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The Indian Removal act gave power to the Government to forcibly remove Indians and place them in reservations, allowing more white settlers to live in states like Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama. More than 25 million acres of land became available for white settlers. 46,000 Indians were forced to walk on the “Trail of Tears” on their way to “Indian territory” which would later become the state of Oklahoma. This legislation directly led to expansion. -
This allowed Texas to become a state and continued the vision of westward expansion by taking land that was once Mexico’s. Mexico had believed that Texas was still a part of their territory while Texans wished to be Independant and eventually become a part of the union. -
This treaty ended the dispute of the Oregon border and set it at the 49th parallel. This allowed for the formation of Oregon territory and for the creation of Washington and Oregon as states. -
The California Gold rush caused a mass exodus of people coming to California in search of Gold. Gold was discovered in the Sacramento valley when James W. Marshall discovered gold flakes while building a sawmill in Coloma, California. News spread of his discovery which caused approximately 300,000 people to move to California during the Gold Rush. The Gold Rush is a major factor in the hasteness of California’s statehood, and why so many cities started growing rapidly there. -
With this treaty, Mexico had ceded 55% of it’s territory which included present day California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico, most of Colorado and Arizona, and parts of Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This treaty also had Mexico recognize the Rio Grande as the southern border of the United States. This treaty marked the end of the Mexican-American war. -
The Compromise of 1850 had parts that contributed to westward expansion of the United States. Part of the document settles a border dispute between Texas and the U.S. when it ceded most of western and northernmost territory. Another part of the document paved the way for California to be admitted to the union as a free state. -
This law allowed white settlers to claim 320 acres of land in Oregon territory, and led to Oregon becoming a state very quickly as Oregon grew in population after tyhe implementation of this law. -
This act, presented by Stephen Douglas, created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, leading to Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota to all become states. This act also allowed for popular sovereignty in these territories. -
The Gadsden Purchase was an agreement between the United States and Mexico that gave the U.S. a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico that later became Arizona and New Mexico, in exchange for $10 Million. This purchase/treaty established a southern border between the U.S. and Mexico and allowed for westward expansion into this area. -
The Homestead Act gave anyone who had never fought against the U.S. access to 160 acres of land in exchange for simply living on said land for 5 years. More than 500 million acres of land was dispersed between 1862 and 1904. The goal of this legislation was to entice settlers to move out west and start families.