Manifest Destiny & Trails
This was the 1803 land deal with France doubled the size of the U.S. and was the starting point for westward expansion.
Louisiana Purchase
Following its independence from Mexico in 1836, this "Lone Star" territory was annexed by the U.S. in 1845.
Texas
This 1849 event caused the non-native population of California to skyrocket after gold was discovered.
California Gold Rush
The Mexican-American War fueled intense debate over whether to allow this institution in the new Western territories.
Slavery
This term, meaning "to add on," describes how the United States brought Texas and Hawaii into the Union.
Annex
This was a 2,000-mile route from Missouri to the Pacific Northwest, used by pioneers in wagon trains.
Oregon Trail
The 13-day siege at this San Antonio mission became a rallying cry for Texas revolutionaries.
Alamo
This nickname was given to the tens of thousands of people who arrived in California in 1849.
forty-niners
This Kentucky Senator, known as the "Great Compromiser," authored the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850.
Henry Clay
Gold was discovered in 1848 at this specific location, owned by John sutter, sparking the rush of the following year
Sutter fort
This group moved to the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847 to escape religious persecution.
Mormons
This "Expansionist President" sent troops to the Rio Grande, effectively starting the war with Mexico
James K. Polk
This 1853 land deal with Mexico cost $10 million and provided land for a southern transcontinental railroad.
Gadsden Purchase
This 1846 proposal, which failed to pass the Senate, tried to ban slavery in all lands acquired from Mexico.
Wilmot Proviso
Before the Mexican-American War officially began, President Polk sent this General (and future President) to park his troops in the disputed territory.
Zachary Taylor
This 1846 treaty with Britain established the 49th parallel as the border, avoiding a third war with the British.
Oregon Treaty
This 1848 treaty ended the Mexican-American War and gave the U.S. the "Mexican Cession" for $15 million.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This Swiss immigrant’s sawmill was the site where James Marshall first discovered gold in 1848.
John Sutter
As part of the Compromise of 1850, this state was admitted to the Union as a free state
California
This concept, central to the Compromise of 1850 and the later Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowed the people of a territory to vote on whether to allow slavery.
Popular Sovereignty
This editor and columnist for the United States Magazine and Democratic Review gave the movement its name in an 1845 article supporting the annexation of Texas
John O'Sullivan
After an 1844 treaty to annex Texas failed to gain the necessary two-thirds support in the Senate, President John Tyler successfully pushed for annexation through this alternative legislative measure that required only a simple majority in both houses.
Joint Resolution
Before becoming a state, American settlers in California staged this 1846 revolt against Mexican rule, named for the symbol on their flag.
Bear Flag Revolt
This specific part of the Compromise of 1850 outraged Northerners by requiring them to help catch runaway enslaved people.
Fugitive slave act
During the Mexican-American War, this American officer led the "Amphibious" invasion of Veracruz and captured Mexico City, effectively ending the fighting.
Old Fuss and Feathers aka Winfield Scott