Transcript PowerPoint Thematic Essay The Impact of Geography

E. Napp
The Theme

 Many important events in United States history have
been influenced by geography. Geographic factors or
conditions include location, size, climate, natural
resources, and physical features. These events in turn
have had political, social, and economic impacts on the
development of the United States.
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The Task

 Identify two important events in United States history
and for each
• Describe how a geographic factor or condition
influenced the event
• Discuss the political, social, and/or economic impacts of
this event on the development of the United States
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Suggestions:

• The Louisiana Purchase
• The Construction of the Erie Canal
• Migration to California in the late
1840s
• The Purchase of Alaska
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The Louisiana Purchase

 The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal
between the United States and France, in which the U.S.
acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west
of the Mississippi River for $15 million dollars.
 As the United States had expanded westward,
navigation of the Mississippi River and access to the
port of New Orleans had become critical to American
commerce.
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The Erie Canal

 Proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825, the canal
links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson
River in the east…
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 In order to open the country west of the Appalachian
Mountains to settlers and to offer a cheap and safe way
to carry produce to a market, the construction of a
canal was proposed as early as 1768…

 It was not until 1808 that the state legislature funded a
survey for a canal that would connect to Lake Erie.
 Finally, on July 4, 1817, Governor Dewitt Clinton
broke ground for the construction of the canal.
 In those early days, it was often sarcastically referred
to as “Clinton's Big Ditch”. When finally completed on
October 26, 1825, it was the engineering marvel of its
day.
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Migration to California in the late
1840s

 The California Gold Rush, which occurred in the late
1840s, was one of the most compelling events in the
history of westward expansion.
 Thousands of people caught “gold fever” and decided
to go west in order to “see the elephant,” as the great
adventure was often called.
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 Lightly populated by American Indians, Spanish
missionaries, and traders, California passed into the
hands of the United States as a result of the Mexican
War of 1846-48.

 On January 24, 1848, James Marshall, overseeing
construction of a millrace [the rapid current of water
that causes a mill wheel to turn] at Sutter’s Mill on the
American River, noticed flakes of metal in the water.
Various tests, including that the metal could be
pounded flat unlike brittle pyrite (fool’s gold),
convinced Marshall and his boss John Sutter that the
material was in fact real gold.
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 Despite their best efforts to keep the discovery a secret,
word spread like wildfire and the mill was largely
abandoned as workers caught the first cases of “gold
fever.”
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The Purchase of Alaska

 On March 30, 1867, the United States reached an
agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for a price
of $7.2 million.
 The Treaty with Russia was negotiated and signed by
Secretary of State William Seward and Russian
Minister to the United States Edouard de Stoeckl.
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 Critics of the deal to purchase Alaska called it
“Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox.”

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 Opposition to the purchase of Alaska subsided with the
Klondike Gold Strike in 1896.

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Which two events will you
choose?

 Identify two important events in United States history
and for each
• Describe how a geographic factor or condition
influenced the event
• Discuss the political, social, and/or economic impacts of
this event on the development of the United States
E. Napp