Considering that North America was quite large and there was still a great expanse of open territory left for discovery in the early to middle 19th century, the growing population of the United States moved westerly to find available land to settle on. Some of this wide open land was located in what is now known as Texas and California. At about this same time, 1821, Mexico, who owned the property known as Texas, declares its Independence from Spain (Tindall & Shi, 2013). The failure of the Mexican government to establish a stable government and create an effective economy at the time of their independence began a series of events that would lead to the Mexican – American War of 1846. The borders of the Mexican territories were not well defined and many Americans crossed southerly and westerly into the land mass known as Texas and California. Early after Mexico gained their independence, they were interested in reestablishing trade with the United States after it had been banned by the Spanish (Tindall & Shi, 2013). Opening up trade between Mexico and the United States increased the number of travelers both east and west …show more content…
The United States increased its land size significantly and with the acquisition of the western territories of Oregon, Texas, and California, the country was now one continuous land mass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and from the Mexican border on the south to the border with Canada on the north. This is important because the United States would be able to control all cross country travel and commerce which would enhance the economic well-being and potentially strengthen the bonds of the