Moreno Valley High School - Valhalla Yearbook (Sunnymead, CA)

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iniPH ' ch4««iA{»i W t«(M Oupnai UCohMies Gold Discovered in Coloffla,Calilomia(Jan 12. I84n The Alamo. San Anlomo Teus f Texas Independence day March 2. 1836) THE CHANGING NATION Ownership of land had been just a dream to most of the colonists from feudal England. With the great expanse of cheap land opening up in the West, the dream became reality. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 opened the first sizable frontier in the Midwest, but the nation was not ready for it yet. It took a growing market in the East, where land was getting high-priced and scarce, and develop- ment of good transportation, to really start the frontier movement. The Gold Rush caused hordes of settlers to take various routes to the Pacific Coast and its yellow riches. The railroads brought farmers and ranchers, along with the miners, who decided to stop all along the routes and build their homes. Railroads were instrumental in the quick civilization of the West, bringing people in num- bers so large that the resentful Indians were finally pushed back into unwanted and infertile areas . America became a haven for immigrants from every na- tion as freedom beckoned them to the teeming cities of the East, the plains, and the rich west coast farmlands. Sick of the Civil War and with their own lands divided up and lost, many Southerners set out to begin again in the virgin territories. Westering soon became the national tradition as North and South moved together toward a new life. Americanism was advanced socially, by the hard-working, bare-fisted types who settled the frontiers. «H

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ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILEOAD COMPANT OPrSB VOB eALB ONE MILLION ACRES OF SUPESIOR FABMINO LANDS, IN FAHM3 OK 40,80A i60 acres and upwards at from $8 to $12 per acre. ■riii:t »-: x-a? i»h a it . NOT ISiaP4SNKD BY A. iV l TIIK WORLD. THE WHOLE LINE OF THE CENTRAL ILLINOIS RAILROAD. rv Bate on I ONO CBSDIT, SHORT CKEDIT «nJ ■■ ' CAoII. [Hot • MluM ■!«« TOW g ' VII,LAaB8, BCUOOIO ll ' » ' J H Ow coloi ofcl reali Tlie fron tori land men inov The m laili min Ojnici Boonf iMd ptonetn thtou|li ttir CuinbrtUnd Gap in Itiii luinljnic bv GfotKc Bm|him

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CHAPTERS OF AMERICAN HISTORY The Stamp Act of 1765 was an attempt by Eng- land to tax items that were wholly American. The colonists reacted in seething resentment which erupted into angry protestations. The first blood of the American Revolution was spilled during one such incident at Boston in 1770. Several Americans lost their lives over a snowball thrown at a British sentry. In the fight to achieve commerce equality, the United States found itself in a naval war over shipping lanes. Fort McHenry was heriocally held during a British naval bombardment, and the stars and stripes still flew after a night of hard fighting. The next morning Francis Scott Key penned the immortal words of what would become the national anthem. Settlers had to have permanent access to the new lands, so canals and bridges were built to carry stages and wagon trains loaded with machmery destined for settlements in the West. The pioneers foresaw great wealth in the cheap acreage that was available. Frontiersmen cleared the wilderness, built set- tlements and drove back the Indians. The Pony Express and the telegraph became primary means of communication. Agriculture was the wealth of the country. American inventions of the time were often re- lated to working the soil. The McCormick Reaper, mowing machine s, textile looms and the cotton gin were instrumental in the settling of new frontiers. In 1848, James Marshall found gold in the race of a sawmill he was building for John Sutter at Colonia, California. The lust to get rich quick ' was the force behind this biggest and gaudiest gold rush ever. While gold rush fever gripped the country, states were increasingly more divided on the slavery issue. Civil war broke out in the East. This Brothers War was bitterly fought and, though the scars remain even today, slavery was abolished Cities grew at an alarming pace: often without regard to the limits of safety The great Chicago fire of 1871 burned the bustling cattle market empire beyond recognition. But the pioneer spirit was not broken. Chicagoans began re- building and preparations were underway to celebrate the 100th birthday of the country . The Iron Horse, carrying homesteaders, greatly helped settlement of the new country. The first transcontinental railroad connected the country at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 186 3. mk