Westward Expansion

  • 1818 Agreement

    The US, Great Britain, Russia, and Spain had wanted to own the Oregon Country. Eventually, Russia and Spain backed out because they did not have that many people in Oregon. This led to the US and Great Britain sharing it. Oregon Country consisted of current day Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Canada.
  • Mountain Men in 1820s

    Quite a few people moved to Oregon Country because there were many animals to get furs from. These people were called mountain men. The winters were very hard on them so some moved out, some dealed alone, and some settled with the local Indians. The Rendezvous was when they met with the traders at the Western coast and traded their furs for food and money. These mountain men also dressed in what they caught.
  • Moses Austin Land Grant

    Moses Austin was the first man to get land in Texas and he died before he could build there. His son Stephen took over and built buildings and brought 300 families over into Texas and this is how the Americans started filing into Teas which led to the Texas Independence. The Lone Star Republic.
  • General Antonio López de Santa Anna

    He was the person that got control of Mexico and he pretty much became a dictator. The Texans did not like him and they helped the US fight against Mexico.
  • The Battle of Gonzalez

    In October 1835, the Texans in Gonzales town fought with the troops of Mexico and we won. Two months after that, San Antonio was all American and it was a big moment in the movement of making Texas American.
  • The Whitmans

    Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were missionaries that married in 1836 and went to Oregon to try to make NAs Christian. They wanted more people to come down there so they gave great reports about the land. Travelers brought disease with them and measles was one of them. This killed a lot of the Cayuse Indian kids. In 1847, mad Indians attacked the missionaries and killed the Whitmans and 12 others.
  • Sam Houston was Elected President of the Republic of Texas

    Sam houston was elected the president of Texas right after the declared independence. They nicknamed Texas the Lone Star state because they carried a single star flag when they fought.
  • The Alamo

    On February 23, 1836, Mexico sieged the Alamo. Once they blasted down the walls, it was a foot/ground battle. The Mexicans were winning and the Americans forfeited but the Mexicans soldiers still decided to kill everybody. This infuriated the Americans and the Alamo was used as propaganda for the future battles. "Remember the Alamo" was a huge battle cry that was used often.
  • Texas Declares Independence

    Texas declared independence from Mexico because Texas was mostly made up of Americans and the rest of the Tejanos did not like Santa Anna. The Texans and Tejanos called Texas the Lone Star Republic.
  • Battle of San Jacinto

    April 21, 1836, the Texans surprised attacked Santa Anna and the Mexican forces at San Jacinto. The Battle of San Jacinto lasted 18 minutes and they killed 630 Mexicans even though the Texans were outnumbered and they captured 700 more soldiers. The day after that, they captured Santa Anna and made him sign a Texas independence treaty.
  • The Panic of 1837

    The Panic of 1837 was when the US Bank ran out of money or they could not support the money that the people were being asked to hand out. This led to a panic and thousands of people moved to Texas. In the 1840s, around 140,000 people lived in Texas.
  • Oregon Trail

    The Oregon trail was made and it brought wagons with travelers to the West. In Independence, Missouri, many people were getting ready to go west. This was a good starting place. Since the people did not want to get stuck in the snow, they left in May for the ideal weather. They had to make it 2,000 miles in 5 months and since they were in wagons,15 miles a day was a good pace. Disease spread quickly b/c everyone lived close together. They traded with the Indians for food on the trail.
  • The Cayuse Indians

    Mad Indians attacked the missionaries and killed the Whitmans and 12 others. They did this because the travelers in the Oregon fever brought disease with them like the measles and it killed a lot of the Cayuse Indian kids. This was a non benefit of all of the traveling West.
  • The Gold Rush

    The Gold Rush was when a man named John Sutter found gold on his windmill land and the news spread worldwide. The people that rushed to California were called the 49ers hence the year, 1849. Many people did not become rich but some very few did. Run away slaves, New Englanders, and many foreign people were apart of the 49ers. There was a ton of crime though with all of those people living in the camps with all of that gold around.