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Treaty of Paris
The Revolutionary War ends. The [second] Treaty of Paris grants the newly formed United States of America its independence. The United States gains all of the territory from the Great Lakes south to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains west to the Mississippi River. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance, also known as the Ordinance of 1787, provides for the orderly creation of future states, establishes a system of laws in the territories, forbids slavery, and guarantees certain civil rights. -
Louisiana Purchase
The United States purchases from France more than 800,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase doubles the size of the United States. This territory today makes up the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and parts of Colorado, Minnesota, and Wyoming -
Lewis and Clark
Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and theirentourage set out from St. Louis, Missouri to determine whether the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean are linked by a river system. Finding no such water connection, they pioneer an overland route across the Rocky Mountains. -
Return of Lewis and Clark
The Lewis and Clark expedition returns to St. Louis after nearly twenty-eight months of exploration. The expedition had been given up for lost, and its return is celebrated throughout the country. -
Erie Canal
Work begins on the 363-mile-long Erie Canal, which will link Rome, New York, and Buffalo, New York. -
Missouri Compromise
The U.S. Congress approves the Missouri Compromise,which outlaws slavery within the Louisiana Purchase territory north of 36°30' latitude. Missouri enters the Union as a slave state, while Maine enters as a free state. -
Erie Canal completed
The Erie Canal is completed and within one year it collects $750,000 in tolls. -
First Native American newspaper
The first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, begins publication. -
Votes for Indian Removal Act
The U.S. Congress votes in favor of the Indian Removal Act, calling for the removal—voluntary or forced—of all Indians to lands west of the Mississippi. -
The Donner Party
The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who traveled from Illinois to California, but they eneded up trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada. Food ran out and eventually they began eating eachother to survive -
US Mexican War
Between 1846 and 1848 the United States and Mexico went to war. After the war Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, and the United States became a continental power. -
Bear flag revolt
California's Bear Flag Revolt begins when settlers claim their independence from Mexico and raise a flag bearing a black bear and a star at Sonoma. -
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession was the result of the Mexican-American War from 1846-1848. President James K. Polk had promised to fulfill the "Manifest Destiny" before he left office, even if it meant going to war. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In exchange for $15 million, the Mexican government under Santa Anna gave away 1/2 of their land. -
Oregon Territory
Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the region that became the Oregon Territory was explored by Europeans first by sea. The first documented exploration came in 1776 by the Spanish, with British and American vessels visiting the region within a few years. Later, land based exploration by Alexander Mackenzie and the Lewis and Clark Expedition along with the establishment of the fur trade in the region set up a variety of conflicting territorial claims by European powers and the United
