W ESTWARD EXPANSION T RIP Let’s get started! Lisa Pham Period 4-5

T HE P ACIFIC C OAST L EWIS AND CLARK Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific ocean in There, they had sent up fort and endured a tough, but worth-while three months. This had been their destination at the beginning when Thomas Jefferson wanted them to find the Northwest passage leading to the coast. Their journey had taken one year, six months, and one day. It was filled with illness, rough landscape, strange animals, and endless labor. However, they did find, also, that the lands were breathtaking. Along with danger, they also contained rich resources which would greatly benefit America. They had found out that the passage they were instructed to find does not exist. The Corps of Discovery’s expedition to the Pacific gathered much information for the Americans, still in the east. They had wrote in journals about the things that they’ve found and saw, which helped other Americans’ journey to the west a bit easier and more importantly, persuaded them to go.

S AN J ACINTO Texas Independence was finally gained in After a brutal defeat at the Alamo, in which all Texan soldiers were killed, Americans and the Tejanos used their fuel for revenge to attack Santa Ana’s army. American settlers and Tejanos were lead by Sam Houston who was absent at the Alamo. Right before they were going to begin battle, Sam Houston proclaimed this famous statement: “Remember the Alamo!” Sam Houston’s army defeated Santa Ana in less than 20 minutes and had successfully captured the dictator himself. After giving him the choice of either surrender or death, Santa Ana reluctantly agreed to give up Texas. Now that Texas was out of Mexico’s rule and strict laws, Americans were more attracted to the area.

R IO G RANDE When Mexico refused to recognize the Rio Grande as a border, president James Polk, outraged, sent out an army to the river lead by Zachary Taylor. In their first battle, Taylor and the Mexican army faced each other on opposite sides of the river. When the Taylor’s troops didn’t retreat, the Mexican army marched in and attacked. Again, Polk was outraged and officially declared war. Soon, more battles were fought that the U.S had easily won. In many battles, the U.S had driven the Mexican army to the southern bank of the Rio Grande After several defeats, Mexico finally agreed to peace and signed the Treaty of Guadalupe- Hidalgo which not only documented that the Rio Grande was the border between Mexico and the U.S, but also gave the U.S California and New Mexico. For giving up much of its territories, Mexico was given $15, 000, 000 from the U.S. When the U.S gained Texas, California, and New Mexico, Americans came pouring in, thus continuing the American expansion to the west.

S UTTER ’ S M ILL While building a mill for John Sutter in 1848, James Marshall discovered some metal flakes. Marshall had realized that the flakes were in fact gold. Despite Sutter’s efforts to keep it a secret, the word of the gold discovery spread to the east and soon, people came pouring into California in hopes of striking it rich. Though the news of prosperity were tempting, when people got there it was more than obvious that nothing in California looked well. Miners worked in laborious, hot conditions but few actually found much of anything. In addition, since there was no formal government to control the booming towns, crimes were constantly roaring with nothing but mediocre “officers” to keep things in control. The gold rush had a major impact on westward expansion, drawing large amounts in large amounts of Americans and turning the sleepy towns of California to busy city areas.

R OCKY M OUNTAINS Dreams of wealth and a new life drew people to Oregon. Many struggled along the Oregon Trail which was filled with illness, starvation, Native American attacks, and dangerous, wild animals. One of the places the Oregon Trail lead to was the Rocky Mountains. The mountains were also a great place for fur trade for it contained many animals to trap. The fur traders of these mountains were called, “Mountain Men,” and traded with the locals Indians. Despite the good profit the business brought in, Mountain Men were often poor. The Oregon Trail was another great contribution to westward expansion because, again, it promised great things to those struggling in the west and despite the many risks, people still to the chance and moved to the famous Oregon Country.

A CROSS THE M ISSISSIPPI After having lived there for thousands of generations, the Cherokee people were pushed off there land by a U.S army in 1838 and lead on the fateful Trail of Tears. President Andrew Jackson had forced the Indian Removal Act and after giving the Cherokees time to leave their homeland, sent in a troop of men to round them out west of the Mississippi. During this forced journey, 4000 Cherokees died. Although the act was cruel and unjust, it made room for Americans to spread across the continent and encouraged their Manifest Destiny.

F ORT M ANDAN The construction of the site began in Nov for the 1804/1805 winter. At Fort Mandan, Lewis and Clark met who would be an important, if not essential, member of their trip. Sacagawea, a young Shoshone woman who had been kidnapped and sold as a slave to Toussaint Charbonneau who claimed her as his wife. When Lewis and Clark visited the Hidatsa- Mandan villages, they realized that since Sacagawea was Shoshone, she would be useful in trading horses with the Shoshone people in the Rocky Mountains later on. Her husband would be a good interpreter. Even though Sacagawea carried a baby during the trip, she traveled just as hard and labored almost as vigorously as the other men. In addition, she acted as a sort of peace symbol because when other Indians saw her, they were less afraid that Lewis and Clark were against them. They also knew that they wouldn’t have traveled with a woman if they were planning to attack.