Westward Expansion1800 - 1850

Unit 1

Manifest DestinyThe belief that the United States

has a divine right to expand its territory.

*John L. O’Sullivan coined the phrase

Thomas Jefferson• 3rd President of the United

States (1800 – 1808)– Political philosopher,

horticulturist, architect, inventor and much more

– Louisiana Purchase (1803)– Lewis and Clark Expedition

(1804-1806)

Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase 1803

James Monroe and Robert Livingston buy the land for about 15 million dollars.

*The purchase doubles the size of our country at that time.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Meriwether Lewis 1774-1809

William Clark 1770-1838

40 people went on trip

As the men make their way to the Pacific, Jefferson wants the men to gather information on:

1. Flow of rivers2. Natural resources and possible

economic development3. Climate4. Plant growth5. Geology6. Contact with Indians7. Animals

Sacajawea• Husband – Touissant

Charonneau– Insists on bringing wife

and child• Tribe – Shoshone• Name – Bird woman

Journal EntryPlants

AnimalsPeople

WeatherLandscapeStructures

Texas Independence

• March 2nd, 1836: Texas declares it’s independence from Mexico.

• March 6th, 1836: The Alamo Falls • 1836 – 1845 Texas becomes a country

(the Republic of Texas) • December 29th, 1845 Texas becomes a

state

Oregon Country

• In 1846 the U. S. makes an agreement with Great Britain to get the Oregon Country

• President Polk– “54 40 or fight”

The Mexican War1846 - 1847

• War begins due to a disagreement of the Texas southern border which the U. S. said was the Rio Grande River.

• Major General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City ending the war.

• Under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo which ends the war, the U. S. gets the Mexican Cession.

The Gadsden Purchase

• The U. S. paid Mexico 10 million dollars for a strip of land south of the Gila River in Arizona and New Mexico.

• This land provided a route for a southern transcontinental railroad.