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Indian Removal Act
Jackson encouraged congress to pass the Indian removal Act of 1830. It facilitated westward expansion in the United States by forcibly relocating Native American tribes from their land in the SouthEast to territories west of the Mississippi River. This opened up vast amounts of land for white settlers to move into. In the years followed federal polices would continue to uproot indigenous people and clear the way for more US expansion and remove native peoples from their communities. -
Battle of the Alamo
The battle of the Alamo impacted westward expansion because it was a large religious missionary. American settlers who moved West into the land wanted their own republic instead of being ruled by Mexico. Despite the Texans defeat against Mexico in battle the bravery of those who battled showed and it helped rallying more people to the Texan cause. It became a symbol for resistance and fueled the desire for independence from Mexico. In the battle of San Jacinto it lead for Texas independence. -
Oregon Trail
People began to travel west in wagon trains on the Oregon trail. Around 300,000 people would take the trail in the next twenty years. Some traveled from independence Missouri to the Willamette valley Oregon. Westward expansion encouraged people to explore the great frontier and establish lives for themselves in the wilds of the West. People who decided to travel the Oregon trail imagined land rich with potential and freedom to explore that were unavailable in the East. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was a popular belief in the mid-late 19th century. It’s proponents claimed that the Unites States had the divine right to expand westward meaning the US expansion was the will of God. Manifest destiny was used as a pretext for the United States to acquire land in Oregon country, Texas, Mexico and California even if the U.S had to pay large amounts for new land, start a war with neighboring countries or battle with Native Americans that had lived on the land for generations. -
Annexation of Texas
The annexation of Texas was closely related to Westward expansion. By annexing Texas in 1845 the United States gained control over a vast experience of land, expanding its reach beyond the Mississippi River and into frontier territories Southwest. In the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States gained California, Arizona, New Mexico and the Rio Grande boundary for Texas. The Annexation of Texas ended up gaining a huge expansion of territory. The United States gained true world power. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War paved a way for many important events from the expansion to the American Civil war or the California gold rush. It added the States California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona Nevada and parts of Colorado. The treaty halved the sized of Mexico and doubled the territory of the United States. The war and treaty extended the United States to the Pacific Ocean and provided a bounty of ports, minerals and natural resources for a growing country. -
Oregon treaty
The Treaty in 1846 resolved the western border between the United States and British Canada. It created what would later be the US states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It resolved longstanding territorial disputes between the US and Great Britain. The treaty facilitated American westward expansion removing obstacles to settlement and development in Oregon territory. It opened up vast new lands for American pioneers to settle in the pacific NorthWest -
California gold rush
During the California gold rush tons of people hurried to California to find gold to hopefully become rich. Once gold was discovered the word got out quick. The people that came were know as forty niners because they dreamed of finding gold and becoming rich. The gold rush also had a part of California becoming a state joining the United States in the 1850s. The California gold rush was really important time in American history shaping how the West grew and hows it economy developed. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 transformed the Nation because it settled disputes about slavery in the acquired territories from the Mexican-American war. The compromise consisted of serval measures such as California becoming a free state and the abolition of the slave trade in Washington D.C. It eased tensions between the North and the South. The south got the fugitive slave law and no slave restrictions on New Mexico and Utah area. It provided a temporary solution to the issue of slavery expansion. -
Gadsden purchase
In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase added about 30,000 square miles of Mexican territory to the United States. The purchase provided the land necessary for a southern transcontinental railroad and attempted to resolve conflicts after the Mexican American war. It allowed for the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad route, connecting eastern United States with California. It prompted economic growth and migration to the west coast and solidified American control over key trade routes. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a serious of violent conflicts between pro-slavery and anti slavery forces in Kansas territory during the mid 1850s. It impacted westward expansion by by intensifying tensions and fueling debate over the expansion of slavery into western territories.It brought national attention to the issue of slavery expansion and worsened growing divide.It showed the deep rooted divisions over the expansion of slavery to the larger conflict the would shape the course of Westward expansion. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Act of 1854 was pivotal in westward expansion by opening up the Kansas and Nebraska territories to settlement and where Stephan A. Douglas pushed the principle of popular sovereignty to decide on the issue of slavery.The Act rushed westward migration as settlers rushed to influenced status on slavery causing a divide. It made northern politics mad because it went against the Missouri compromise. The Act influenced expansion and Americas path towards conflict over the institution of slavery. -
Pony express
The pony express was the quickest way to send messages across the country. They used horses and riders to send news across 1,966 miles.The pony express was the only method of carrying mail over the deadly Rocky Mountains. It opened trails for passenger coaches and created the on going connection between the California gold miners and the settled part of the nation. -
Homestead Act
To help develop the American west and economic growth, congress passed the homestead Act of 1862 which provided 160 acres of federal land to anyone who agreed to farm the land. The act distributed millions of acres of western land to individual settlers. By offering land essentially for free, the Homestead act promoted westward migration and development of agriculture. Over the next decades it gave millions of acres of land to families shaping the landscape of the American west. -
Purchase of Alaska
On March 30th 1867 the two parties agreed that the United States would pay Russia $7.2 million for the territory of Alaska. For less than 2 cents acre the United States acquired nearly 600,000 square miles.