Western Expansion (1800-1898)

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At the beginning of 1800, the United States was formally comprised of sixteen states: the original thirteen colonies having been recognized as independent by the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the states of Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee having been added to the union by 1796. But American trappers and settlers were busily expanding to other areas, and the country was growing rapidly. Americans did not question their right to colonize vast expanses of North America beyond their country's borders. By the mid-1840s, United States expansionism was expressed in terms of "manifest destiny," and by the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had aquired all of its current territory through a series of wars and peaceful acquisitions:

In 1803, the United States made the the Lousiana Purchase, aquiring a huge tract of land (530 million acres!) from Napoleon Bonaparte. This land makes up approximately 22 percent of the current United States and contained parts or all of present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, portions of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, portions of southern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, and Louisiana. Not all of this land was kept, later being ceded to Great Britain and Spain in exchange for other territory.
West Florida was made a U.S. possession in 1810 by President James Madison.
The Red River Basin, part of current-day Minnesota and North Dakota, was acquired in the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, a treaty with Great Britain which resolved boundry issues, set the US/Canadian boundary along the 49th parallel, and allowed for joint control of the Oregon Country.
East Florida was acquired in the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 with Spain. The treaty that gained East Florida also included Spain's surrender of any claims to the Oregon Country.
The Oregon Country was jointly controlled by the U.S. and Great Britain until 1846 when the Oregon Treaty divided that territory also at the 49th parallel. This created the Oregon Territory, which includes present-day Oregon, Washington and Idaho, as well as parts of Montana and Wyoming.
The Republic of Texas, which had gained its independence from Mexico in 1836, voted that year to be annexed by the United States. However it was nearly 10 years before the annexation of Texas took place. President John Tyler signed a treaty of annexation with Texas in 1844; congress approved it in 1845 and Texas became the 28th state later that year.
Mexican leader Antonio López de Santa Anna warned that the annexation of Texas would be "equivalent to a declaration of war against the Mexican Republic." Mexico had never formally acknowledged Texas independence and considered it a matter of national pride to fight for what it considered a rebel province. Thus started the Mexican-American war. The United States defeated Mexico and in the subsequent Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded to the United States parts of what are Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming, and the whole of California, Nevada and Utah. They also recognized the Rio Grande as Texas' Southern border.
Less than five years after the Mexican Cession, the United States made the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, aquiring a strip of land along the U.S.-Mexico border, now in New Mexico and Arizona. This territory was later used for the southern transcontinental railroad.
In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia.
Hawaii was annexed in 1898 upon the request of a government made up primarily of American and European businessmen who had overthrown the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba were ceded by Spain to the United States after the Spanish-American War in 1898. All four of these areas were under United States Military Government for extended periods. Cuba became an independent nation in 1902. The Philippines became an independent nation in 1946.

