Westward Expansion

1. Westward Expansion Mr. Potts 7th Grade Social Studies

2. Westward Expansion • The United States expanded at an astonishing rate, acquiring land through wars with England and Mexico and by negotiating the Louisiana Purchase and Oregon Treaty. • Vast expanses of untamed, undeveloped wilderness attracted people to explore this uncharted territory. How does a country grow to 20 times its original size in less than 100 years?

3. United States Land Acquisitions • Treaty of Paris (Revolutionary War) – 1783 = 13 Colonies Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. • Louisiana Purchase – 1803 = 17 FUTURE states. • Oregon Treaty – 1846 = 5 FUTURE states. • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – 1848 = 7 FUTURE states.

4. Westward Expansion • As the 1800’s began, the United States was expanding steadily westward. • More lands were opened, and settlers moved to occupy them. • Americans were curious about the vast lands that lay farther West. Adventurous explores organized expeditions to find out more about those lands.

5. Louisiana Purchase • In 1803, U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory for $15 million from France. • The Louisiana territory encompassed all or part of 15 present U.S. states. • EFFECT = Doubles the size of the United States. • President = Thomas Jefferson • Estimated cost = 3 cents per acre

6. Lewis & Clark Expedition • The Lewis and Clark Expedition was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States. • Departing in May 1804 from St. Louis on the Mississippi River, making their way westward to the Pacific coast.

7. Oregon Trail • The Oregon Trail is a 2,000-mile historic east-west large wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon.

8. Santa Fe Trail • The Santa Fe Trail was a transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. • The trail served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880.

9. Manifest Destiny & Mexican-American War • Mexican independence set the stage for conflict and change in the West and Southwest. • American settlers continued to move westward, settling in the Mexican territories of Texas and California. • American ambitions led to clashes with Mexico and the people who already lived in Mexico’s territories.

10. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo • The peace treaty signed in between the U.S. and Mexico that ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). • EFFECT = More LAND for the United States in its Manifest Destiny in Westward Expansion

11. Gadsden Purchase • The Gadsden Purchase is a treaty signed by James Gadsden, that acquired 29,670 square miles in present day southern Arizona and New Mexico. • 24% of Arizona • The purpose of the treaty was that the US might construct a transcontinental railroad along a deep southern route. • It also aimed to reconcile outstanding border issues between the US and Mexico following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

12. California Gold Rush • At the end of the Mexican-American War, the United States gained control of Mexican Territories in the West, including the land of 7 modern U.S. states. • Americans settlements in the West increased slowly at first. Then, the discovery of gold brought quick population growth and economic boom.

13. Road to Civil War • Westward Expansion • Role of Abolitionists & Underground Railroad • Sectionalism & States’ Rights • Missouri Compromise • Compromise of 1850 • Dred Scott Decision • Kansas-Nebraska Act