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Treaty of Paris
No president existed at this time. The peace between the U.S. and Great Britain began when this treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, giving the United States the 13 colonies and the right to expand the Proclamation line from west of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River. They now moved into Indian territory, for they thought it was cheap land full of resources and opportunities to build their economy. However, Indians were being kicked off of their territory, out of their home. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson was president. The Louisiana Purchase was a purchase that the United States made from France, gaining 827,000 square miles for fifteen million dollars. The United States began to expand further into the west and needed the navigation of the Mississippi as well as access to the port of New Orleans. Natives were being "nudged" further west, eventually creating a "Trail of Tears" (route forcing Natives out of their homes in a very harsh manner) from the land purchased. -
Lewis, Clark, and Sacajewea Expedition
Thomas Jefferson was president. Lewis and Clark left St. Louis and made their way west to the Pacific Ocean. They were to map the new territories that the United States acquired and claim more land before any other country, like Britain or France, got to it. They also wanted to study their land and begin trading with various Indian tribes. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
James Monroe was president at the time.This treaty defined the U.S - Mexico border, then Spanish land. Spain's foreign minister Onis realized that he was going to have to sell the land (Florida) before he lost it without receving any compensation. For five million dollars, a definite line was created between the Louisiana Purchase and Spanish territory. This also gave the United States Florida. -
Santa Fe Trail
James Monroe was president at the time. The trail connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. William Becknell, soldier and politician, was the pioneer down this trail. This was the first international trade route between the United States and Mexico, a key motivator for Americans. The trail crossed the territory Comanche Indiands lived in, which led to the murder of the Comanche people as well as their flight from the area, leaving it to the Americans. -
Indian Removal Act
Andrew Jackson was president at the time. This Act negotiated Native American removal from the Southern States to unsettled land west of the Mississippi. Some Natives made the trip peacefully, but others refused to do so. The Cherokees were eventually forced to leave, and 4,000 Cherokees died on their way there. This forced trip with so many deaths became known as the "Trail of Tears." -
Oregon Trail
Andrew Jackson was president at the time. The Oregon Trail covered the distance from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon. One in ten travelers died traveling this trail; however, many endured on this difficult trip in hopes of fertile soil, abundant rain, new trade, better economy, and lots of gold. Though Natives started out by trading with the Americans, their lives were still disrupted.Prairies were burned, little firewood was left, and the supply of buffalo was scarce. -
Annexation of Texas
James Polk was president at the time. This annexation led to the Mexican-American war, in which the Americans were able to capture additional land that was not already their's. The land that now makes up Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Wyoming, Utah, and Oklahoma, became a part of the United States. As slavery was quite popular in this region, economic stability relied on that piece of land and the right to own slaves in the land, which was a huge motive. -
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Mormon Trek
James Polk was president at this time. Three thousand Mormons, including Bringham Young, set out for Utah. Some Mormons were to settle in certain places and began farming in preparation for other potential settlers. They also wanted to practice their religion freely. They took the "Desert" land from the Natives and created a prosperous Salt Lake City, awarding settlers with land that could be farmed and irrigated. -
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Mexican-American War
James Polk was president at this time. The belief that the United States should go from east to west coast, motivated Americans to participate in this war. Many believe that Polk provoked the Mexicans into war in order to gain land for slavery usage in the South. California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming. and Texas were all gained by the Americans, creating a larger United States. The Native's were isolated, as they nuisance to Americans in search of gold. -
Oregon Trail following "54 40' or Right!"
James Polk was president at the time. He wished to expand the United States into all of Texas, California, and Oregon, where the latitude line is 54 degrees, 40 minutes. However, the boundary between U.S. territory and British Canada was established at 49 degrees. American's belief in "Manifest Destiny" and an immense expansion drove them to achieve this boundary revision. -
California Gold Rush
James Polk was president at the time. The California Gold Rush began when James Marshall, an American carpenter and sawmill operator, found gold in Coloma, California. That discovery brought over 300,000 people from all around the United States and even countries abroad. Gold was their greatest motivation. -
Gadsden Purchase
Franklin Pierce was president at this time. This was a deal between the United States and Mexico, The United States bought a piece of land 29,670 square miles large that later resulted into New Mexico and Arizona for ten million dollars. The land bought enable the Americans to create a southern transcontinental railroad. More trade opportunities appeared. -
The Sand Creek Massacre
Abraham Lincoln was president at the time. The Sand Creek Massacre was a part of the Indian Wars. An army of 700 American soldiers from Colorado attacked and entirely demolished Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. Two thirds of the population were women and children. The Cheyenne and Arapaho held land that today includes Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas, which was then entirely gained by the Americans. -
Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
Ulysses S. Grant was president at this time. It took months to complete the trip west before the Transcontinental Railroad was completed; however, it would now only take days. Also, the resources that motivated people to head out west originally would be able to be shipped east more quickly and efficiently, increasing trade. The railroad went straight through Native American's territory, now destroying their way of life even faster. -
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Ulysses S. Grant was president at the time. The Battle of Little Bighorn is commonly reffered to as Custer's Last Stand, a battle between the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota Indians against the Americans. The relationship between the Natives and Americans had been tense since gold was discovered on Native land. Custer was outnumbered and defeated by the Natives. Due to their loss, the government was even more angered by the Natives and did their best to put them all on reservations within 5 years. -
Dawes Act
Grover Cleveland was president at the time. This act allowed him to allot Natives Americans to various reservations. From 138 million acres, only 78 million acres of land owned by the Natives remained by 1900, 13 years after the Act began. Americans wanted to keep more land for themselves and destroy Native culture. They did so by creating boarding schools for Natives, practicing "white" culture and punishing them for participating in native rituals or speaking their native language. -
The Massacre at Wounded Knee
Benjamin Harrison was president at the time. The Massacre at Wounded Knee took place on the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota. A Lakota tribe member, who was deaf, refused to disarm. Somehow, a shot was fired, initiating the Americans to shoot out at innocent women and children in the crowd. This allowed the Americans to seize the Lakota's land.