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	Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $5.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Battle of Seattle by Douglas Bond from P&R Publishing for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $11.99
	Bite of the Gold Bug by Barthe DeClements from Puffin Books for 4th-6th grade in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI) $4.99 $2.50 (2 in stock)
	Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99
	Boy in the Alamo We Were There at the Battle of the Alamo by Margaret Cousins from Corona Publishing Co. Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Boy in the Alamo We Were There at the Battle of the Alamo by Margaret Cousins from Veritas Press Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $19.00
	By the Shores of Silver Lake Little House Series #5 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1940 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	By the Shores of Silver Lake Little House Series #5 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1940 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
	By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover) Little House Series #5 by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1940 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.00 (2 in stock)
	By the Shores of Silver Lake - Audio Book (CD) Little House Series #5 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1940 Newbery Honor Book in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
	Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz from Puffin Books Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Caravan to Oregon A Boy's Wagon-Train Adventure by Herbert E. Arntson from Binford & Mort Publishing for 4th-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Carolina's Courage by Elizabeth Yates from Bob Jones University Press Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $10.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham from Houghton Mifflin Biography for 5th-9th grade 1956 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II from Houghton Mifflin Biography for 5th-9th grade 1956 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Children of the Covered Wagon by Mary Jane Carr 2^nd edition from Christian Liberty Press Historical Fiction for 3rd-5th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $16.75
	Cleared for Action! Four Tales of the Sea by Stephen W. Meader from Bethlehem Books Nautical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout Junior Deluxe Editions by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout The Life Story and True Adventures of the Great Hunter Long Knife by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty from Garden City Books Biography for 4th-7th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Davy Crockett Junior Deluxe Editions by Constance Rourke, illustrated by Walter Seaton from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-7th grade 1935 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Farmer Boy Little House Series #3 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $19.99
	Farmer Boy Little House Series #3 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from Scholastic Inc. Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Fear in the Forest by Cateau de Leeuw from Bethlehem Books for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.95
	Fear in the Forest by Cateau de Leeuw from T. Nelson & Sons for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	First Four Years Little House Series #9 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	First Four Years - Audio CD by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
	Gathering of Days A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 by Joan Blos from Aladdin Paperbacks Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade 1980 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Half-Breed by Evelyn Sibley Lampman from Doubleday & Company for 4th-6th grade in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
	Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express by Kristiana Gregory from Scholastic Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Journey West on the Oregon Trail by Cecile Alyce Nolan from Rain Dance Publishing for 2nd-7th grade in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Kirsten's Cook Book A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals You Can Cook Today American Girl by Jodi Evert from Scholastic Inc. for 2nd-5th grade in Cooking for Kids (Location: COOK-KID) $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Little House - Full Color Trade Paper Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins for 3rd-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $75.11
	Little House in the Big Woods Little House Series #1 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99
	Little House on Rocky Ridge Rocky Ridge Years Book 1 by Roger Lea MacBride from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Little House on the Prairie Little House Series #2 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Little House on the Prairie Little House Series #2 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $17.99
	Little House on the Prairie (pictorial hardcover) Little House Series #2 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Little Town on the Prairie Little House Series #7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1942 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Little Town on the Prairie Little House Series #7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1942 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $19.99
	Little Town on the Prairie Little House Series #7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1942 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Little Town on the Prairie Little House Series #7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1942 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Little Town on the Prairie (Pictorial Cover) Little House Series #7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1942 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Little Town on the Prairie - Audio CD Little House Series #7 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1942 Newbery Honor Book in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO) $25.99
	Long Winter Little House Series #6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1941 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Long Winter Little House Series #6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1941 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $19.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
	Long Winter Little House Series #6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1941 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $10.99
	Long Winter (Pictorial Cover) by Laura Ingalls Wilder from Harper & Row for 3rd-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Long Winter - Audio CD Little House Series #6 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1941 Newbery Honor Book in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
	Major Impossible Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #9 by Nathan Hale from Amulet Books for 4th-8th grade in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC) $14.99
	Mary and the Trail of Tears A Cherokee Removal Survival Story from Stone Arch Books for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.95
	May B. by Caroline Starr Rose from Yearling Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.99
	Neeluk An Eskimo Boy in the Days of the Whaling Ships by Frances Kittredge from Alaska Northwest Books for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	On the Banks of Plum Creek Little House Series #4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1938 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	On the Banks of Plum Creek Little House Series #4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1938 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99
	On the Banks of Plum Creek - Audio CD Little House Series #4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade 1938 Newbery Honor Book in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO) $16.00 (1 in stock)
	Patty Reed's Doll The Story of the Donner Party by Rachel K. Laurgaard from Tomato Enterprises Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.00 (3 in stock)
	Riding the Pony Express by Clyde Robert Bulla from Avyx, Inc. for 3rd-5th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Sallie Fox by Dorothy Kupcha Leland 1^st edition from Tomato Enterprises for 4th-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.95
	Soft Rain A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen from Yearling Historical fiction for 3rd-5th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.99
	Staircase by Ann Rinaldi from Harcourt Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $6.99
	Stout-Hearted Seven Orphaned on the Oregon Trail Sterling Point by Neta Lohnes Frazier from Sterling Publishing Co. Non-fiction/Biography for 5th-9th grade in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
	These Happy Golden Years Little House Series #8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1944 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	These Happy Golden Years Little House Series #8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1944 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $19.99
	These Happy Golden Years Little House Series #8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder Library edition from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1944 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	These Happy Golden Years - Audio CD Little House Series #8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade 1944 Newbery Honor Book in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO) $25.95
	Trail Through Danger by William O. Steele, illustrated by Charles Beck from Harcourt, Brace & World for Kindergarten-5th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Trails to Poosey by Olive R. Cook from Misty Hill Press Pioneer Fiction for 4th-7th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	We Were There at the Driving of the Golden Spike We Were There #31 by David Shepherd, illustrated by William K. Plummer from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run We Were There #12 by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Chris A. Kenyon from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There at the Opening of the Erie Canal We Were There #19 by Enid Lamonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by Gerald McCann from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There on the Chisholm Trail We Were There #14 by Ross McLaury Taylor, illustrated by Charles Banks Wilson from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There on the Oregon Trail We Were There #1 by William O. Steele, illustrated by Jo Polseno from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There with Jean Lafitte at New Orleans We Were There #11 by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Robert Glaubke from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There with Lewis & Clark by James Munves from American Home-School Publishing Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	We Were There With Lewis and Clark We Were There #22 by James Munves, illustrated by Robert Glaubke from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There With Lincoln in the White House We Were There #36 by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Charles Geer from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There with the California Forty-Niners We Were There #9 by Stephen Holt, illustrated by Raymond Lufkin from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There with the California Rancheros We Were There #26 by Stephen Holt, illustrated by William Reusswig from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)
	We Were There with The Pony Express by William O. Steele from American Home-School Publishing Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	We Were There with the Pony Express We Were There #8 by William O. Steele, illustrated by Frank Vaughn from Grosset & Dunlap Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade in We Were There Series (Location: VIN-HIS)

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