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First Fugitive Slave Act
The first fugitive slave act said that a suspected runaway slave could be captured, taken to a judge who decided whether he/she was a slave or not, then returned to the master or let free. -
Louisiana Puchase
Thomas Jefferson sent James monroe to France to negotiate buying New Orleans. Napoleon didn’t need the land anymore, but he deeded money to go to war with Britain. France sold the land to the US for 15 million dollars. The size of the US doubled. -
Acquisition of Florida
Spain owned the Florida territory. There were slaves that were escaping into the territory from Georgia. There were also Seminoles raiding the land in Georgia, to fix this problem, the US send Andrew Jackson to man the border. He instead invaded Florida. In the end Monroe sent the message “govern or get out.” Spain decided to get out and the US settled the Florida territory. -
Missouri Compromise
In 1820, there where 11 slave states, and 11 free states. When Missouri said that they wanted to become a new, slave state, people realized that the balance would be off. This made Maine become a new, free state. The Missouri Compromise declared that any state above Missouri's southern boarder was a free state, and everything below, a slave. -
Trail of Tears
Andrew Jackson ignored the orders of a treaty with the Cherokee. U.S. troops rounded up about 15,000 Cherokee and put them in prison camps. Local residents burned the native’s homes. Troops then sent the Cherokee west in groups of about 1,000 on a path known now as the Trail of Tears. -
Annexation of Texas
Mexico owned Texas, and Mexico was inviting American settlers into Texas. The only rule was that the new settlers had to follow Mexican law, become Mexican citizens, and practice Catholicism. The new Texas settlers (Texians) did not want to do that, so they rebelled. Santa Anna (the leader of Mexico), and his army killed 185 Texians at the Alamo. The rest of the Texians launched an ambush on Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Texas became its own country, until ten years later when the US annexed it. -
California Gold Rush
In 1848, John Augustus Sutter discovered gold at his mill. Although he tried to keep it a secret, the work got out, and a whole pile of people came rushing in, hoping to strike it lucky themselves. -
Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo
Mexico thought that the border of it and Texas was the Newases river, the US thought the border between Texas and Mexico was the Rio Grande. One day a group of US soldiers were patrolling the Rio Grande, when they were shot and killed by a group of Mexican soldiers. The US thought that Mexico was invading their land, and the Mexicans thought that the US was invading their land. This started a war between America and Mexico. In the end, America won, and they made Mexico give them a bunch of land. -
Oregon Trail
All throughout the middle 1800's, the Oregon trail was a path that bands of settlers used to travel on to get to new land. Thousands of settlers looking for a new life travel the 2000 mile long trail from Independence, Missouri to Northern Oregon. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was created by Henry Clay. This affected the new territories gained after the Mexican-American War. The compromise stated that slave trade was illegal, but owning slaves wasn't. -
The Second Fugitive Slave Act
The second fugitive slave act stated that anyone who helped a slave escape would be punished. Also, people called special commissioners were given the power to return slaves to their owners. The slaves would have no say in their case. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act
When Kansas and Nebraska where added to the US, the question was whether they wanted to be a slave state or not. This new act repealed the Missouri Compromise. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act of 1862 promoted moving west, and encouraged settlers to move into Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Each buyer was granted 160 acres. The only requirements where you had to be 21, or the leader of the family, you had to pay a bit of money, you had to build a settlement on it, and you had to work the land. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The United States wanted a railroad connecting the East coast to the West coast, so they gave the job to two railroad companies, Central Pacific and Union Pacific. One company started on the West coast, and one on the East, and they worked their way towards each other. On May 10th, 1869, the two tracks intersected.
