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The Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains accounting for 828,000 square miles of French territory. On April 30, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was dated and later signed on May 2. Napoleon of France sold off the Louisiana Territory to Thomas Jefferson, the current United States President. This doubled the size, strength, and economy of the United States. -
During the War of 1812, British troops invaded Washington and set fire to the United States Capitol and other landmarks. This fire reduced most of the building into rubble. The British hoped the burning of Washington would demoralize the Americans. During this time Dolley Madison, the first lady, save a portrait of George Washington from being located by British troops. -
The Texas Revolution, also known as the War of Texas Independence, was the result of cultural and political clashes between the Mexican government and the increasing population of American settlers in Texas. The Mexican government was very tyrannical with the leadership of Santa Anna and previous presidents. The war began with the Battle of Gonzales on October 2, 1835, and ended with the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.
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Manifest Destiny was coined in 1845 and was a widely held belief for American Settlers. The belief was the inevitability of the United States borders being from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. -
The Great Famine goes by many names such as the Irish Potato Famine, Great Irish Famine, or the Famine of 1845-52. It began when the potato crop failed to grow for several consecutive years. In the early 1840s, the Irish were heavily dependent on potatoes. The reason it failed was because of the late blight, which was a disease that kills roots, tubers, and leaves off of potatoes. The British didn't provide much aid and around one million people died. This caused many to migrate to the US.
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The First Texas State Fair, also called the Lone Star Fair, was introduced in 1852 in Corpus Christi. Colonel Henry L. Kinney wanted to expose the world to his paradise, Corpus Christi so he developed the idea of a fair. Entertainment, accommodations, land, stock, and prizes were promoted to attract people's attention. The fair received mixed reviews and did not return again until 7 years later in Dallas, Texas. -
The Civil war, also known as the War Between States was a four-year war that started on April 4, 1861, until April 26, 1865. The two sides fighting each other were the Union (United States) and the Confederates, which were 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union. In 1860 there was always the topic of slavery and how it divided the country. The election of Abraham Lincoln only worsened the attitudes of Southern states causing 7 southern states to secede then 4 more after the war began. -
The Panic of 1873 began with a crisis in Europe when their stock market crashed. European companies were borrowing money to build more railroads and bonds. When they began to sell their bonds, no one wanted to buy them because there was an excess of them. This led to railroads going bankrupt. This led to the United States also going bankrupt when panic fell in, and people demanded all of their money back. At least 100 banks failed nationwide. -
On September 19, 1893, Governor Glasgow signed the Electoral Bill allowing women the right to vote. This made New Zealand the first country to allow women to vote. It started off with many petitions trying to gain the favor of Parliament in the early 1880s. In 1893 13 petitions were submitted to the House of Representatives but only one survived. This list was presented in Parliament and less than two months later women were allowed to vote in New Zealand. -
The Great Galveston Storm was one of the deadliest natural disasters in the United States and Texas History. When the storm hit Galveston, it was a category 4 hurricane and caused more than 8000 deaths. The town was warned of its incoming approach, but they ignored the warning. After the hurricane, Galveston raised the elevation of many new homes and buildings along with the addition of a seawall.