Admin Table of Contents
How did the Santa Fe Trail Help New Mexico?
Between 1821 and 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was primarily a commercial highway connecting Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848, the Santa Fe Trail became a national road connecting the more settled parts of the United States to the new southwest territories.
What role did the Santa Fe Trail play in the Mexican American War?
Official hostilities between the United States and Mexico began on May 13, 1846, when the U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico. The Santa Fe Trail contributed to the expansion of the Union. As the territory of the United States increased, so too did the need for more routes farther west.
What is the importance of the Santa Fe Trail?
The Santa Fe Trail was mainly a trade route but saw its share of emigrants, especially during the California Gold Rush and the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush in Colorado. The trail also became an important route for stagecoach travel, stagecoach mail delivery and as a mail route for the famed Pony Express.
How was New Mexico acquired?
When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, New Mexico became a province of Mexico, and trade was opened with the United States. Two years later, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded New Mexico to the United States, and in 1853 the territory was expanded to its present size through the Gadsden Purchase.
When did U.S. acquire New Mexico?
The Gadsden Purchase, or Treaty, was an agreement between the United States and Mexico, finalized in 1854, in which the United States agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico.
What was the purpose of the Santa Fe Trail?
The Santa Fe Trail was America’s first commercial highway. Traders established the trail—which connected Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico and covered some 900 miles of the Great Plains—in 1821. Before its demise due to the completion of the Santa Fe railroad, the Santa Fe Trail served as a thoroughfare for countless traders,…
What did Samuel Becknell trade on the Santa Fe Trail?
After arriving in Santa Fe on November 16 and making an enormous profit, he made plans to return, thus blazing the path that would become known as the Santa Fe Trail. Becknell loaded manufactured goods from Missouri onto a mule train to trade for furs, gold, silver, and other goods in New Mexico on his first trip.
Who were the main traders on the Santa Fe Trail?
Beginning in 1826, prominent aristocratic families of New Mexicans, such as the Chávezes, Armijos, Pereas and Oteros entered into the commerce along the trail, such that by 1843, traders from New Mexico and Chihuahua had become the majority of traders involved in the traffic of goods over the Santa Fe Trail.
How did the United States gain control of Santa Fe?
Although the Raton Pass took its toll on Kearney and his troops, they took over Santa Fe without resistance. When the Mexican-American War ended, the United States purchased Mexico’s southern territories including New Mexico, California and Arizona.