Title: Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny – Legends of America
Headings: Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny
Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny
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“Westward, ever westward.” — Henry Wells

Content: In 1846 the Oregon Treaty ended British claims to Oregon Territory. In 1848, following the Mexican-American War, Mexico ceded much of the West and Southwest to the United States. This included what would become the states of California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In 1853 the United States bought an additional tract of land from Mexico. To California during the gold rush. People then began to move in numbers into Texas, California, and Oregon. The California Gold Rush, the construction of railroads, the Mormons ‘ long pilgrimage to Utah, and the blazing of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails all contributed to the expansion of the “wild west.” Between the California Gold Rush and the Civil War, Americans, in growing numbers filled the Mississippi River Valley, the southwest territories, and the new states of Kansas and Nebraska. During the war, gold and silver discoveries drew prospectors—and later settlers—into Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. But, the most rapid migration occurred after the One factor in encouraging settlers to move west was the Homestead Act, passed in 1862, which allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of land for free.