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Fugitive Slave Act #1
The act said slaves that had escaped must be returned to their “owners”, even if a slave was captured in a free state. -
Louisiana Purchase
James Monroe was sent by Thomas Jefferson to purchase the Louisiana territory from France. They made a deal to sell the land for 15 million dollars. -
Acquisition of Florida -Treaty of Adam-Onis
The slaves were running to the Florida territory, so the US started getting frustrated. The Seminoles were also raiding the land in Georgia. Andrew was sent to guard the border, but instead he invaded Florida. Monroe had sent a message to Spain saying, "govern or get out." The treaty was then signed and we gained Florida. -
Missouri Compromise
While the compromise was going on, Missouri and Maine were added to the US. Missouri was declared a slave state, and Maine was a free state which made the add on equal. The compromise banned slavery from any future territories, or any states north of Missouri's southern border. -
Trail of Tears
Andrew Jackson ignored the orders of the treaty with the Cherokee. 15,000 Cherokee's were gathered by US and and were put in prison camps. Cherokee's were sent in groups and what is now called the Trail of Tears. -
Oregon Trail
In 1843, people started using the Oregon Trail. The trail was about 2000 miles. It started in Missouri and ended in the far west. It was used to travel for Utah and California. -
Annexation of Texas
Stephen F Austin brought around 300 settlers into Texas that was owned by Mexico. They decided they did not want to be apart of Mexico anymore and started their own revolution. In the end, Texas won its independence and was its own country for 10 years. The US then decided to annex (add on) Texas in 1845 under President Polk. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty was signed to end the Mexican - American war. As a result, the border between Texas and Mexico was established as the Rio Grande river. The US also acquired the Mexican cession which included the modern states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. -
Gold Rush
The gold was discovered in 1848 by John Augustus Sutter. When the news got out about the gold, people "rushed" to get the gold so they could have some for themselves. Since so much gold was discovered, San Francisco was built. -
Compromise
The compromise was created by Senator Henry Clay. The compromise affected the northern free states and the southern slave states. They argued whether if the new land would allow slavery or not. The compromise suggested that Senator Henry Clay would decide what the outcome would be, slave state or free state. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act
Kansas and Nebraska were added into the US at the time of the act. This act allowed settlers to decide if there would be slavery within the borders. They had prohibited slavery in the north because of this act. -
Homestead Act
The homestead act promoted a US law. The homestead act granted a buyer 160 acres of land for a small filing fee. There were 4 rules/requirements that came with that. This included, you had to be a head family member or be 21 years old, had to pay a filing fee, work on the land, and have to be there for 5 years. -
Transcontinental Railroad
There were 2 companies that helped build this railroad, it was Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska, and moved westward. Central Pacific started in Sacramento, California, and moved eastward. This railroad got things across the US and helped make traveling faster and easier.
