Title: 
Headings: The Gold Rush and Westward Expansion
The
 
Gold
 
Rush
 
and
 
Westward
 
Expansion
  

U.S.
 
Territorial
 
Acquisition
 
map,
 
www.nationatlas.gov

The
 
Discovery
 
of
 
Gold
 

Arrival
 
of
 
the
 
Forty-niners
 

Miners
 
in
 
the
 
Sierras
(detail),
 
1851-1852,
 
Charles
 
Christian
 
Nahl
 
and
 
August
 
Wenderoth
 

Outcome
 

Glossary
 


Content: The Gold Rush and Westward Expansion
The
 
Gold
 
Rush
 
and
 
Westward
 
Expansion
  
In
 
order
 
to
 
understand
 
the
 
significance
 
of
 
the
 
Gold
 
Rush,
 
it
 
is
 
important
 
to
 
look
 
back
 
at
 
the
 
events
 
that
 
led
 
to
 
the
 
discovery
 
of
 
gold
 
in
 
California. One
 
of
 
the
 
most
 
important
 
events
 
was
 
the
 
Mexican-American
 
War
 
(1846-48). The
 
Mexican-American
 
War
 
was
 
a
 
war
 
of
 
national
 
aggression
 
to
 
gain
 
territory. It
 
followed
 
the
 
1845
 
annexation
 
of
 
Texas,
 
which
 
Mexico
 
regarded
 
as
 
its
 
territory. In
 
1836
 
the
 
Texian
 
Army
 
won
 
the
 
Battle
 
of
 
San
 
Jacinto
 
against
 
Mexican
 
forces,
 
led
 
by
 
famed
 
general
 
Santa
 
Anna,
 
and
 
the
 
Republic
 
of
 
Texas
 
declared
 
its
 
independence
 
from
 
Mexico. But
 
Mexico
 
had
 
refused
 
to
 
acknowledge
 
this
 
action
 
and
 
warned
 
the
 
U.S.
 
that
 
if
 
it
 
tried
 
to
 
make
 
Texas
 
part
 
of
 
the
 
U.S.,
 
Mexico
 
would
 
declare
 
war. In
 
1845
 
Texas
 
voluntarily
 
asked
 
to
 
join
 
the
 
U.S.,
 
and
 
became
 
the
 
28th
 
state. This
 
action
 
led
 
to
 
Mexico
 
to
 
declare
 
war
 
on
 
the
 
United
 
States,
 
starting
 
the
 
Mexican-American
 
War. After
 
a
 
series
 
of
 
conflicts
 
spanning
 
two
 
years,
 
the
 
United
 
States
 
won
 
the
 
war. When
 
the
 
dust
 
settled,
 
the
 
U.S.
 
had
 
gained
 
a
 
significant
 
amount
 
of
 
new
 
territory.