​The NEW MEXICO TERRITORY was a vast section of land that included all or parts of present-day NM, AZ, NV, UT, CO, and WY

Once a SPANISH COLONY,  it became part of the independent Mexican nation once they got their independence from Spain​

Just like in Texas, Mexico encouraged Americans to come to the territory, this time for TRADING purposes​

These settlers tended to take the SANTA FE TRAIL which began in Independence, Missouri​

 The route became a busy trade route, and settlers believed that acquiring New Mexico was part of America’s MANIFEST DESTINY​

SPANISH explorers and missionaries settled California beginning in the 1700’s​

These settlements were known as MISSIONS that aimed to convert Native Americans to Christianity and the Spanish way of life​

After Mexico won INDEPENDENCE from Spain in 1821, California became a Mexican state​

President JAMES POLK tried to buy the lands from Mexico, but they refused and he had to try other ways​

After failed negotiations on the border between the two, the United States and Mexico began fighting and war was declared on MAY 13, 1846.​

 Even before the War began, California settlers began an uprising and declared themselves the independent BEAR FLAG REPUBLIC​

Within a month, the Republic was claimed for the UNITED STATES​

Mexico still refused to surrender, until the capture of MEXICO CITY by General Winfield Scott’s forces​

The TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO gave the US more than 500,000 square miles of territory, finally achieving America’s goal of Manifest Destiny​

 In 1848, at SUTTER’S MILL in California, gold was discovered, beginning a rush west for people looking to gain wealth, with many arriving in 1849 (known as FORTY-NINERS)​

As people rushed to California, they built new communities, towns, and large cities, known as BOOMTOWNS, like San Francisco​

Most searched for gold through a method known as PANNING, swirling water and gravel in a pan for hours on end in order to reveal maybe a speck or two of gold​

Boomtown merchants, like LEVI STRAUSS, profited the most from the Gold Rush, as most who came to search found little to nothing or squandered it shortly thereafter​

By 1850, California had worked out an agreement with the United States to join as a FREE STATE​

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of a number of RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS that sprang up during the 1800’s

The founder of the Church, JOSEPH SMITH, began preaching Mormom ideas in 1830, establishing a community in Illinois

After this death, BRIGHAM YOUNG, took over as Mormon leader and decided to take the group west to the Great Salt Lake in Utah​

There, they encountered many hardships due to the difficult terrain and conflicts with FEDERAL OFFICIALS​

 In 1896, Utah was finally allowed to join as our 45th state​