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Period: to
Western Expansion
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Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston Demonstrate the Speed of the Clermont
Fulton and Livingston demonstrate the power of the steamboat by traveling from New York City up the Hudson River to Albany in 32 hours, a trip that would take a sailing sloop four days. -
The Indian Removal Act is Passed
The Indian Removal Act grants President Andrew Jackson the funding and authority to remove the Indians residing east of the Mississippi River, a goal he pursues with great zeal. -
Treaty of New Echota is Signed
Federal agents persuaded a pro-removal Cherokee chief to sign the Treaty of New Echota, which ceded all Cherokee land for $5.6 million and free transportation west. Most Cherokees rejected the treaty, but resistance was futile. Between 1835 and 1838 bands of Cherokee Indians moved west of the Mississippi along the so-called Trail of Tears. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of the 16,000 migrating Cherokees died. -
Texas is Admitted to the Union
Texas is officially granted statehood and becomes the 28th state. -
Gold is Discovered in California
An American carpenter finds gold at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, sparking a gold rush which brings tens of thousands of new settlers to California, establishing towns and cities, and accelerating the drive toward statehood. -
The Dawes Severalty Act is Passed
The Dawes Act calls for the breakup of the reservations and the treatment of Indians as individuals rather than tribes. It provides for the distribution of 160 acres of farmland or 320 acres of grazing land to any Indian who accepted the act's terms, who would then become a US citizen in 25 years. The act is intended to help the Indians to integrate into white society, but in reality helps to create a class of federally dependent Indians. -
The Massacre at Wounded Knee
After an excited Native American fires a rifle shot, US Army troops massacre 300 Indians, including seven children. The massacre is the symbolic final step in the war for the West, and after Wounded Knee the Indians succumb to the wishes of the federal government, resigning themselves to reservation life. -
Arizona is Admitted to the Union
Arizona, the last of the 48 contiguous United States, is admitted to the Union, completing the century-long process of conquering and organizing the American West.