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Louisiana purchase
828,000 square miles. The land purchased contained all of present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; parts of Minnesota that were west of the Mississippi River; most of North Dakota; most of South Dakota; northeastern New Mexico; northern Texas; the portions of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the Mississippi River, including the city of New Orleans. -
Mexico wins indipendence taking present dau Cali and New mexico
Mexico Wins Independence from Spain In the culmination of a long revolution, Mexico wins independence from Spain and takes control of the territories of New Mexico and California. -
Erie canal is opened
The Erie Canal is Opened Completing construction begun in 1817, the 363-mile canal connects Buffalo and Albany New York, which then connects to New York City via the Hudson River. The Erie Canal links New York City to the Great Lakes, and thus the West. This begins a period of rapid canal development in the North and Northwest, revolutionizing domestic trade and transportation. -
Texas rebellion
The Texas Rebellion Begins A group of Texan leaders convenes to draw up a provisional government and declare independence from Mexico. Shortly after, fighting breaks out. -
The Alamo is Taken by Mexican Troops
The Alamo is Taken by Mexican Troops Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's Mexican force of 4,000 troops lays siege to the town of San Antonio, where 200 Texans resist, retreating to an abandoned mission, the Alamo. After inflicting over 1,500 casualties on Santa Anna's men, the defenders of the Alamo are wiped out on March 6, 1836. The Alamo becomes a symbol of the Texans' determination to win independence. -
Congress votes to annex Texas
Five months after the United States Congress votes to annex Texas, a Texas convention votes to accept annexation, despite the warning by the Mexican government that any agreement to join the United States will be equivalent to a declaration of war -
Texas becomes 28th state
Texas is officially granted statehood and becomes the 28th state. -
Gold found in California
An American carpenter finds gold at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, sparking a gold rush which brings tens of thousands of new settlers to California, establishing towns and cities, and accelerating the drive toward statehood. -
California is Admitted to the Union
California is Admitted to the Union Under the Compromise of 1850, engineered by Henry Clay, California is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
The First Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
The first transcontinental railroad is completed when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads join their tracks at Promontory Point, Utah. The railroad rapidly affects the ease of western settlement, shortening the journey from coast to coast, which took six to eight months by wagon, to a mere one week's trip. -
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his men are wiped out by Sioux forces while attempting to control the Great Plains and confine all Indians to reservations. The battle symbolizes the strength of the Sioux resistance, and the US Army is forced to pursue a long war of attrition, rather than go head to head with the Sioux forces.
