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Louisiana Purchase
The territory of Louisiana was desired greatly by the United States. Many explorers and settlers pushed the boundary to edge to access the Mississippi River and New Orleans because it was better for trade. At the time, France owned it, but was extremely poor. And so, Napoleon offered to sell it to Jefferson for only $15 million dollars. This started the western expansion. -
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War of 1812
During their disputes with France, England cut off American trading, which negatively impacted American economy. Additionally, the British were aiding the Native Americans in their fight against settlers and explorers. While the British did force a surrender of some northern states, the country considered this war their first international movement as an independent nation. -
Lincoln Elected
For years, the south had threatened to secede from the north if a Republican took the White House because it was obvious that the Republican party was against slavery. The Democratic party however was very divided between their candidates. As a result, Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won with only 40 % of the vote. This was followed by South Carolina secession. -
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Civil War
After the seceded states had organized into the Confederate States of America, they saw Fort Sumter (a Union fort) as the first target. They took their opportunity and started the deadliest American war ever. Even though the Union was reinforced with industry, resources, and transportation, the South had beliefs to defend. Fighting went on for four years until the Union began to destroy southern land and chase their troops around in the north. This is how the Union defeated the Confederacy. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which states that any enslaved people in the Confederacy were free. While this didn’t technically free the slaves, it showed the nation how devoted Lincoln was to the anti-slavery cause. This brought about more Union side soldiers in the form of freed Confederacy slaves. -
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Siege of Vicksburg
The Mississippi River provides whoever controls it with an extreme advantage when considering transportation and trade. For the Confederacy, this was their biggest advantage. Vicksburg cemented this idea until Grant decided to siege it. He did this by surrounding the city and waiting the Confederates out. They eventually gave in, and Vicksburg was the Union’s. This gave the Union the Mississippi River. -
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Battle of Gettysburg
As General Lee continued to gain Confederate victories in Virginia, he realized that true victory would come from invading the North itself. In an attempt to do so, he met General Meade in Gettysburg. Fighting continued on for three days. Lee took a risky move and tried to split the Union troops in half. He was successful but too many of his own had died and they quickly became outnumbered. This proved that the South didn’t have the military to defeat a behemoth such as the Union. -
Appomattox Court House
As Lee tried to recover things in Virginia, the battles had ended in the deep south. Generals had come up to assist Grant. Grant and his army cut off Lee at every turn and was forced to surrender. This surrender allowed men to be pardoned and sent home with their property. This was the ending of the Civil War. -
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Spanish-American War
Because Cuba was fighting for their independence from Spain, the U.S. government was pressured into sending aid. When they did this, an American battleship was sunk, and war broke. Considering they were an ocean away, Spain never gained the upper hand. The Treaty of Paris was quickly written up and Spain gave America Puerto Rico and Guam. This allowed America to be filled out by settlers and warned the world of their dominance.