Milestones in American History
2 total works
On February 23, 1836, general and dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and a Mexican force of more than 2,000 men launched an assault against Colonel William B. Travis of Texas, his army of 155 men, and 15 civilians who were living in the fort known as the Alamo. The Texans, who were reinforced by 32 men by March 1, withstood the Mexican army until March 6. That day, the 187 Texan defenders perished in the hand-to-hand combat, including American frontiersmen Davy Crockett and James Bowie, and 600 from the Mexican army were killed as well. Only the civilians survived. At the last battle of the Texas War, the Battle of San Jacinto, General Santa Anna was defeated, and the battle cry 'Remember the Alamo!' could be heard being shouted by the Texan army. ""The Alamo"" examines this heroic episode in the Texas War of Independence against Mexico.
As the population of the 13 colonies grew and the economy developed, the desire to expand into new land increased. Nineteenth-century Americans believed it was their divine right to expand their territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. 'Manifest destiny', a phrase first used in 1839 by journalist John O'Sullivan, embodied the belief that God had given the United States a mission to spread a republican democracy across the continent. Advocates of manifest destiny were determined to carry out their mission and instigated several wars, including the war with Mexico to win much of what is now the southwestern United States. In ""Manifest Destiny"", learn how this philosophy to spread out across the land shaped our nation.