Chronology

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America in 1803 of 828,000 square miles of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana. The U.S. paid 50 million francs plus cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs, for a total sum of 15 million dollars for the Louisiana territory.

Manifest Destiny or Westward Expansion took place in the mid Nineteenth Century and was the belief that America was destined to move Westward and conquer the lands.

In this video we will discuss the California Gold Rush and the diverse populations that had flocked in search of "striking it big".