People & Places
Founder of the Mormon religion who was killed by an anti-Mormon mob in 1844.
Joseph Smith
Agreement that ended the War with Mexico and enlarged the U.S. by one-third.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Term for the prospectors who rushed to California in 1849 in search of gold.
Forty-Niners (49ers)
Belief that the U.S. was meant to expand West to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory.
Manifest Destiny
Leader of the Mormon migration to Utah after Joseph Smith's death.
Brigham Young
Land purchase that established the final borders of the lower 48 states.
Gadsden Purchase
Migration route to the Northwest that began in Independence, Missouri.
Oregon Trail
Main appeal Texas held for American settlers under Mexican rule.
Cheap land
U.S. General who led troops to the Rio Grande River, triggering conditions ripe for war with Mexico.
Zachary Taylor
Agreement made (and ultimately broken) between the U.S. government and Native Americans.
Fort Laramie Treaty
The single biggest killer of travelers on the Oregon Trail.
Cholera
Main dispute that directly caused the war between the U.S. and Mexico.
The southern border of Texas
Location where gold was first discovered in California in 1848.
Sutter's Mill
Territory associated with the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"
Oregon Territory
Primary reason Mormons moved west to Utah.
Religious freedom
Major domestic issue that delayed the annexation of Texas into the United States.
The balance between free and slave states
Group of settlers who took a shortcut and became trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountain snow.
Donner Party
Independent republic for nearly 10 years nicknamed the "Lone Star State."
Texas
Items American traders exchanged on the Santa Fe Trail (knives, guns, clothing) to receive these 3 items.
Gold, silver, and furs
Event most responsible for creating a diverse population in California.
The Gold Rush