1803–1890 · Americas · Empire
U.S. settlement expanded westward through purchase, annexation, forced removal, broken treaties, warfare and the destruction of Indigenous food systems.
Atlas dossier · Industrial & Imperial AgeFree device narration · synchronized English captions · transcript available
Why it matters
U.S. settlement expanded westward through purchase, annexation, forced removal, broken treaties, warfare and the destruction of Indigenous food systems.
Indigenous nations · settlers · U.S. troops · displaced families · Native resisters and diplomats
Continental expansion built the modern United States while dispossessing Native nations and extending conflicts over slavery, citizenship and land.
Interpretation note
This dossier distinguishes the event’s basic chronology from later arguments about meaning, responsibility and legacy. When comparing religious, national, Indigenous or scholarly interpretations, consult the primary and institutional sources above alongside peer-reviewed historical work.
Elsewhere in the world
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1807–1960 · AfricaFrom abolition to colonial conquestAs legal Atlantic slave trading and slavery were abolished unevenly, European powers redirected commerce, naval coercion and ‘legitimate trade’ into territorial occupation and colonial rule.