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In 1803, the ruler of France, Napeoleon, gave Thomas Jefferson, the president of the United States, the option to make a large land purchase from France. France needed funds to face the British in war, so they sold the entire Louisiana territory to the Americans. This includes present day Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnisota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, etc. President Jefferson hired explorers, Lewis and Clark, to explore these territories. -
From 1803 to 1853, many Americans believed it was God's will for the US to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
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From 1804-1806, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery explored the new territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. They were to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, meet and establish relationships with Native American tribes, keep records of all flora and fauna and make detailed maps, and establish a basis to claim other lands. They started in St. Louis, Missouri, reached the Pacific Ocean and returned, acquiring 8,000 miles round-trip.
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In 1819, Missouri applies for statehood, and New York officials propose to ban the importation of slaves and free children of current slaves in the state's constitution. The Northern states agree with this decision, but the Southern states disagree. In 1820, a compromise was made. Missouri was allowed to be a slave state, however Maine was admitted as a free state to create a balance. A line was drawn separating North and South, and it was said that slavery couldn't exist NW of that line. -
In December of 1823, President James Monroe delivered an annual address to Congress. In this address, the Monroe Doctrine is introduced, warning European nations that further colonization and puppet monarchs would not be tolerated by the US. -
In May of 1830, the Indian Removal Act was signed into law by Andrew Jackson. The act was meant to give the colonizers more access to the land and natural resources by limiting the amount of territories the Native Americans were inhabiting in the west. The President was granted unsettles lands west of the Mississippi river in exchange for Native American lands within state borders. -
The Oregon Trail was a path taken by pioneers crossing the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains to reach the Pacific Coast. The trail started in Missouri, went through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and ended in Oregon. The pioneers traveled in a long wagon train consisting of 30 to 200 wagons -
In May of 1846, America declared war on Mexico due to Mexico's refusal to recognize Texas's independence and the American desire for westward expansion.
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In 1849, '49ers rushed to California from all around the world in search of gold. The gold rush brought a large number new immigrants and American citizens to California. -
In 1850, the compromise was created and passed by Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas to resolve the issue of California entering as a free state. It also abolished the slave trade in DC, prevented Congress from passing laws regarding slavery in the rest of the territory won from Mexico and encourage Congress to pass a stronger fugitive slave law. -
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. Southerners were in favor; the act gave them a chance the get more land and hoped Kansas would become a slave state. Northerners were against the act; slavery would now spread to areas that had been free. -
The Transcontinental Railroad officially opened in May of 1869 for transit between Sacramento, California and Omaha, Nebraska. The railroad was key in rapidly developing the newer western territories. It transported cargo beyond the Mississippi River.