Americans in Texas
How far north did Mexico reach in the 1820s?
All the way up through California.
Why did settlers rebel against Mexico?
They didn't want to agree to convert to Catholicism, become Mexican citizens, or agree to not own slaves.
What was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
The agreement that ended the Mexican-American War.
What started the Gold Rush?
James Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill in California.
How did people find gold at the beginning of the Gold Rush?
By panning for it in rivers or streams.
Why did the Mexican government plan to offer land in Mexico to U.S. citizens?
To encourage more people to settler there.
When did Texas actually get to join the Union?
1845
What did each side agree to in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
Mexico would sell 320 million acres of land to the United States for $15 million, and the Rio Grande would become the border between both countries.
What happened quickly after the discovery of gold?
Thousands of miners arrived in California, hoping to strike it rich.
What did a forty-niner have to do to pan for gold?
Wash dirt through a strainer to find the gold nuggets.
What did settlers have to do in order to live in Mexico?
They had to become Mexican citizens, convert to Catholicism, and follow Mexican laws.
What happened when settlers took over the Alamo in San Antonio?
They held the fort for several months, through Texas' Declaration of Independence from Mexico. Four days after Texas declared independence, Santa Anna attacked, killing all the Americans.
What was John C. Fremont's original job with the U.S. government?
He was supposed to lead an expedition to map the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
How did women often benefit more from the Gold Rush than the men?
Women set up businesses and livelihoods that supported them better than the men who worked hard at trying to pan or mine for gold and often found nothing.
How was California's constitution created?
A group delegates was elected to draft it. The group included people who had moved to California during the Gold Rush as well as Spanish Mexicans who had lived in the area for years.
Why were there 2,000 slaves living in Mexico by 1835?
Settlers brought slaves with them, even though slavery was illegal in Mexico.
What events led to the Battle of San Jacinto?
It was a major consequence of Santa Anna's actions at the Alamo.
What did Fremont do once he got to California?
He joined the U.S. side in the Mexican-American War, and established the Bear Flag Republic of California.
Who came to try to make a new life in California?
People from the United States, China, Australia, Latin America, and Europe.
Why did people soon have to resort to using mining equipment to find gold?
All the gold that was easy to find was found quickly. Then people had to mine into earth to find more.
Analyze the Image
Why is the Alamo important?
There was an important battle there, and today, it is the most visited historical landmark in Texas.
What happened as a result of the battle?
After the Americans won, Texas voted to join the United States.
Map Skills
How many square miles or square kilometers of land the United States received in 1845, 1848, and 1853?
1845 approximately 300,000 mi^2 (480,000 km^2)
1848 approx. 500,000 mi^2 (800,000 km^2)
1853 approx. 50,000 mi^2 (80,000 km^2)
How was living in Gold Rush-Era California difficult for many groups of people?
African Americans and Chinese people were discriminating against, sometimes in everyday life, and sometimes in public life.
Why was it important that California entered the Union as a free state?
It could have overthrown the balance between slave and free states. The Compromise of 1850 solved the problem by allowing California in as a free state, while giving Utah and New Mexico the choice of being slave or free.