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President Jefferson hired Lewis and Clark to make a trail west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. With the help of a 15 year old girl, Sacagawea, they made it possible for other settlers to have a route westward.
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The United States bought a huge piece of land west of the Mississippi River from France which cost $15 million dollars. This allowed the US to use the Mississippi River for transporting goods.
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The United States declared war with Britain. We wanted to stop their trade restrictions and their support of the Indians against our expansion West. Neither side officially won the war but both sides ended up occupying parts of each others' territory.
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The construction of the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River. This allowed goods to be shipped from New York City to the west. New York became the largest sea port in the world due to the access to the west.
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Following a 13-day battle, Mexican troops under President Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio, Texas. All but two of the Texas defenders were killed while trying to keep Texas independence. The Texans finally defeated the Mexicans in April 1836, ending the revolution.
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This wagon route became the most well known trail to the West. It went from Missouri to Oregon and was 2000 miles long. 400,000 settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners, and businessmen and their families traveled this route by 1869.
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Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and XXX Indian tribes were forced from their homes in the east and had to relocate out west. Over 4000 of them died during the grueling travel to the west which is why they call that trip the Trail of Tears.
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Machines were invented to do the work that people used to have to do by hand. One machine could do the work of 50 people. The machines were in the first factories and the machines were powered by fuel, steam and water.
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On April 16, 1846, nine covered wagons left Springfield, Illinois on the 2500 mile journey to California, in what would become one of the greatest tragedies in the history of westward migration. The Donner party traveled west and got stuck in the mountains during the winter. They had to resort to cannibalism to survive and most of them didn't make it.
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The Gold Rush was one of the most significant events in California history. It brought people from all over the United States and the world in search for gold. The spark that ignited the gold rush occurred in May 1848.
