| Evidence | Significance |
|---|---|
| Louisiana Purchase, 1803: $15 million for 828,000 sq miles | Doubled US territory; opened westward expansion |
| Trail of Tears, 1838-39: 4,000+ Cherokee died | Human cost of Indian Removal Act; federal violence against Native peoples |
| Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848: 500,000+ sq miles gained | US reached Pacific; completed territorial expansion to west coast |
| 4 million enslaved people in South by 1860; cotton = 60% of US exports | Economic foundation of slavery; stakes of the Civil War |
| 620,000 soldiers died in Civil War, 1861-65 | Bloodiest conflict in US history — more than all prior wars combined |
| Transcontinental railroad completed, 10 May 1869 | Transformed western settlement; 6 months → 6 days New York to California |
| Buffalo: 30-60 million (1800) → fewer than 1,000 (1889) | Deliberate destruction of Plains Indian economic base |
| Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876: ~210 US soldiers killed | "Custer's Last Stand" — shocked America; intensified Plains wars |
| Wounded Knee, 1890: 250-300 Sioux killed | End of armed Native resistance; majority were women and children |
This key facts covers Key Evidence: Dates and Statistics within The Making of America, 1789-1900 for GCSE History. Revise The Making of America, 1789-1900 in Component Group 4 — Period Studies for GCSE History with 14 exam-style questions and 18 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 6 of 16 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for The Making of America, 1789-1900
Describe two features of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
Describe two features of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Quick recall flashcards
What was the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
An agreement to maintain the balance between slave and free states. Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state. A line at 36°30' N latitude was drawn — slavery permitted south of it, banned north of it. It preserved the Union for 30 years until the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) repealed it, leading to 'Bleeding Kansas' — a guerrilla war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers.
What was Manifest Destiny?
The belief, coined by journalist John O'Sullivan in 1845, that it was God's plan for the United States to expand across the entire North American continent. It provided moral justification for displacing Native peoples, annexing Texas, and fighting the Mexican-American War. Millions of Americans genuinely believed in it as a divine mission.