1803 to 1862 was an important period for the United States of America. The westward movement of the United States occurred primarily during these years and consisted of five major events, each enabling the next. These events were the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Corps of Discovery), the establishment of the Oregon and California Trails, the California Gold Rush, and the Homestead Act of 1862 The stage was set for the westward expansion of the United States. United States on May 2, 1803 (Whitridge, par. 1) when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from the French government for $15 million; aptly nicknamed, the Louisiana Purchase. “The Louisiana Purchase provided Americans with a realistic way to expand west and live the agricultural dream Jefferson desired.” (Demaio, p. 2). This transaction doubled the size of the United States and piqued the interest of settlers eager to discover what was beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The lands acquired extended from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountains, north to Canada, and south to the present-day Oklahoma-Texas border. Another key factor in the westward movement was Jefferson's action in the Corps of Discovery (an army unit) commonly known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Corps of Discovery's voyage played a vital role in Jefferson's vision of keeping the United States agrarian by providing acres of land. (Demaio, p. 1) Agrarian refers to maintaining society dependent on agricultural production, and acres of land would provide Americans with the means to do just that. Lewis and Clark set out on May 14, 1804, through the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, heading west toward the Pacific O...... middle of paper ......e Oregon Trail. " History Today 11.11 (1961): 743-752. Historical summaries with full text. Web. April 2, 2014. Spedden, Rush. “The Donner Trail ACROSS The Salt Lake Valley.” Overland Journal 26.1 (2008): 25-35. Text. Web. April 3, 2014. Stewart, George. “California Gold Rush – and the Next Quarter Century: CALIFORNIA GOLD: The Beginning of Mining in the Wild West.” Paul.” New York Times [New York, NY] 1947, n. p. Web. April 3, 2014. .Thompson, R.. Np. Web. April 1, 2014. .Whitridge, Arnold. "The Louisiana Purchase, 1803: America Moves West." History Today 3.7 (1953): 476-483. America: History and Life with full text. Web. April 2. 2014.