Term | Definition |
Manifest Destiny | The Americans believed it was their God given right to own the land from east coast to west coast. |
Mountain Men | Fur trappers who moved to the Rocky Mountans to trap beavers |
Rendezvous | Meeting |
Emigrants | Pioneers that went to Oregon |
Oregon Trail | Trek across the western plains to get to Oregon. |
Stephen F. Austin | Leader of American settlers who moved to Texas |
Tejanos | Mexicans who claimed Texas as their home |
Alamo | A small Texan force barricade |
Sam Houston | Commander in chief of the Texas forces |
Annex | Take control of |
Battle of San Jacinto | Battle between Houston and Santa Anna resulting in the turning point in the Mexican war |
John C. Fremont | an army officer who wrote about Texas |
Rancheros | Ranch owners |
Rancho | Huge estates |
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo | Treaty that gave the Americans Texas. Signed in February 1848. |
Mexicans Cession | Mexico gave California to the U.S. for $15 million dollars. |
Gadsden Purchase | Land along the Southern border of Arizona and New Mexico. |
Forty-niners | People who arrived in California in 1849. |
Boomtowns | Communities that started overnight. |
Vigilantes | Citizens that acted as police in areas without them. |
Levi Strauss | Man who sold jeans to the miners in California. |
Mormons | People who started a religion and moved to Utah. |
Brigham Young | Man who lead the Mormons to Utah. |