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Louisiana Purchase
The US paid France a total of 50 million francs for a very large section of land. The section of land ended up being 530 million acres. This was the cheapest land deal in history, considering it ended up being 3 cents per acre. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
After the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson wanted to know what the newly purchased land contained. He had Lewis and Clark explore the new land, with a main goal of finding a "direct and practicable water communication source". They succeeded on their journey and it became one of the most famous explorations of the West in history. -
Steamboats
The invention of the steamboat help Americans travel West by making it a lot easier to cross the Mississippi River. Without steamboats, it would have been very difficult to cross with regular boats. Steamboats also made water travel easier and more comfortable, which led to making trading easier. -
War of 1812
A war against Britain leading to many historic events. For example, one very big event was when Britain burned down the White House. There is no clear winner to this war, since both countries walked away happily. -
Santa Fe Trail
A trade route leading from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe (which is now known as New Mexico). It was later used by settlers to travel West. -
Railroads
Railroads were built to make travelling West a lot easier and safer. It also helped trade out, since it made bringing goods and materials back and forth very fast and easy. -
Indian Removal Act
An act passed by congress that led to over 60,000 Native Americans being forced to Mississippi. -
Oregon Trail
One of the first paths used by settlers to travel West. It stretched from the Mississippi river all the way to valleys in Oregon. The trail was 2,000 miles long. -
The Telegraph
The telegraph was an invention that made communication between long distances easier. It was a way to send morse code back East without much of a hassle. Compared to sending letters, using the telegraph was much easier and quicker. -
California Gold Rush
Gold was discovered in Coloma, California. Once word got out, many people decided to travel West in hopes of finding their fortune in gold. Some succeeded, while many ended up the same or worse than they were back East.
