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Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the U.S. overnight. Americans thought it was gods calling them to expand west (manifest destiny). France sold America 800,000 square miles for $0.04 per acre. We thought we were getting only the Louisiana territory for 10 million dollars, but France sold us the rest of the Louisiana Purchase for only $5 million. We added 15 new states to our former 17 states. Today, if Shawnee was priced like the Louisiana Purchase, it would be only $1,097.20. -
Corps of Discovery
For four years, the Corps of Discovery would travel thousands of miles, experiencing lands, rivers and peoples that no Americans ever had before. Before the expedition Thomas Jefferson created a task for Lewis and Clark. He wanted to try and find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. They didn’t find a water route, but they did find a route to the Pacific Ocean. -
War of 1812
Britain and France were at war and Britain got angry when we traded with France, like a jealous ex. They then captured 6,000 U.S. men that were trading with France and made them fight in their army. Congress declared war on June 18, 1812. During the war, Frances Scott keys wrote the star spangled banner, and Britain also burnt down the white house. The war ended in a stalemate, or a tie. -
The Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe doctrine was like a wall shutting out Europeans from the Americas. In 1823 president James Monroe signed the Monroe doctrine that stated that no European people shall come to the Americas to live, colonize, or anything else. It also said that the United States would not interfere with Europe. Monroe’s declaration was seen as a defying moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest standing tenets. -
Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears
In 1830 president Andrew Jackson wanted all Indians to be gone. He relocated them to what is now Oklahoma, making them pack up their lives and walk their way 2,200 miles without much help. There was a total of about 20,000 Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Indians. About 4,000 died on the trail of tears. Once they got to Oklahoma, they had to create a whole new way of life on sub-par land. -
Florida Territory
America wanted to have Florida join their union, but it wasn’t so easy. After lot of troubles, we bought the territory for the low cost of $5 million. Spanish minister Do Luis de Onis and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams sign the Adam Onis Treaty, saying that the Florida territory is no longer a part of Spain. Florida was organized as a U.S. territory in 1822 and was admitted into the Union as a slave state in 1845. -
Texas
Texas left Mexico because they weren’t satisfied with its government. They wanted to declare independence, but soon started to slip into debt and faced fears of Mexico wanting to seize their country. Texas was practically begging to be apart of the United States. They were a slave state, which concerned America. We offered to let them divide into four separate states, but everyone who lived in Texas loved to be called a Texan. -
Mexican American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The war between Mexico and the U.S. began with the struggle over who would control Texas, which ultimately was America. The war ended when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed by America and Mexico. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to U.S. territory for $15 million. This included the land that makes up Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America’s southern boundry. -
Oregon Territory
The Oregon territory was claimed by Spain, Russia, Britain, and the U.S. However, by the mid-1820s, there was only the American and Britain claims. In 1818 the two nations agreed to a "joint occupation" of Oregon in which citizens of both countries could settle; this arrangement lasted until 1846. Because there was no government, there was a clash of cultures. They compromised that Britain would get the land north of the 49 parallel longitude line and we would get everything south.
