Westward expansion- part one Flashcards
What were the three main expeditions?
- 1805-06 Lewis and Clark, provided 4000 miles of maps including the Atlantic coast. 2. 1806-07 Zebulon pike, reached Santa Fe and described the Great Plains. 3. 1819-20 major Steven long, said the Great Plains were unsuitable for human habitation.
What was the Louisiana purchase?
1803- 828,000sqms of land from France for $15m, less had been expected, but Napoleon needed to finance his European wars. More then doubled the size of the USA.
What was the background to the Florida purchase?
Spanish Florida had become a haven for runaway slaves and there were worries it could be used as a base from which to attack the USA.
What four steps were taken to get Florida?
- 1810- settlers seized Baton Rouge, proclaiming the republic of west Florida. 2. Rest of west florid seized in 1813. 3. Rest of Florida acquired 1817-19, with Monroe authorizing a campaign against the Seminoles. 4. Spain ceded Florida in 1819’s treaty of Adams Onassis.
What was the background to Texas?
1829- Mexico freed its slaves, leading to conflict with white settlers. 1836- Texans declared independence, leading to war, Texans were initially defeated at the Alamo, but captured Mexican leader Santa Anna and forced him to agree to independence.
Why was Texas joining the union an issue?
Concerns that it could be split into multiple slave states, it remained independent until becoming a major issue in 1844’s election.
What happened in 1844?
Outgoing president Tyler annexed Texas. New president Polk annexed New Mexico and California.
What happened during the Mexican American war?
Caused by a boarder skirmish in 1846, ended with US victory in 1848, under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo the USA gained California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Texas.
What happened with Oregon?
Disputes with Britain led to the prospect of war, tensions were defused and in 1846 it was decided it would be split along the 54’40 line.
What was the background to the Gadsden purchase?
Southern democrats wanted to expand into Central America and Cuba to expand slavery. Pierce wanted to maintain the unity of the Democratic Party, so gave James Gadsden the authority to negotiate with Mexico for 250,000sqms of land
What was the result of the Gadsden purchase?
Only 54,000sqms of land, with a farther 9,000 having to be cut before the senate would approve the purchase. Attempts to purchase Cuba were abandoned.
What was the Cumberland road?
Began in 1808, by 1830 it had reached Illinois and encouraged more settlers to go west as they no longer had to use dangerous tracks and trails.
What was the Erie Canal?
Completed in 1825, it linked Albany to buffalo and reduced freight charges from 19c/t to 2c/t and increased the economic prosperity of the region.
What were the three acts to promote settlement?
- 1862 homestead act, 160 acres of land if you farmed it for 5 years. Accompanied by the morril act which set up agricultural colleges. 2. 1873 timber culture act, 160 acres of land if you planted 40 acres of trees. 3. 1877 desert land act, 640 acres of land if you irrigated your land within 2 years.
Give two limitations of the acts
- The cost of irrigation was often counterintuitive. 2. Dry conditions and high winds made it hard to grow trees.
