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The Spanish were the first Europeans to come to this region. In 1598 they established the first European settlement in the region near what is now El Paso, Texas.
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By the early 1600s, they had founded Santa Fe, New Mexico. Soon they spread out along the upper reaches of the Rio Grande.
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Nothing happened
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In the 1680s, France claimed the land drained by the Mississippi River, which included much of the land east of the Rocky Mountains. It called this vast area Louisiana
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In the 1700s, the Spanish settled parts of California and Texas. Central to some settlements were missions. These church-based communities led by Catholic priests were meant to house native peoples. The priests hoped the Native Americans would adopt Christianity and the Spanish way of life. They relied on the work of the native peoples to grow food.
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Over the years, the French placed a few settlements along the Mississippi River. The most important was New Orleans. It was founded in the early 1700s as a port for shipping goods from the river’s valley.
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Everything before 1783 happened
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When the American Revolution ended in 1783, the territory of the United States was entirely east of the Mississippi River. Much of this land was still unsettled by white Americans. But after the Revolution, they quickly began moving to the frontier in large numbers.
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nothing happened
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In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson purchased the vast Louisiana Territory from France. The Louisiana Purchase gave the United States most of the land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.
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Nothing Happened
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By the 1830s, some Americans had come to believe in the idea of Manifest Destiny. According to this concept, the United States had a right to extend its boundaries to the Pacific Ocean. This belief helped promote the nation’s westward movement.
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Ima put some random text because to be honest this time span thing is put in 5 times and its annoying
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In the next decade, they declared independence. They set up an independent country, though many Texans wanted to join the United States. In 1845 the United States annexed, or taking control of, Texas.
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In 1846 the two countries reached an agreement. Under the deal, the United States gained control of those two future states. Britain kept control of lands to the north, which became part of Canada.
Meanwhile, some American settlers had moved to what is now Texas, which belonged to Mexico at the time. In the next decade, they declared independence -
In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Mexico gave the United States a vast area that later formed all of California, Utah, and Nevada and parts of Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, and New Mexico
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At the same time, the nation was building railroads to join the eastern and western areas. The first line from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean was completed in 1869. Others followed. Trains carried settlers to the western states. Some started farms or ranches. Others settled in towns that sprang up along rail lines or near mines.
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As a result of these changes, the population of the West grew rapidly. In 1900 more than twice as many people lived in the West as in 1880, just 20 years earlier.