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Westward Expansion

  • Railroads

    Railroads
    This article details the history of the American Railroads in the 1800s including their invention, their expansion and the significance of the railroads of the 1800s and their impact on the transportation system of America. The Steamboats of the 1800s started to appear in 1807. Then the steam locomotive was invented. Trains were faster than steamboats and the railroads would quickly replace them as the favored means of transportation in the U.S.
  • The American System

    The American System
    The American System was a three-pronged economic plan, based on the financial ideas of Alexander Hamilton, that was supported by Henry Clay. The American System emphasized the need for a strong role for federal government in the economy.
  • The Horsecar

    The Horsecar
    What was an omnibus? An omnibus was a horse-pulled vehicle (large city version of a stagecoach) which was also used for public transport but ran on dirt, stone or gravel roads. The Horse car followed on from the omnibus.
  • First Telegraph

    First Telegraph
    The non electric telegraph was invented by Claude Chappe in 1794 using a visual system called semaphore (a flag-based alphabet) that depended on a line of sight for communication. Cooke and Wheatstone were the first to introduce a telegraph worked by electro-magnetism; but it not able to mark down the message. Samuel Morse (1791-1872) was the first to successfully exploit the electro-magnet and developed and patented the first electric telegraph in the United States in 1837.
  • Oregon Trail

    Oregon Trail
    People begin to travel west in wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. Around 300,000 people would take the trail over the next 20 years.
  • California Republic

    California Republic
    The Bear Flag Revolt in California was given this name because the American settlers (subsequently called the 'Bear Flaggers') created a flag showing a grizzly bear next to the red star which is a .symbol of the California
  • California Gold Rush

    California Gold Rush
    The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) started on January 24, 1848 and attracted 300,000 prospectors when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Lumber Mill in Coloma, California. The Gold Rush miners were called the 49ers.
  • Pony Express

    Pony Express
    The map of the Pony Express route indicates just how far a distance of 2,000 miles stretches. The Pony Express crossed eight different states: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. A larger map of the Pony Express Route is shown lower down the page.
  • Pony Express

    Pony Express
    The map of the Pony Express route indicates just how far a distance of 2,000 miles stretches. The Pony Express crossed eight different states: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. A larger map of the Pony Express Route is shown lower down the page.