Quiz Directed /Additional Notes for Quiz – Westward Expansion 2a
Gadsden Purchase: Although it was bought in order to make building a railroad to
California easier – land was less mountainous to the south.
The railroad was still delayed for 2 Reasons:
1. The Civil War was brewing and would be waged from 1861 – 1865
2. After the Civil War the native people resisted American encroachment into their lands.
A. Cochise, a chief of the Apache fought off the Americans from late 1860s – 1870s.
He did eventually sign an agreement that eased tensions but it did not last.
- Geronimo, a great Apache warrior who was related to Cochise would lead another rebellion against the Americans and it lasted until his final surrender in 1890.
The Apache had great fighting skills, knew the desert like the back of their hands and would at times simply cross into Mexico to avoid capture – making them super difficult to defeat!
Other misc. facts about other territories: Read, study, highlight as per guide!
Lewis and Clark were helped by the Nez Perce people on their trek to the Pacific,
John Frontier Fremont and Kit Carson were instrumental in helping to map out the Oregon Trail in Oregon Country around 1845 – 1848 – south of where Lewis and Clark had explored.
The Nez Perce people were led by Chief Joseph. They were from the region in and around the WallowaValley in WashingtonState and Idaho – in Oregon Country. Chief Joseph’s surrender to the United States around 1878 stands as one of the most heroic yet tragic events in U.S. history
They would each play small roles in helping the United States defeat Mexico in the Mexican War 1847-48 and in helping acquire the lands of the Mexican Cession
Carson City, Nevada 1848-49 California Gold Rush takes place
Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer was the person to first see the coast of Alaska, he died of BerryBerry and was buried on an island. Russians took the furs, etc
The Russians had actually become aware of gold in Alaska but felt even more desperate to unload it before it was too late. Sec. State Seward bought it for the U.S. for $7.2 million. Later we find gold and oil and of course great fishing grounds abound.
The native people of Alaska are sometimes referred to as “Eskimo’ but there are really primary groups of people. Inuit – mainlanders Aleut – people of the Aleutian Islands
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Florida Cession a.k.a. Spanish Cession - who discovered it in 1513?
Name is on study guide? Remember he sought eternal youth?
J.Q. Adams and Minister of Spain, Onis and Andrew Jackson were key players in this chapter of history.
was obtained in 3 parts for reasons explained in class
Once gotten – the people were not easily defeated. 3 Seminole Wars were fought over the next 40 years or so and a standout chief was Osceola.
FloridaState teams are called the Seminoles – arrowhead on the helmet.
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Spanish American War – several reasons we got involved
Economic concerns – investment $ at stake, Stories of atrocities/acts of brutality taking place –
And with yellow journalism feeding flames of war! Sinking of the Maine and Sympathy for the rebels
Of course, Teddy Roosevelt – will lead the Rough Riders into battle and become a hero.
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Panama Canal – The Big Ditch! “a man, a plan, a canal, Panama” the man is of course the guy who wanted a world navy – Teddy Roosevelt. After Colombia turned us down – we promoted rebellion – getting Panama to rebel against Colombia and in exchange got permission to build the canal and keep the zone around it.
Sending a battleship to insure a victory for the Panamanians didn’t hurt either.
The Panama Canal was more than just a big ditch – unlike the French who had failed to dig the canal – in large part because they tried to dig it at sea level – the Americans chose a design that made use of locks, raising ships to meet different elevations. The central region of Panama was made into a huge man-made lake and then ships would use locks again to descend back to sea level on the opposite side ocean.
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Hawaii –After U.S. planters led by Dole – a relative of a planter family {pineapples} the U.S. forced Queen Lil to surrender authority – abdicating her throne – it became a U.S. territory by 1898 – again it didn’t hurt that a U.S. battleship happened to show up in Pearl Harbor as just the right moment!
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The deal to fix the boundary at 49 degrees with Canada came by way of the Rush-Bagot Treaty demilitarized the Great Lakes and by way of the Convention of 1818 – We got the Red River Basin but gave up a bit of land above the 49 degree latitude line above Montana
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Texas Annexation: Was delayed by Andrew Jackson – feared inciting Mexico into war.
Texas gained independence by 1836 – became the LoneStarRepublic by Treaty of San Jacinto
A key battle was the Alamo – Mexicans massacred the American defenders led by Crockett, Bowie and
Col. Travis – it became their Rallying Cry “Remember the Alamo’ and helped inspire eventual victory.