US History - Westward Expansion (1820-1860)

The Battle of the Alamo (1836) was a pivotal event in Texas history where Texian defenders were killed by Santa Anna's forces. The outrage and rallying cry of 'Remember the Alamo' fueled Texan resistance, leading to Santa Anna's defeat at San Jacinto weeks later.

Anglo settlers in Texas created friction with the Mexican government due to cultural, religious, and political differences, including their Protestant faith, use of the English language, and the practice of slavery, which was prohibited in Mexico.

The Oregon Trail was the primary route used by pioneers traveling from Independence, Missouri, to the Willamette Valley in Oregon during the 19th century.

People moved west for a variety of reasons, including economic opportunity, the desire to own land, religious missionary work, and the hope of escaping economic hardship in the East.

Black Hawk, a Sauk leader, led a resistance against the United States in 1832, known as the Black Hawk War, primarily to reclaim the ancestral lands of his people in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the entire North American continent.

Thomas Jefferson famously referred to the United States as an 'empire for liberty' in a letter to James Madison, expressing his hope that the nation's expansion would spread democratic ideals.

The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, providing vast new territories that fueled westward expansion and settlement.