Go West Young Man
Pioneers move west and make the
nation grow.
The Original 13 Colonies
The 13 Colonies in 1776
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New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
Pennsylvania
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Delaware
New Jersey
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
The American Revolution

The American
Colonies fought for
Independence from
Great Britain. The
American Revolution
lasted from 1775 to
1783.
America Grows after the Revolution

After the American Revolution, new
territories were added as part of the
Treaty of Paris, 1783. Britain gave up its
claim to all land south of Canada and
east of the Mississippi River.
The US and its Territories-1783
Over the Mountains
Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian
Mountains are a
chain of several
mountain ranges that
run from the top of
Georgia to New York
and on to the bottom
of Maine.
Crossing the Mountains

In the 1700s the only
ways to travel were
by boat, wagon, on
horseback or on foot.
 These mountains
were too difficult to
cross.
The Cumberland Gap

In 1750 Dr. Thomas
Walker and some
friends found a trail
though a valley. It is
called the
Cumberland Gap
 Later Daniel Boone
and others would
use the path to lead
pioneers into the
west.
Pioneers Head West
New States

Pioneers moved
west and built
villages and towns.
Soon there would be
new states in the
Union.
 Vermont 1791
 Kentucky 1792
 Tennessee 1796
The Mighty Mississippi
The Port of New Orleans
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The Mississippi was like
a water highway,
connecting many rivers
and communities.
New Orleans was a port
city that connected the
Mississippi River to the
Gulf of Mexico.
The Louisiana Purchase

In 1801 Thomas
Jefferson sent
Robert Livingston to
Paris in order to buy
the city of New
Orleans.
The Louisiana Purchase

France offered to sell
all of land it held
along with the city.
 Livingston
purchased the entire
Louisiana Territory
for $15,000,000.
Exploring the Country

President Jefferson
then sent Meriwether
Lewis and William
Clark to explore the
land.
 With the help of
Sacagawea, they
traveled to the
Pacific Ocean and
back.
Lewis & Clark Travel for Two Years
The USA and Territories in 1805
Traveling the American Rivers

As more people moved west, more
goods and supplies needed to be sent
west too. The best way was to send
cargo on boats.
Portage: French word-to carry
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Not all rivers connect to each other. Some rivers have
dangerous rapids too. Boats would have to be
unloaded, then the goods and boats were walked
across the land.
Pioneers needed to travel across the Great Lakes too.
Building the Erie Canal
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A plan was made to
create a canal, a manmade-river, to connect
the city of Albany to
Buffalo in New York.
Flat-bottomed boats
called barges, would be
pulled along the canal
by mules. The mules
walked along a path
next to the canal.
The Erie Canal

The Erie Canal was completed in 1825.
 The Eastern states were now connected to the
Great Lakes and the Northwest Territories.
Travel by Barge on the Erie Canal

Boats filled with people and goods could travel
across the Great Lakes and down rivers like
the Wabash, Illinois, and Ohio then down to
the Mississippi.
America in 1820
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New States in the
union:
Indiana-1816
Mississippi-1817
Illinois-1818
Alabama-1819
Maine-1820
Missouri-1821
The United States in 1830
Beyond the Mississippi
America grows
Moving West
Missouri
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Missouri became the
“Gateway” to the west.
The city of St. Louis is
on the Mississippi River.
Settlers came down the
Ohio River to the
Mississippi and started
the trip on land from St.
Louis.
Pioneers would follow
the Missouri River out
into the west.
The Wagon Train
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Pioneers could buy
supplies in the town of
Independence.
It was much safer to
travel in groups with
other families in wagon
trains.
The wagon trains would
follow a guide and the
trails out into the west.
Oregon Territory
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Far in the west was the
Oregon Territory.
Few people were living
there before the 1840s.
Groups of people
traveled together in
wagon trains and began
to move west. The path
they followed was
named the Oregon Trail.
The Changing Land

The center of the
country is covered in
flat, grassy land
called the Great
Plains.
New Sights

The land west of the
Mississippi was very
different for the
pioneers.
 There were fewer
trees and flat lands
full of tall grasses.
Where the Buffalo Roam
Life on the trail
The Rocky Mountains

The Rocky
Mountains run from
New Mexico up into
Canada.
 Some mountains are
more than 14,000
feet tall.
Crossing the Plains, Rivers and
Mountains
The Oregon Trail

Starting in
Independence, it
could take more than
4 months to get to
Oregon.
California

Settlers followed the
trail to Sacramento,
California.
 Gold was discovered
in 1848 and
thousands of new
people headed west.
GOLD!
Wagon Trails West
The wagons are gone, but the ruts
can still be seen today.
The End