Westward Expansion Flashcards

Grade 5 · Social Studies · Flashcards

Key terms and events from America's push to the Pacific in the 1800s.

Flashcards

Manifest Destiny: The 19th-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across the entire North American continent to the Pacific Ocean.
Louisiana Purchase: The 1803 deal in which the U.S. bought about 828,000 sq. miles from France, roughly doubling the nation's size.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: The 1804–1806 journey led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory and find a route to the Pacific.
Oregon Trail: A 2,000-mile overland route from Missouri to Oregon used by settlers in covered wagons from the 1840s through the 1860s.
California Gold Rush: Mass migration to California beginning in 1848 after gold was found at Sutter's Mill; drew ~300,000 people.
Trail of Tears: The forced 1838–1839 march of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia to Oklahoma; thousands died along the way.
Transcontinental Railroad: Completed in 1869, this railroad connected the East and West Coasts for the first time, cutting cross-country travel from months to days.
Reservation: Specific land set aside by the U.S. government for Native American tribes, usually much smaller than their original homelands.
Sacagawea: A Shoshone woman who served as an interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.