20-24

 20. Polk- Manifest Destiny and the Oregon Trail. by:  Tommy Kurowski




 *  The Oregon Trail was much more than a pathway to the state of Oregon, it was the only practical way to the entire western United States. over 5000 pioneers traveled the oregon trail from independance,missouri,to oregon city ,oregon. it was one of the largest pathways to the west of the us,almost a 2000 mile walk. many walked the entire two-thousand miles barefoot.1 out of 10 died along the way and about 1000 made it across the country to oregon . The common misperception is that Native Americans were the emigrant's biggest problem on the route.Quite the contrary, most native tribes were quite helpful to the emigrants Perhaps the biggest problem on the Trail was a mysterious and deadly disease--called cholera for which there was no cure. Often, an emigrant would go from healthy to dead in just a few hours. Sometimes they received a proper burial, but often, the sick would be abandoned, in their beds, on the side of the trail. They would die alone. Making matters worse were animals that regularly dug up the dead and scattered the trail with human bones and body parts. surprisingly ,accidental gunshots were a common problem.

the oregon trail made european countries worry. because the oregon trail expanded the land of the U.S., the trail pushed people twards the borders of the European countries up in canada and down twards mexico. eventually the us started to ask for more land from the other countries. this caused conflicts between the different countries.  The oregon trail spanned over half of the continent. Terrortories that later became the current states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon. The Oregon Trail impacted the United States for the better. It expanded the countrys territory and spread out more people to populate more land. We should all thank the pioneers that got us here today. ** [] 21. Polk- California Gold Rush by Samantha Lang
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 In California a man named James Marshall found some gold while building a sawmill for John Sutter. The discovery was announced in the newspapers but no one believed it so people didn’t care. Then, a man named Sam Brannan found some gold in a creek and showed it to everyone and that was when people started believing that there was gold in California. People started rushing to California to get some gold and that was how the Gold Rush got its name. John Sutter was the wealthiest person in the California region. He was a Swiss immigrant who came to California in 1839 because he wanted to build his own empire. James Wilson Marshall was one of the workers for Sutter. While he was building the sawmill, he found the first piece of gold along a river northeast of present-day Sacramento. It was announced in the newspapers, but no one believed that someone actually found gold. Another man, named Sam Brannan, was a storekeeper in Sutter’s Creek. He found gold in the creek. He bought all the tools in town before he went into the streets and yelled that he had found gold. People believed him when he showed them the gold. Brannan sold everything that he bought for a higher price and made $36,000 in nine weeks. Most of the California Gold Rush took place in San Francisco, California. Some of the Gold Rush happened in present-day Sacramento. People from everywhere, even other countries, came to California to find gold and make money, just like what Sam Brannan did. The long-term impact of the California Gold Rush on the United States was huge. After the Gold Rush, everyone knew the town of San Francisco. New methods of transportation were invented. You could travel by steamship and railroad. The business of agriculture was starting to get popular. There were also negative impacts as well. Native Americans were pushed off of their land. The gold mining caused harm to the environment and that was when the environment problems started.  The Gold Rush also had an impact on Europe. The Gold Rush made Europe go through an economic crisis. The Europeans started looking for gold in Europe in the hopes that they would have a gold rush of their own. When they found no gold then gave up on looking in Europe and just decided that they would just go to California to find the gold. A lot of people from Europe came to America because of the gold rush to make a job of being a gold miner. Some of those people had come to a disappointment because the California Gold Rush only lasted a decade or so.

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22. Polk- Texas: BY TEANNA ROBB

1. This event was a war between Texas and Mexico. This war started because Texas wanted to get independence from Mexico. This war was fought from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836. This war started with the Battle of Gonzales. The Texas War of Independence was ended with the Battle of San Jacinto.

