Markets & Transportation
What major canal, completed in 1825, connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and boosted trade?
Erie Canal
What was the name of the place where Texan forces, including Davy Crockett, were defeated by Mexican troops under Santa Anna?
The Alamo
What U.S. president was in office during the Mexican-American War?
James K Polk
What nickname was given to the gold seekers who traveled to California in 1849?
49ers
Which transportation innovation greatly reduced travel time and shipping costs on rivers in the early 19th century?
Steamboat
Who was the leader of the Texan army that won independence at the Battle of San Jacinto?
Sam Houston
What rivers did the U.S. and Mexico dispute as the official border, leading to war?
Nueces and Rio Grande rivers.
What was the name of the man who first discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill?
James Marshall
Which invention by Eli Whitney made cotton processing faster and more profitable?
Cotton gin
Before Texas became independent, who was the Mexican president and general that led forces against the Texan revolutionaries?
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
What U.S. general led troops to victory at the Battle of Buena Vista?
Zachary Taylor
1 in 10 immigrants to California during the Gold Rush came from where?
China
The economic shift from subsistence farming to producing goods for sale in a national market?
Market Revolution
What year did Texas officially declare its independence from Mexico?
1836
What treaty ended the war and granted the U.S. vast western territories?
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
What law passed in 1850 changed access to mining rights?
Foreign Miners Tax
What was the name of the economic program promoted by Henry Clay that supported government investment in infrastructure like roads and canals
The American System
What was the main reason for tensions between American settlers and the Mexican government in Texas?
Disputes over slavery, land rights, and whether settlers would follow Mexican law
What was the name of the land acquisition that completed the continental U.S. expansion after the war?
The Gadsden Purchase
How did the Gold Rush contribute to debates over slavery in the US?