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Westward Expansion 2
Westward Expansion
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Westward Expansion | Americans moving west across the nation to claim land for the United States |
Louisiana Purchase | territory in western United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million; doubled the size of the US |
Lewis and Clark | They discovered new information about the resources of the Louisiana Territory |
Sacajawea | She assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition by translating and helping them cross the Rocky Mountains |
Native Americans | The first people to live in North America; many were pushed off their lands by the US |
Oregon Trail | Trail from independence Missouri to Oregon used by many pioneers during the 1840s; most were looking for good inexpensive farmland in the Oregon Territory |
Gold Rush (Sutter's Mill) | A period from 1848 to 1856 when thousands of people came to California in order to search for gold |
Boomtowns | towns that grew quickly as miners were able to find gold or silver; eventually became ghost towns because the mines ran out of gold and silver |
Battle of the Alamo | where Texans fought against Mexicans under Santa Anna at an old mission church. |
Steamboat | invention that enabled transporting goods to become easier |
steam locomotive | steam powered form of transportation that provided for faster land travel |
telegraph | a device that used electric signals to send messages developed in the 1800s; it created a speedy way to send messages over long distances and was considered the greatest change in communication during that time period |
Mississippi River | major North American river and the chief river of the United States, longest river in the U.S. |
Santa Anna | Mexican Dictator who won the Battle of the Alamo but eventually was forced to surrender to the Texas army weeks later |
Sam Houston | President of Texas who wanted to join the US |
Napoleon | France leader who agrees to sell Louisianna territory to the US for $15 million |
James K. Polk | President in 1844 who threatened war with Britain over Oregon. His slogan “54/40 or fight” refers to the northern border of Oregon. |
Dewitt Clinton | NY Governor who ushed for the building of the Erie Canal |
Forty-niners | Settlers who rushed to California hoping to strike it rich by finding gold |
Robert E Lee | A young soldier who fought in the MExican American war and eventually fights against the country in the Civil War. |
What is Manifest Destiny? Explain who was impacted by it? | The belief that America should control all the land from east coast to wets coast. Naives and animals are pushed of land. Towns grow rapidly and settlers push west, states join the union |
Gadsden purchase | After the War with Mexico the US purchases for $10 million a small section which is present day southern New Mexico and Arizona |
Purchace Florida | 1818 the US purchases Florida from Spain for $5 million |
Mexican cession | Mexico surrenders and agrees to give up all of its territory in North America for $15 million |
Rio Grande | The Rio Grande river becomes the new border between Mexico and the US after the war. |
Erie Canal | A 360 mile canal from Albany to Buffalo which cuts the cost and time of trade and travel into the heartland of America. It is an economic success and makes NYC the economic empire. |