Trails to the West Ch. 7-2, P. 249

Key Terms Trans-Appalachia Adams-Onis Treaty Cede manifest destiny Mountain man Oregon Trail Pass Santa Fe Trail California Gold Rush ghost town

Essential Questions How and why did settlers cross the Appalachians? How did the United States expand into Florida? What factors motivated American migrants bound for the Pacific?

Crossing the Appalachians – The 1st West In 1810, 1/7 of the population lived west of the Appalachians. By 1840, more than 1/3 of the population lived there. Also, the population had grown from 7.2 million to 17.2 million.

Crossing the Appalachians – The 1st West Several roads and rivers carried settlers west. Most important was the Wilderness Road, cut through the Cumberland Gap, a low spot in the Appalachian Mountains between Virginia and North Carolina.

Crossing the Appalachians Millions of settlers crossed over the mountains. They settled in areas that would become the next set of new states. Many came to establish a new life for themselves.

Florida In 1795, America and Spain established the border between Georgia and Florida. By 1810, Americans were the majority in the western part of Florida. They declared independence and joined the United States.

Florida Meanwhile, East Florida had become a haven for runaway slaves. They would be welcomed by the Seminole Indians. The Seminoles would also fight against white settlements in the region.

Florida An American general was sent to deal with the Seminole threat. That general was Andrew Jackson. In 1818, Jackson crossed into Florida, burned Seminole villages, captured Spanish towns, and was in control of all of northern Florida within a few weeks. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams used this to his advantage in negotiating the Louisiana border with Spain.

The Pacific - The 2nd West Americans had heard stories of the beautiful land called Oregon in the west. Over the next several decades, thousands of families made the difficult journey across the country to Oregon. However, Britain and Russia also claimed this territory.

The Pacific – The 2nd West Before 1840, several well- established trails carried hundreds of wagons westward, towards New Mexico, California, and Oregon. The Mormons, a religious group, immigrate to Utah and try to establish independence. In 1848, gold is discovered in California, and 200,000 will arrive there within five years.