Manifest Destiny

    Date Event
    House of Representatives passes resolution to end joint occupation of Oregon Territory
    First newspaper on the Pacific Coast published
    The first railroad west of the Mississippi makes its inaugural run
    William Walker and 45 followers invade Baja California, in northwestern Mexico
    Commodore Perry dies at his home in New York City
    The first overland mail for California leaves St. Louis for San Francisco
    The first overland mail from California arrives in St. Louis, twenty-five days out from San Francisco
    The city of Denver is founded in Colorado and named for the territorial governor
    Congress approves a reservation for the Pima and Miricopa tribes near the Gila River in New Mexico Territory
    Horace Greeley sets off from New York on his tour of the West
    Prospector makes the richest gold discovery yet in Colorado
    Horace Greeley arrives in Kansas on his tour of the West
    Horace Greeley arrives in Denver on his tour of the West
    Large silver deposits are found in Six Mile Canyon near Virginia City in Nevada
    The U.S. Post Office reports another record deficit for the year ending June 30, 1859
    Nevada settlers elect a slate of delegates to frame a territorial constitution
    The sternwheeler "Chippewa" reaches to within twelve miles of Fort Benton on the Upper Missouri
    - Nevada delegates meet to frame a constitution for their unorganized territory
    Horace Greeley arrives in Sacramento on his tour of the West
    Nevada voters confirm the constitution for their unorganized territory by referendum
    Horace Greeley arrives home in New York City after his tour of the West
    The Legislature of the unorganized territory of Nevada meets for the first and last time in Genoa
    House of Representatives passes the Homestead Bill
    The eastward and westward riders of the first run of the Pony Express cross paths somewhere in Utah
    The first east to west run of the Pony Express arrives at Carson City, Nevada
    J. W. Richardson rides into St. Joseph, Missouri ending the first west to east run of the Pony Express
    In Nevada, the Paiute War begins with the wiping out of the Pony Express stop at Williams Station
    The U.S. Senate passes its version of the Homestead Bill
    In Nevada, Paiute Indians wipe out a poorly organized white militia at the Battle of Big Bend
    The Homestead Bill of 1860 passes both houses and is sent to the President for signature
    President Buchanan vetoes the Homestead Bill of 1860
    The sternwheeler "Chippewa" reaches Fort Benton on the Upper Missouri
    In Texas, Oliver Loving sets out on the first cattle drive into the Colorado Territory
    Telegraph lines continue to cross the Nebraska Territory with the opening of the Omaha office
    - In Idaho, an emigrant wagon train attacked and scattered by Indians
    Golden become the capital of the unsanctioned "Territory of Jefferson"
    President Buchanan signs the Colorado Territory into existence
    President Buchanan signs the Nevada Territory into existence
    President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act
    The Homestead Act comes into effect
    Congress authorizes the formation of the Idaho Territory
    - In Montana, Crow Indians attack the fifteen men of John Stuart's Big Horn Expedition killing several
    In Idaho, the future territorial and state capital city of Boise is founded
    In Nebraska, the Union Pacific Railroad construction begins on the western side of the Missouri
    In Montana, four prospectors find significant gold deposits in what they call "Last Chance Gulch"
    The 1866 shipment of "Mercer Girls" departs New York City for Washington Territory
    In Nebraska Territory, John Taffe is elected to become the first U.S. Representative from the new state.
    The U.S. Congress authorizes an Indian Peace Commission to negotiate with hostile Plains Indian tribes.
    The Indian Peace Commission, newly appointed to negotiate with hostile Plains Indian tribes, organizes in St. Louis, Missouri.
    The Indian Peace Commission meets with Sioux tribal leaders near Fort Thompson in South Dakota.
    Chicago Style Entry Link
    Brack, Gene M. Mexico Views Manifest Destiny, 1821-1846: An Essay on the Origins of the Mexican War. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1975. View Record
    Brown, Charles Harvey. Agents of Manifest Destiny: The Lives and Times of the Filibusters. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980. View Record
    Carter, Alden R. The Mexican War: Manifest Destiny. A First Book. New York: F. Watts, 1992. View Record
    Frahm, Sally. "The Cross and the Compass: Manifest Destiny, Religious Aspects of the Mexican-American War." Journal of Popular Culture 35, no. 2 (2001): 83-99. View Record
    Freehling, William W. The Road to Disunion. Vol. 1, Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. View Record
    May, Robert E. "Antebellum Americans 'Meet' their Southern Neighbors." Reviews in American History 8, no. 3 (1980): 360-365. View Record
    May, Robert E. "Young American Males and Filibustering in the Age of Manifest Destiny: The United States Army as a Cultural Mirror." Journal of American History 78, no. 3 (1991): 857-886. View Record
    May, Robert E. Manifest Destiny's Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. View Record
    McCaffrey, James M. Army of Manifest Destiny: The American Soldier in the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: New York University Press, 1992. View Record
    Miller, Robert J. Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008. View Record
    Morrison, Michael A. Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. View Record
    O'Sullivan, John Louis. "Annexation." United States Democratic Review 17, no. 85-86 (1845): 5-10. View Record
    O'Sullivan, John Louis. "The Great Nation of Futurity." United States Democratic Review 6, no. 23 (1839): 426-430. View Record
    Ruiz, Ramón Eduardo. The Mexican War--Was it Manifest Destiny?  American Problem Studies. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963. View Record
    Swan, Jon. "William Walker's Manifest Destiny." MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History 13, no. 4 (2001): 38-47. View Record
    Taylor, John M. "Sailing the Seas of Manifest Destiny." MHQ 16, no. 2 (Winter 2004): 14-20. View Record
    How to Cite This Page: "Manifest Destiny," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/9578.