Transcript Westward Expansion Overview

Westward Expansion
Manifest Destiny
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First said by newspaper editor, John O’Sullivan in 1845… “Manifest
Destiny” was a term used during westward expansion and a belief
that is was the United States’ destiny and God’s plan to stretch from
coast to coast (Atlantic to Pacific Ocean).
Westward Expansion
How does a country grow to 20 times its original size in less than 100 years?
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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.
United States Land Acquisitions
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Treaty of Paris (Revolutionary War) – 1783 = 13 Colonies
Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.
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Louisiana Purchase – 1803 = 17 FUTURE states.
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Treaty of Adams-Onis – 1819 - Florida
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Oregon Treaty – 1846 = 5 FUTURE states.
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – 1848 = 10 FUTURE states.
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Gadsden Purchase – 1853 – Bottom portions of Arizona
(24%) and New Mexico.
United States 1800
United States
Land Acquisitions
Output Activity
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Louisiana Purchase
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In 1803, U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory for $15 million from
France.
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The Louisiana territory encompassed all or part of 17 present U.S. states.
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EFFECT = Doubles the size of the United States.
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President = Thomas Jefferson
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Estimated cost = 3 cents per acre
Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
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War between Mexico and the United States.
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The two countries were fighting over…
L A ND
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ENDS the war.
• EFFECTS:
• U.S. WINS LAND
• Mexico gets $15 million from the U.S.
Gold Rush
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Gold was discovered in California in 1849 at Sutter’s Mill in northern
California.
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of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory in
increased from 1,000 to 100,000.
Output Activity

Create a newspaper HEADLINE and a caption to
match this image for the Gold Rush.
Homestead Act (1862)
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The Homestead Act of 1862, was signed into law by President
Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862.
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It provided 160 acres of land.
Transcontinental Railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad was a 1,907-mile railroad line
constructed between 1863 and 1869.
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The Central Pacific Railroad built from California eastward.
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The Union Pacific Railroad built from Nebraska westward.
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The two railroads met in Promontory, Utah in 1869.
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EFFECT – connected the East to the West and accelerated western
expansion.
Transcontinental Railroad