1. Westward Expansion was a time when the United States began to spread west all the way to the Pacific Ocean 2. Today we are going to look at an overview on how this was accomplished.

1. The United States just won the Revolutionary War, gained its independence and set up a new form of government. 2. The United States now could build itself into a stable and powerful nation. 3. The new nation wanted to expand their influence and secure land. 4. Let’s take a look at the land they secured over time.

1. We learned that the Treaty of Paris was a peace treaty that was signed between the Americans and the British right after the Revolutionary War. 2. This treaty gave the Americans land as far north as the Canadian border, as far south as the Florida border and as far west as the Mississippi River.

1. The United States was growing and wanted to expand their borders west again. 2. In 1803, the United States bought the land from the French leader Napoleon. 3. It was considered one of the best real estate deals in history! The land was sold for $15 Million ($230 million in today’s money). 4. We will learn more about this later!

1. This United States agreed to give up a chunk of land in the northwest to the British who at the time owned Canada.

1. Until this time, Spain owned present day Florida. The United States, in this treaty, gained Florida from Spain. 2. The other part of this treaty set up a new boundary line the went from present day Texas to the west coast.

1. At this time, Texas was separate from the United States. 2. In 1845, the United States would annex (which means an addition) Texas and make it a U.S. State. 3. Mexico had strong ties with Texas and would be very upset after the United States annexed Texas. This would lead to the Mexican-American War which we will learn about in another lesson.

1. The Oregon Territory was located in the northwest corner of the present United States. 2. The United States and the British again struck a deal that gave the United States the northwest corner of the United States as we know it today.

1. This treaty ended the Mexican – American War. 2. The United States was given the land in the southwest corner of the United States as we know it today. 3. This land gained was know as the “Mexican Cession”.

1. In 1853, the United States bought a chunk of land in the southwest corner of the United States. 2. The United States bought this land in hopes to build a railroad and expand.

1. The contiguous (meaning touching or joining) United States would finally be complete in 1853 after the Gadsden Purchase. 2. All of the land acquired would be divvied up into states. The last state in the contiguous United States would be Arizona. Arizona received statehood in The states of Hawaii and Alaska do not physically touch the United States and they would not become states until 1959.

 Click the link and watch the progression unfold!  /US_states_by_date_of_statehood3.gif