2. The two countries that were included in this war were Texas and Mexico. There were about 10,700 soldiers who fought in the war. Santa Anna led the Mexican Army. Martin Perfecto de Cos was also another general who fought in the Mexican Army. Martin Perfecto de Cos swept across the Texas plains attacking many small towns and defeating Texas commanders like James Fannin during the Texas Revolution. Cos was the brother-in-law of Santa Anna. Jose de Urrea was another general who fought in the Texas Revolution. General Jose Urrea marched into Texas from Matamoras, making his way north following the coast of Texas, to prevent any foreign aid by sea and opening up an opportunity for the Mexican Army to land much needed provisions. General Sam Houston led the Texans Army. Stephen Fuller Austin, known as the "Father of Texas", led the second and ultimately successful colonization of the region by settlers from the United States. Edward Burleson was another general who fought for Texas. Edward was also a soldier and statesman in the state of Missouri, the Republic of Texas, and later the U.S. state of Texas.

3. This event took place in Texas. This Battle of Gonzales ended with Mexican troops retreating to San Antonio de Bexar (modern-day San Antonio Texas) empty-handed. A small force of Texans traveled down the Texas coastline, defeating Mexican troops at Goliad and at Fort Lapantitlan. The majority of Texan troops followed General Stephen F. Austin to Bexar, where they initiated a siege of the Mexican garrison. After victories in several skirmishes, including the Battle of Concepcion and the Grass Fight, Texans attacked Bexar. After several days of fighting, the Siege of Bexar ended with the surrender of Mexican general Martin Perfecto de Cos. With the parole of Cos's troops back to Mexico in mid-December, no Mexican forces remained in Texas. 4. The long-term impact of the U.S. would be that Texas became a state. Texas was important because it provided land to grow crops and a lot of water. Most of the water came from the lakes and river. Texas also had oil and gold mines.

5. This event impacted on Mexico because Mexico did not gain good land. Mexico also thought we were **STRONG**. Mexico lost land that had oil and gold. The Americans gained money and the Mexicans.

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23. Polk- Mexican War by: Gray Warrington



1. A) [] The Thornton Affair   The Thornton Affair was in April 25th 1846 between US Dragoons and the Mexicans. This affair took place on the North Side Of which is now the Rio Grande. That was the first major conflict of this war. This Conflict ended a day later because the US Surrender the fort to the Mexicans. This set up a very long War between these two nations, which had over 50 battles in 3 years

B) [] Siege of Los Angeles

The Mexicans gave the USA much of their land during a trade and now that they are at war with the US they want it back. The Mexicans and the Calafornios fought the US to get back to Mexican Rule. The USA was out #’d and was forced to get out and gave the land back to Mexico.

C) [] Battle of Mexico City

The most major battle was fought in Mexico’s nations capital when the US came into the Capital in hopes to get control all of Mexico City. This event over 7000 US troops against a huge 16000 army for the Mexicans. It ended in the US getting into Mexico City with a win over the Mexicans. This led to the **//__Fall__//** **//__ of Mexico City __//**. D) []  Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The most major battle was fought in Mexico’s nations capital when the US came into the Capital in hopes to get control all of Mexico City. This event over 7000 US troops against a huge 16000 army for the Mexicans. It ended in the US getting into Mexico City with a win over the Mexicans. This led to the **//__Fall__//** **//__ of Mexico City __//**.

24. Taylor- Whigs & Missouri Compromise by Sarah Falkides



1). The compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arisen from the Mexican-American war. The controversy was whether the state was going to be a slave or non-slave state. It was important because if it were slave states then it would make it un-even then the other 22 states. 2). Whig Senator Henry Clay was a Senator and a Representative from Kentucky. Stephen Douglas was a Famous Illinoisans with Civil War Ties Whig senator Daniel Webster a Representative from New Hampshire and a Representative and a Senator from Massachusetts. 3). Missouri is where the compromise took place. It is in the west. The states next to it are Kansas, Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana. 4). Should the territory allow slavery or not. California became a free state and Missouri was a slave state. The U.S. settled their issue. 5). - Slave- got people to do their own job. - non-slavery- did their own work. It freed California. Missouri became a slave state. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000482 http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=w000238 [] http://wiki.answers.com/Q/List_the_five_parts_of_the_compromise_of_1850