Westward Expansion CICERO © 2010
Examples of American Expansion Revolutionary War (1776) Proclamation of 1763 Louisiana Purchase (1803) from France – $15 million War of 1812 designs on Canada and Florida Monroe Doctrine (1823) Europe out of the Western Hemisphere Indian Removal Act (1830) Trail of Tears, 1838 Texas Revolution (1836) Annexation of Texas, 1847 Mexican War (1846) a border dispute justified expansion Mexican Session (1848) California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah Gadsden Purchase (1853) from Mexico – $10 million Purchase of Alaska (1867) from Russia – $7 million CICERO © 2010
Manifest Destiny Manifest Destiny was a term used in the 1840s to justify America’s Westward expansion into such areas as Texas, Oregon, and California. There was a widely held belief that Americans, the chosen people, had a divinely inspired mission to spread democracy to the less fortunate (usually meaning American Indians and other non-Europeans). CICERO © 2010
How does this painting explain the attitude of Americans about territorial expansion in the mid-1800s? Spirit of the Frontier/American Progress 1872 by John Gast (Westward Angel)
“Go West Young Man!” Horace Greeley-1845 Why did early settlers flood across the country during the mid-1800s? The California Gold Rush began in 1848 with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on the California River. Settlers flocked to Oregon searching for fertile farmland. Ranchers moved into areas that buffalo previously inhabited and began raising cattle descended from Spanish herds. CICERO © 2010
Trails West CICERO © 2010
Conestoga Wagon “Prairie Schooner” The wagons were named for the Pennsylvania town where many were produced. Oxen or mules usually pulled these wagons, and they traveled in groups as wagon trains. They were known as “prairie schooners” because of their appearance moving across the grassy plains. CICERO © 2010
The Stagecoach Passenger coaches were a popular form of public transportation in the early 1800s. They received their name because the driver changed horses every fifteen miles, or stage. The person who rode next to the driver, “riding shotgun,” usually carried a shotgun to guard against hostile Indians or bandits. CICERO © 2010
Steam Locomotive “Iron Horse” The first locomotive built in the United States was The Best Friend of Charleston. It began service in On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act, which authorized building the Transcontinental Railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, in Promontory Point, Utah. CICERO © 2010
Steamboat Robert Fulton built the first successful steamboat, the Clermont, in Settlers traveling to the West by boat faced an arduous journey of 18,000 miles around South America or sailing to the Isthmus of Panama, crossing overland, and sailing to California. CICERO © 2010