Western Expansion
Name _______Mrs. Alls________
Oregon Country
 Joint occupation allowed people from both Britain and the United States to settle in Oregon country.

The United States gained part of Oregon in 1846 after agreeing to divide Oregon with the British.
Lone Star Republic
 Davy Crockett was the Tennessee backwoodsman who lost his life at the Alamo.
 Santa Anna was captured in the battle of San Jacinto.
 Who was commander of the army of the Republic of Texas? Sam Houston

Why was the decision to annex Texas such a controversy? Texas practiced slavery and this would
upset the balance by adding another slave state.
Manifest Destiny
 Manifest Destiny was the philosophy meant that the United States was set apart to extend its boundaries
all the way to the Pacific Ocean (encouraged westward movement).

Do you believe Manifest Destiny was achieved in a positive or negative way? Why or why not?
Answers may vary.
The Mexican War
 Election of 1844:
- James K. Polk was elected as the eleventh President of the United States.
-
Great Britain and the United States resolved the Oregon issue by setting the boundary between them
at 49º line of latitude.

Polk’s 3 part plan
1. Secure the border by driving Mexican forces out.
2. US would seize New Mexico and California.
3. American forces would take Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.

To incite a war with Mexico, President Polk ordered troops led by General Zachary Taylor to cross the
Nueces River, which was regarded by Mexico as an invasion of its territory. Therefore, he declared war
when Mexico attacked Taylor’s forces.

In the early 1800s, many Americans wanted to add California to the Union. What are some reasons for
adding California? Belief in Manifest Destiny, California provided excellent trade routes for ships,
and improving national defense against a foreign attack

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
-
Set the boundary between Mexico and Texas.
-
The land ceded to the United States in this treaty was called the Mexican Cession.
-
States included in the Mexican Cession are California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and parts of
Oklahoma and Colorado (Texas).

Gadsden Purchase, 1853
-
This was made mainly to provide a railroad route to California.
-
This helped the United States mainland reach its present day size.
Mormons
 Brigham Young led the Mormon migration to the Great Salt Lake Area.

Why did they leave Illinois? They wanted to settle where they could safely practice their religion.

South Pass was the name of the pass the Mormons used to get through the Rocky Mts.

The Mormons went through Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming to get to Utah.

Religious Freedom caused the single largest migration in American history.
Gold Rush
 James Marshall who worked for John Sutter was building a sawmill when he saw something shining in a
ditch. His discovery led to the Gold Rush.

Vigilantes took the law into their own hands.

Merchants made huge profits during the Gold Rush by inflating their prices for goods and services
because the miners had no other place to go for food and other items.

Gold Rush had long lasting effects on California’s economy.
A Mix of People
 Between 1840 and 1860, 1.5 million immigrants came from Ireland to America because of a severe
famine in their home country.
Review Notes

By 1860, the Midwest and the East were united by a large network of railroad tracks.

Homestead Act- New technology made it possible to farm vast quantities of land. Railroads sold land
along their tracks cheaply. The Homestead Act was passed which increased settlement on the Great
Plains.

In the North, why did industry flourish instead of farming? It was too difficult to farm the rocky soil
of New England.

The system in which the power to govern is shared between the national government and the states is
Federalism.

The Virginia Company allowed the colonists to set up the House of Burgesses so they would have some
say in their government. This assembly had the right to make local laws for the colony.

The framers of the Constitution tried to develop a government that would preserve and protect the
rights of its citizens.

Under the federal system practiced in the United States, the final authority is the U.S. Constitution.

From 1800 to 1850, many canals were built to connect lakes and rivers and provide more shipping
routes between cities.

Which invention filled the need for a method of communication that kept up with the industrial growth
and fast-paced travel of the mid-1800s? telegraph

What eventually ended the use of the Oregon Trail? Transcontinental railroad

Railroads brought more settlers from the East to the West.

What industrial system brings the entire production process together under one roof? Factory system

The South’s economy was built primarily on farming because of the mild climate and flat land made
farming easy.
By the 1850s most states had accepted that schools should be free and supported by taxes, that teachers should
be trained, and that children should be required to attend school. Problems that teachers faced included:
 Poor funding, Lack of training, and People opposed to mandatory education
Trails that led out west:
Oregon Trail
Santa Fe Trail
California Trail
Western Expansion
Name ______________________________
Driving force that made them move
into unsettled western territories
Explorers
-
make friendly contact with the
Native Americans
find the North West passage
Influence they had on the west and the
future generations that followed
- brought back info about the West inspiring
people to settle there
- discoveries
-
left personal journals describing
the area
trading posts turned into supply
stations for settlers moving west
along these trails
-
opened the West to settlement
settlers followed in their footsteps
had very few converts
-
Mountain
Men
Missionaries
Mormons
-
freedom and adventure
fur trade
- asked by Native Americans to teach
them the Bible
-persecuted for their religious beliefs
-pioneered farming methods
-helped settlers make their way West
-Salt Lake City quickly become important stop
for travelers in need of food and supplies
- Gold Rush in 1849
disease and warfare reduced the numbers
of Native Americans
- Californios lost their land to newcomers
- Helped (because of the #s) CA to become
a state in 1850
- Making money from 49ers
-
49ers
Chinese
in search of Gold
told that CA was big and
plentiful
-
helped build the West
made it an interesting place
brought their culture
Ceded by Great
Britain in 1818
Canada
Ceded by Great
Britain in 1842
(WebsterAshburton Treaty)
Oregon
Country
1846
Louisiana
Purchase
1803
Mexican
Cession
1848
Pacific
Ocean
Gadsden
Purchase
1853
United
States in
1783
Texas
annexation
1845
Annexed in 1810 &1812
Gulf of Mexico
Mexico
Atlantic
Ocean
Florida
1819
Western Expansion Terms
Name ______________________
Term
Definition
How did this impact the
USA?
Antonym
Annex
To add a territory to one’s own
territory
Cede
To give up by treaty; as in land
Manifest
Destiny
Idea that the US should expand
its border from sea to shining
sea
unchanging
Vigilante
Member of an organization of
citizens who takes the law into
his or her own hands
lawful
secede
Ann annex
Picture