Louisiana Purchase  In 1803, during the first term of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, the United States gained the Louisiana Purchase from France. The nation doubled its physical size.  Jefferson made plans to send explorers across the land. He asked Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition. An expedition is a journey or long voyage of exploring.  Lewis asked William Clark to share command.

Lewis & Clark Expedition In May 1804 it started from near St. Louis. Its goal was to discover information about a. geography b. people c. natural resources The explorers traveled up the Missouri River traveling through the plains, which are rolling, wide-open grasslands.

Sacagawea Lewis and Clark met many Native Americans. One was a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea. She was essential to the journey because she helped the explorers communicate and gather food

 After crossing the Rocky Mountains, the explorers traveled through the Pacific Northwest.  Sacagawea continued with them, carrying her infant. They finally arrived at the Pacific Ocean in November  All the way, they kept diaries and made maps. Lewis and Clark started their return in March 1806 and arrived in St. Louis the following September. Lewis and Clark Brainpop Video

Mexican-American War  In 1836, Texas fought a war to become independent from Mexico.  That year, the Mexican army attacked and defeated Texan soldiers at the Alamo, a fort in San Antonio.  Soon afterward, though, Texan troops under Sam Houston defeated the Mexican forces. The Alamo

 However, Texas found it difficult to run an independent government. Texans wanted to become part of the United States.  After America admitted Texas to the Union, a war broke out with Mexico because of a border dispute.  The Mexican-American War lasted from 1846 to U.S. forces took control of most of California in  The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Mexico had to cede, or give up territory. Mexican-American War Part 1 Video Mexican-American War Part 2

 In September 1847, the United States expanded again, taking control of present-day -West Texas- Nevada -New Mexico- California -Arizona- Utah -most of Colorado- part of Wyoming Mexican-American War BrainPop

Mexican-American War

The Oregon Trail  Meanwhile, many people known as pioneers were moving west. They followed a route called the Oregon Trail.  About 50,000 people followed this route between 1840 and Groups of wagon trains formed to make the journey to the Oregon Territory and California more organized.  They had to cross the plains and the Rocky Mountains before the winter.

 Many people traveled to the West in search of fortune. The travelers usually stopped for one meal a day.  The families came with -Flour- bacon -Coffee- sugar -Salt - kettles -iron pans and plates.  They made salads and ate fruits, if they found any along the trail. The trip took about 6 months. It was dangerous at times, and some travelers became very sick. Gold Rush BrainPop Video

Gold Rush In 1848, GOLD was discovered in California.  This led to the start of the Gold Rush.  Pioneers nicknamed “forty-niners” struck out for California.  Mining towns developed. After a few years, however, gold became hard to find. Mining companies had to blast away earth to get the gold. Miners would have to dig deep down to locate gold ore. The miners’ work was hard, and it could be dangerous. Keeping law and order in mining towns was not always easy

The Impact of New Inventions New Inventions contributed to westward expansion. In 1807, inventor and engineer Robert Fulton made a successful trial of his new steamboat.  The steamboat, named the Clermont, was about 140 feet long.  It traveled 150 miles up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany.  The journey required 32 hours, at an average speed of 4.7 miles per hour. It took sailing boats four days.

Erie Canal Transportation by steamboat led to a period of canal-building. Canals connected waterways.  The most important early canal in America was the Erie Canal.  This canal, more than 350 miles long, was built between 1817 and  The canal linked New York City with the Great Lakes, via the Hudson River and the Mohawk River.  Settlers could move by boat into western New York and then farther west. Farmers in those places could send their grain to New York City to be sold.

After 1840, Americans built railroads rather than canals because of the steam locomotive. Railroads were much cheaper to build. Goods could be transported faster by rail than by steamboat. In 1869, soon after the Civil War, the first transcontinental railroad connected the two coasts.

Samuel Morse Samuel F. B. Morse invented the electric telegraph in  For the first time, people could send messages very quickly over long distances.

Alexander Graham Bell The Electric Telegraph was the main means of communication in America until the invention of the telephone in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell.

Vocabulary – Words to Know 1.Expedition: is a journey or long voyage of exploring. 2.Plains: rolling, wide-open grasslands. 3.Sacagawea: A Shoshone woman that helped the explorers to communicate and gather food. 4.Alamo: A fort in San Antonio, Texas, which was the site of a Mexican victory over supporters of Texan independence in Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that ended the Mexican-American War.

6. Oregon Trail: route followed by western settlers to the Oregon Territory. 7. Forty-Niners: The nickname for the pioneers that struck out for California. 8. Erie Canal: canal in New York State that linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River and the Mohawk River. 9. Louisiana Purchase: large land purchase from France, doubling the size of the United States. 10. Mexican-American War: conflict between Mexico and the U.S., fought over who would own Texas. 11. Gold Rush: large migration of settlers to California for gold.