Term | Definition |
mountain men | explorers and fur traders who were the first to move west; provided valuable knowledge that enabled later pioneers to travel west |
Jedediah Smith | Mountain man; one of the few well-intentioned explorers who aimed to help others by opening up the west; his experience proved how dangerous the west is. |
Jim Beckworth | At age 25, joined a group of fur traders going west and in time became a daring mountain man; discovered a mountain pass that became the route into present day northern Californi |
Mormon | a member of a church founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 |
Oregon trail | a trail that ran westward from independence, Missouri, to the Oregon Territory |
Sante Fe trail | a trail that began on Missouri and ended in Santa Fe, New Mexico |
Land Speculator | a person who buys huge ares of land for a low price and then sells off small sections of it at high prices |
Brigham Young | the next Mormon Leader, moved his people out of the U.S |
Mexican Cession | included various states in the southwest: half of New Mexico |
Manifest Destiny | the belief that the U.S was destined to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean |
Winfield Scott | led the second force at Vercruz on the Gulf of Mexico and battled inland toward Mexico City |
Zachary Taylor | ordered by Polk to station troops on the northern bank of the Rio Grande |
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo | the 1848 treaty ending the U.S war with Mexico; ceded nearly one-half of its land to the U.S |
James K. Polk | America's first "dark horse" a canidate who received unexpected support |
Bear Flag Revolt | the 1846 rebellion by Americans against Mexican rule in California |
Stephen Austin | persuaded the New Mexican government to let him start his colony |
Tejano | a person of Spanish heritage who consider Texas their home |
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna | the leader of the Mexicans; signed a treaty forcing Texas its freedom after the Battle of San Jacinto |
Juan Seguin | led a band of 25 Tejanos in support of revolt |
William Travis | head of the volunteers at Alamo |
Sam Houston | was placed in command of the Texas army |
Lone Star Republic | a nickname and proclaimed Texas an independent nation |
Battle of the Alamo | in 1836, Texans defeated a church called Alamo against the Mexican Army |
James Fannin | Goliath the second force leaded by William Travis at the Alamo |