Westward Expansion

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman's series of Common Core State Standards-based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

In which John Green teaches you about the Wild, Wild, West, which as it turns out, wasn't as wild as it seemed in the movies. When we think of the western expansion of the United States in the 19th century, we're conditioned to imagine the loner.

Westward Expansion, what America saw as it's Manifest Destiny others saw as expansionism. Americans of the past believed in the idea of 'Manifest Destiny'. This drive to span the continent created an impressive country but brought with it many problems.

Westward Expansion. Facts, Information, Timeline And Articles About The Westward Movement Of the United States Known As The Westward Expansion.

Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. After six months of residency, homesteaders also had the option of purchasing the land from the government for $1.25 per acre. The Homestead Act led to the distribution of 80 million acres of public land by 1900.

Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and 5 years of continuous residence on that land.

On the anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, take a look behind the scenes of the historic real-estate deal.

Historians have emphasized that "Manifest Destiny" was a contested concept - Democrats endorsed the idea but many prominent Americans (such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and most Whigs) rejected it.

Find a summary, definition and facts about the Westward Expansion timeline for kids. Westward Expansion Timeline, Map and Facts. Facts via the Westward Expansion timeline for kids, children, homework and schools.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans, and it doubled the size of the United States.