removal act
In 1830 Americans wanted more land to settle down in but they had a problem, the natives this led to the Indian removal act. This act sent all natives to reservations west of the Mississippi River. The effects of this were that natives were now living on new land that would one day be claimed by the Americans, and Americans had more land to move west and claim. -
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Migration to Texas
The South was always scared of losing one thing, slavery. The South also loved their money, because of this spreading slavery was very important to them. This led many slave owners to go into Mexican territory named Texas in 1845. In Texas these slave owners were able to grow their plantations and thus creating more money for these plantation owners. -
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Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a 2170 mile trip from Missouri to Oregon. This trail was most popular during the 1840s and gave Americans a way to find a better life in the west. Parties of sometimes 100’s of people would go along this trail at a time as it was the first good trail to get to the West. -
Manifest destiny
The first time the concept of Manifest Destiny, the concept that god has called American to own and develop ocean to ocean, was in 1845. This idea would be used to help motivate Americans to travel west and settle down with their families. This term would also be infused with actions like the Oregon Trail. -
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President Polk’s Push of the Boarder
During Polk's presidency,1845-1849, President Polk had a dream, this dream was for the 54,40 line to be all owned by the USA this led to a push in migration west with the settlements in Oregon county. Polk eventually gave up on this land as there were many disputes with other countries over who owned what land. -
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California Gold Rush
In the years 1848-1850 many young men went west to California. They went to California as gold had recently been discovered there. California was a land of opportunity for these men to become rich such is the American dream. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty stated the end of the war between Mexico and America. It stated that Mexico would give America a large portion of its land. This land would eventually become states like California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. This land would allow Americans to move west and still be a part of the United States. This Treaty also officially made Texas a part of the USA in Mexico’s eyes. Allowing Texans to no longer fear being overtaken by Mexico again. -
California is added to The USA
California was added to America in 1850. The problem with that being that California was in the middle of the Missouri Compromise line. The people of California didn't want to be split into 2 states. This led to the first break of the Missouri Compromise line setting the stage for states to independently choose to be slave or free states as long as you don’t remove slavery in any states. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 was an act passed by congress to incentivize growth in the south. This act would give any American 160 archers of land as long as they promised to farm the land. This Act helped civilize the west and distributed millions of acres of land to Americans. To qualify for this land you had to be a head of a household. -
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Transcontinental railroad
The transcontinental railroad was made between the years of 1863 and 1869. This railroad was the first of its kind in the USA going from Iowa to San Francisco in California. This railroad helps many people and businesses stay connected to the west with an easy way to get supplies from one end of the country to the other. This incentivised many Americans to travel west.