Westward Expansion Glossary

VOCAB WORDS:
  1. Acquisition: The act of gaining something, like land.
  2. Boundary: A line that marks the limits of an area
  3. Surveyor: A person who examines land using linear and angular measurements.
  4. American Dream: The dream of finding freedom and opportunity to become who you want to be.
  5. Agrarian: Related or having to do with rural farming areas.
  6. Manifest Destiny: The belief that it was America's right and duty to spread across the North American continent.
  7. Popular Sovereignty: The people's right to decide for themselves; the people have the power.
  8. Economic Opportunity: A favorable of good chance/place to make money.
  9. Annexation: To incorporate (make a part of) an existing political unit such as a country, state, county, or city.
  10. Cede/Cession: To yield or transfer to another by treaty, or to surrender by force.
  11. Hazards: Sources of danger or obstacles. 
  12. Venture: An effort that involves risk or danger.
  13. Homestead: A plot of land where pioneers could build a home, farm, or ranch.
  14. Oregon Trail: Overland route that stretched over 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri to the Colombia River in Oregon.
  15. Oregon Country: This was a region whose ownership was disputed between the French, British, and Americans. Part would become Oregon state, and part of Canada was divided at the 49th parallel.
  16. Emigrant: A person who leaves his or her native country or region.
  17. Cholera: The number one killer of the actual Oregon Trail; caused by ingesting the bacteria spread through contaminated food or water. 
  18. Pioneer: A person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, opening it for occupation and development by others.
  19. Adapt: To change in order to survive in a new or different environment or situation.
  20. Irrigation: A system for bringing water to farmland by artificial (not natural) means
  21. Famine: Extreme and general lack of food, as in a country or a large area.
  22. Forty-Niners: The people, mostly young men, who joined the rush for gold in California in 1849.
  23. Gadsen Purchase: This land purchase by the United States bought the southern areas of modern day Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico for 10 million dollars.
  24. Mexican Cession: This is the territory that was given by Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo after the Mexican War.
  25. Mountain Men: These were explorers who specialized in the Western wilderness. Known for their rugged lifestyle they carved the way for settlers to enter the west.
  26. Clipper Ship: This was a very fast sailing ship developed in the mid-1800s. They carried both goods and people. ​
IMPORTANT PEOPLE AND EVENTS:
  1. Battle of San Jacinto: This was a decisive battle of the Texan Revolution. It saw a Texan victory over Mexican forces. At this battle Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign a peace treaty leading to the recognition of an independent Texas.
  2. Battle of the Alamo: This was a 13 day siege of a mission in San Antonio. Those who supported Texas Independence were trapped inside as they were attacked by a Mexican force of 4,000 - led by Santa Anna.
  3. Mexican-American War: This was a war between the United States and Mexico that started when the United States annexed Texas and invaded Mexican Territory. After the United States won, they gained half of Mexico - including portions of the modern day states of New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and California.
  4. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: This peace treaty was signed between the U.S. and the Mexican Republic. It formally ended the Mexican-American War.
  5. ​Texas Revolution: This revolution successfully overthrew Mexican control of Texas and made Texas an independent republic.
  6. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: He was a Mexican politician and general who fought to maintain Mexican control of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
  7. Davy Crockett: He was an American frontiersman and politician famed for his fighting in the Texas Revolution.
  8. James K. Polk: He was the 11th president. He supported and encouraged much of the westward expansion including the annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, and the division of the Oregon Territory.
  9. John O' Sullivan: He was an American writer who created the term “Manifest Destiny”.
  10. Sam Houston: He was American war hero and first president of the Republic of Texas.
  11. Zachary Taylor: He was general during the Mexican-American War and later the 12th president of the United States.
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