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Period: to
Westward Expansion
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Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase is the purchase of French land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains that nearly doubled the size of the United States. This was a purchase of 828,000,000 square miles with $15 million dollars. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Jefferson initiated an exploration of the newly purchased land and the territory beyond the "great rock mountains" in the West.
They were in search of the Northwest Passage. -
War of 1812
Why did we go to war with Great Britain?
1) They were attacking American ships.
2) They never cleared out of the forts in the Northwest territory.
3) Americans wanted Indian land, but the British was friends with the Indians. -
Mormon Trail
The original 1846-1847 Mormon Trail goes from Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois to Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska, to Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, and Wyoming. This wagon trail length was about 1,300 miles. Joseph Smith was the man who founded the church. In 1844, Joseph Smith was murdered so the Latter-Day Saints left Nauvoo in fear that the mobs would soon attack them as well. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican American War was from 1846-1848. This war cost the United States over $100 million. This war was driven by the belief of "Manifest Destiny". Manifest Destiny: the belief that America had a God-given right, or destiny, to expand the country's border from 'sea to shining sea'. -
California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold nuggets in Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the Gold Rush. People started to travel to San Francisco by land and overseas after they heard about this amazing discovery. By the end of 1849 the population was about 100,000. A total of $2 billion worth of metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which peaked in 1852. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws that were passed in September 1850, all dealing with slavery.
