The purpose of this 25-day project is for you to learn the historical events that led to the westward expansion of the United States including the impact it had on California. Throughout this project, you will be using digital tools to learn about this significant period. At the end, you will use all this knowledge to record a travel log which will include various experiences written in first-person narrative.
BACKGROUND:
The Westward Expansion era began in the mid 19th century after Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of the United States from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This bold move of spending $15 million opened a huge amount of open land for settlement towards the west. In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition explored this vast area, and soon other explorers and pioneers headed out west. As the years went on, people and their families started settling out in the same direction looking to start a new beginning in search of farmland, and new jobs and businesses. Then in 1848, the Gold Rush craze occurred in California causing people from the American East and people from all over the world to flock over for their share of fortune! The lives of these people along with the Native Americans who first inhabited these areas have been changed forever…. |
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