Manifest Destiny and Expansion: 1815–1887

boundary line between Great Britain/Canada and the United States as established by the Oregon Treaty of 1846

boundary line between British Canada and the United States sought by President Polk. The line lay much farther north than the 49th parallel, at the southern border of the Russian territory of Alaska.

region that is now California, Nevada, and northern Arizona

belief that spirit beings inhabit all natural things, such as animals, plants, stars, and the moon and sun

historical era in the South from approximately 1800 to the onset of the Civil War

title giving individuals the right to mine for gold in a specified area; also refers to the area itself

rich deposit of silver named after Henry Comstock, who partially owned the land where it was discovered

fluffy round clump of fiber that grows on the cotton plant and is used to manufacture cotton clothing and other products

machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 that separated seeds from the short fibers of upland cotton bolls

fortune seekers in the 1849 Gold Rush

term that describes the fiscal and political importance of cotton in the pre–Civil War South

belief that U.S. expansion west to the Pacific Ocean and south to part of Mexico was necessary and even divinely ordained

system of privately owned large tracts of land for cultivating cash crops such as cotton and tobacco and requiring enslaved persons to work in the fields

Native American settlement with homes made of adobe or stone

large area of land allocated by a Spanish government grant for raising beef cattle, horses, or sheep

independent republic of Texas, founded in 1836 and dissolved in 1846

treaty made between the U.S. government and the Lakota, Dakota Sioux, and Arapaho tribes in 1868. The treaty stipulated that the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota were not to be developed and were a possession of the Sioux and Arapaho tribes.

location where a major gold rush began in January 1848, near the Sacramento River in California

massacre of over 200 Sioux men, women, and children by American troops at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on December 29, 1890. This battle ended the Plains Wars.