Placing America’s Journey Westward

The expansion west of the young United States during the 1800s was a rapid event that is best appreciated by viewing a map of the vastness of the expansion. The accompanying story map journal intends to do just that. Using a combination of GIS technology and Library of Congress primary sources this story map journal portrays the expansion in a more detailed way than with a simple explanation.

Topics covered within the story map journal show the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to the expansion of the railroad westward to California as the transcontinental railroad was built. Sections are devoted to the following land acquisitions: the Louisiana Purchase, the Spanish Cession of Florida, the Oregon Treaty with Britain, the annexation of Texas, the Mexican Cession of the southwest territory, and the Gadsden Purchase.

The story map journal has two accompanying sections depicting the California gold rush, its rapid population increase, and its introduction as a state with the Compromise of 1850. The other accompanying section provides a brief summary with visual map representation of the railroads move westward. I had originally planned to also include sections on the impact of expansion on Native Americans and one on the role of settlers moving westward. Due to the size of those topics and the time needed to cover them I decided to omit those and save them as a possible extension activity that could accompany the story map journal but does not have to be included in the initial lesson.

We can best understand features of our present geography by looking at the geography of the past. America’s Westward Journey story map journal is intended to present the basic historical knowledge associated with the territorial expansion of the United States from east to west and a clear visual representation of the growth of the United States with each addition.

Student Materials

Teacher Materials