The expression "remember the Alamo" is probably something you heard in school. But do you really know what this rallying war cry means? See more »

Maybe you've sung along with that well-known tune: "Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier." But have you ever wondered how he earned that royal title? See more »

More than 150 years ago, the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism to survive a harsh winter in the California mountains. And we're still fascinated by their story. See more »

In the early 1800s, the United States witnessed the birth of the railroad industry and along with it, dramatic changes in American society and business. What was life like before and after the railroads? See more »

The railroad expansion of the 1800s changed America forever. By 1900, the people North America had settled a continent that previous generations had thought would take a thousand years to occupy. See more »

Donner Party, a group of 89 California-bound emigrants who suffered one of the starkest tragedies of the westward movement. See more »

Fur Trade in America. The trapping and killing of animals for their pelts or hides played a major part in the settling of the North American continent. See more »

Frmont, John Charles (18131890), a United States explorer, Army officer, railway organizer, and politician. See more »

Mexican War, 1846-48, a war between the United States and Mexico. As a result of its victory the United States gained an area of 529,017 square miles (1,370,148 km 2 ) from Mexico-the present states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. See more »

Chouteau, the name of a United States family prominent in the early Middle West as traders, merchants, and financiers. See more »