US History I Practice milestone 4

lace the events in the correct chronological order. 1. 2. 3. • a. Following border disputes, Congress declared war on Mexico • b. The United States formally annexed Texas. • c. Thousands of people flocked to California in search of gold RATIONALE Sectional tensions over slavery increased as the nation expanded westward. This process began in earnest after Congress annexed Texas in 1845, and intensified after Congress declared war on Mexico in 1846. At the war's end, the U.S. acquired land from Mexico stretching from Texas to California. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the rapid influx of settlers prompted California to apply for statehood as a free state, which once again threatened to upset the sectional balance in Congress. CONCEPT The Dilemma of the West The Compromise of 1850 A House Divided: Crises of the 1850s 2 Consider the painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, completed by Emanuel Leutze in 1861, and how it represents core ideas behind manifest destiny.