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was a war including the French and the Native Americans. -
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 formally ended the American Revolutionary War. American statesmen Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay negotiated the peace treaty with representatives of King George III of Great Britain. In the Treaty of Paris, the British Crown formally recognized American independence and ceded most of its territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States, doubling the size of the new nation and paving the way for westward expansion.
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The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States. -
An expedition through the Louisiana Territory to investigate resources and search for a useful waterway, this expedition was the first transcontinental voyage. It lasted two and a half years, with Merriweather Lewis and William Clark having accomplished their goals. Their journey opened America westward to survey and settlement, contributing geographical and diplomatic information.
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Lasting three years, The War of 1812 did not accomplish the border changes it was fought for. The only effect of the war was the constraining of American Indian tribes, restricting them to tribal reservations or forcing them westward, opening up new land for the U.S. expansion.
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President Andrew Jackson signed the act into regulation, causing the autonomous nations of the Five Civilized Tribes (Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Indians) to be pressured into signing removal treaties by legal and corporal force. The force of the removal pressed many of the tribes into Oklahoma land. The majority of the Cherokees, from May 18 to June 2, 1838, were forced to live in forts and stockades before departure for Indian Territory
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The term Manifest Destiny was coined by John O'Sullivan in 1845. This belief that the expansion of the United States was inevitable and justifiable was the driving force of the century that led explorers and settlers westward in search of new land.
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major push for expansion to the west of the Mississippi began with the notion of Manifest Destiny. In search of religious freedom for Mormons, gold, silver, and richer soil, four trails brought harsh weather, Indian attacks, isolation, and the prospect of a transcontinental railroad.
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With intentions to create land for a variety of settlers, not only those who could afford to buy it outright, the Homestead Act set up a process that made land more affordable. After an application process, the buyer had to live on the land and make improvements for five years. After that, the homesteader could file for deed of residency. Land was free except for a small fee for registration.
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Work began in Sacramento to build open railway lines to Asia. The completed railroad on May 10, 1869 carried the first emigration waves from Asia to America.
