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Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for 15 million dollars. This purchase doubled the size of the US, opening up 828,000 square miles of land and resources for the United States to expand into and use. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Beginning in 1804 and ending in September of 1806, the expedition of Lewis and Clark was meant to explore and map the Louisiana Territory, find a route to the West, and study plants, animals, geography, and local tribes. The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. -
War of 1812
Great Britain tried to restrict US trade and allegedly encouraged Native Americans to rebel against the Americans. The US lost many battles and suffered losses (including the White House, which was burned down by the British), but were able to repel Britain in New York, Baltimore, and New Orleans. This helped boost confidence and patriotism, and the US began to focus on internal manufacturing and industrialization, spurring economic growth and development. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
The Adams-Onis treaty between the US and Spain ceded Florida to the US. It also helped to define the border between New Spain and the United States (this border was not accepted by Mexico until the 1828 Treaty of Limits). -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an attempt to keep a balance between slave and non slave states. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also declared that slavery would be prohibited in lands in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36th parallel. -
Annexation of Texas
After being an independent republic for about nine years, Texas was admitted to the United States of America as the 28th state. -
California Gold Rush
Beginning in 1848 with news of gold found at a mill in California, the Gold Rush reached its peak in 1849, when hundreds of thousands of people came to California to search for gold. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
This treaty officially ended the Mexican-American War. It gave lots of territory to the US, including present-day California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas. -
American Civil War
The North and South of America had debated spreading slavery into the west, and with the election of Abraham Lincoln, it seemed that slavery would not be carried along in western expansion. Southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy, opposing the Northern states' Union. Many battles ensued, mainly in the South, and the Civil War ended up as the deadliest military conflict in US history. The South surrendered, reentered the US, and slavery was abolished. Four million slaves were freed. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Entering the third year of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all slaves in the rebellious states are free. This turned ending slavery into a war goal.