Chapter 13 Westward Expansion Vocabulary

Frontier The land that forms the farthest area from a nation’s settled regions

Expansion Extending a nation beyond its existing borders

Manifest Destiny Belief that the United States had the right and duty to expand all the way to Pacific Ocean

Mountain Men Fur trappers who lived in the Western mountains in the early 1800’s.

Rendezvous Yearly meeting where Mountain Men traded furs.

Oregon Fever Mass migration of Americans to the Pacific Northwest. Settlers travelled the Oregon Trail to find free and fertile land in the West during the 1840’s and 1850’s.

The Alamo A battle at an old Spanish Mission in Texas. There were 150 Texans against 6,000 Mexican troops.

Annex To add on

Lone Star Republic After winning independence from Mexico, Texans called their new nation the Lone Star Republic.

Bear Flag Republic Name given to California in 1846 when they declared themselves free from Mexico and an independent republic.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848) War between the United States and Mexico over a border dispute with Texas.

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848) Treaty that ended the Mexican-American War. Mexico recognized Texas annexation and gave the U.S. the Mexican Cession

Mexican Cession Land given to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. The territory included parts of New Mexico, California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah.

Gadsden Purchase In 1853, the United States agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for a strip of land in present day Arizona and New Mexico.

Mormons The largest group of settlers to move into the Mexican Cession (Utah). They moved here for religious reasons

Polygamy Practice of having more than one wife at a time

Sutter’s Mill In 1848, gold was found here by James Marshall. Soon, more than 80,000 people traveled to California for the Gold Rush.

Forty-Niner Person who headed to California in search of gold during the Gold Rush of 1849.