| A | B |
|---|
| New Mexico Territory | entire Southwest in the 1840's that belonged to Mexico |
| William Becknell | merchant and adventurer who was the first American to head for Santa Fe- led a group of traders from MI across the plains in 1821 |
| Santa Fe Trail | Bexknell's route to Santa Fe |
| Junipero Serra | cheif missionary who built his first mission at San Diego and built 8 others |
| Manifest Destiny | phrase which meant that it was clearly and obvisious that the US would expand to the Pacific |
| James K. Polk | democratic candidate in 1844 election- wanted expansion- won election |
| Stephen Austin | Moses Austin's son who set up a colony in Texas and lead many settlers there |
| Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna | general who came to power in Mexico in 1833- threw out Mexican constitution- wanted to drive all the Americans out of Texas |
| Tejanos | Mexicans who lived in TX- didn't want independence but wanted to get rid of Santa Anna |
| Sam Houston | Commandor of the army when the new nation of TX was set up |
| Alamo | old Spanish mission where Texans were massacred by Mexicans on March 6, 1836 |
| William Travis | commanded the Texans inside the Alamo with only about 150 Texans |
| Battle of San Jacinto | only lasted 18 minutes- Texans killed 630 Mexicans and captured 700 more- took place on April 21, 1836 |
| Lone Star Republic | nickname for Texas bc after winning independence, they carried a flag with a single whit star |
| siege | enemy forces try to capture a city or fort, usually by surrounding and bombarding it |
| annex | add on |
| John Jacob Astor | Nyer who founded the American Fur Co. -he made so much money -he became the richest man in the US |
| James Beckwourth | African American who headed west from VA to escape slavery-accepted as chief by the Crow Indians-found mtn. pass through the Sierra Nevadas that last became a major route to CA |
| Marie Dorian | Iowa Indian- first went to Oregon with fur trdaers in 1811-won fame for her survival skills |
| Marcus and Narcissa Whitman | among the first whit Americans to build permanent home in Oregon Country- planned to convert local Natives to Christianity |
| mountain man | adventurous men who hiked through Oregon's vast forests |
| rendezvous | yearly meeting where mtn. men traded furs |
| Winfield Scott | general who landed an American army to the Mexican port of Veracruz |
| Zachary Taylor | general who was ordered by Polk to cross the Neuces River and set up posts in the disputed area along the Rio Grande- won several battles in northern Mexico |
| Mexican War | war between US and Mexico that began in 1846 and lasted 20 months |
| Stephen Kearny | third army was led by this general who captured Santa Fe w/out firing a shot- after a few battles he took control of southern CA |
| Bear Flag Republic | what the Americans in northern CA called the new nation when it was declaredan independent republic |
| Chapultepec | fort just outside Mexico City where Mexican soldiers made a herioc last stand |
| cede | give |
| Mexican Cession | all of CA and New Mexico |
| Gadsden Purchase | strip of land of present-day Arizona and New Mexico that was bought for 10 mil. from Mexico in 1853 |
| John C. Fremont | young American explorer who traveled in CA on a scientific expedition for the army- he drove the Mexican governor's troops out of northern CA |
