US expansion essays

US expansion essays America acquired a lot of land over a short period time starting from about 1783 to about 1848. America did so in a few different ways such as war, treaty, annexation and purchase. In this essay I will discuss some of the different states we gained and how we gain them. The original thirteen colonies were acquired by a battle or a war known as The American Revolution. The Americans fought Britain for freedom, rights and land. After a successful battle the British were forced to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1783. This treaty gave America the thirteen colonies and the other side of the Mississippi river. In 1803 the leader of France, Napoleon offered the U.S. to purchase Louisiana. Although the Constitution made no provision for the acquisition of new land, Jefferson decided to go with a more loose constitution and called this a treaty. The Louisiana Purchase was the greatest real estate deal in world history, because it doubled the U.S. in size and it only cost about 15 million dollars in gold. After that in 1818 and 1819 Spain sold Florida to the U.S. and we just took west Florida with it. In 1842 a treaty with Britain gives us northern Minnesota in which we later discover is full of extremely valuable that boosted America's economy. For about nine years Texas wasn't part of any country and very much wanted to become part of the U.S. be we kept on refusing because of slavery abolishment in the north. In 1845 the U.S. decided it would allow Texas to be part of U.S. territory so we had the Texas Annexation. In 1846 after a successful victory over Britain in a battle which was fought over a very large piece of land, the Americans came to a compromise with the British. America decided that it would take Oregon Country by treaty and allow the British to keep the northern half of the land that was fought over. In 1853 America acquires another very large piece of land from Mexico. After the war the Mexican signed a treaty giving us...

Joan of England, Queen of Sicily

Joan of England, Queen of Sicily About Joan of England Known for: daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England, Joan of England lived through kidnapping and shipwreck Occupation: English princess, Sicilian queen Dates: October 1165 - September 4, 1199 Also known as: Joanna of Sicily More About Joan of England: Born in Anjou, Joan of England was the second youngest of the children of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. Joan was born in Angers, grew up mainly in Poitiers, at the Fontevrault Abbey, and at Winchester. In 1176, Joans father agreed to her marriage to William II of Sicily. As was typical for royal daughters, the marriage served political purposes, as Sicily was looking for a closer alliance with England.   Her beauty impressed the ambassadors, and she traveled to Sicily, with a stop in Naples when Joan became ill. They arrived in January, and William and Joan were married in Sicily in February of 1177. Their only son, Bohemond, did not survive infancy; the existence of this son is not accepted by some historians. When William died in 1189 without an heir to succeed him, the new king of Sicily, Tancred, denied Joan her lands, and then imprisoned Joan. Joans brother, Richard I, on his way to the Holy Land for a crusade, stopped in Italy to demand Joans release and the full repayment of her dowry. When Tancred resisted, Richard took a monastery, by force, and then took the city of Messina. It was there that Eleanor of Aquitaine landed with Richards chosen bride, Berengaria of Navarre. There were rumors that Philip II of France wanted to marry Joan; he visited her in the convent in which she was staying.   Philip was the son of her mothers first husband. This would likely have raised objections from the church because of that relationship.   Tancred returned Joans dowry in money rather than giving her control of her lands and property. Joan took charge of Berengaria while her mother returned to England.   Richard set sail for the Holy Land, with Joan and Berengaria on a second ship. The ship with the two women was stranded in Cyprus after a storm. Richard narrowly rescued his bride and sister from Isaac Comnenus. Richard imprisoned Isaac and sent his sister and his bride to Acre, following shortly. In the Holy Land, Richard proposed that Joan marry Saphadin, also known as Malik al-Adil, the brother of the Muslim leader, Saladin. Joan and the proposed groom both objected on the basis of their religious differences. Returning to Europe, Joan married Raymond VI of Toulouse. This, too, was a political alliance, as Joans brother Richard was concerned that Raymond had an interest in Aquitaine. Joan gave birth to a son, Raymond VII, who later succeeded his father. A daughter was born and died in 1198. Pregnant for another time and with her husband away, Joan barely escaped a rebellion on the part of the nobility. Because her brother Richard had just died, she could not seek his protection. Instead, she made her way to Rouen where she found support from her mother. Joan entered Fontevrault Abbey, where she died giving birth. She took the veil just before she died. The newborn son died a few days later. Joan was buried at Fontevrault Abbey. Background, Family: Mother:  Eleanor of AquitaineFather: Henry II of EnglandSiblings:full siblings were William IX, Count of Poitiers; Henry the Young King; Matilda, Duchess of Saxony; Richard I of England; Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany;  Eleanor, Queen of Castile; John of Englandolder half-siblings were  Marie of France  and  Alix of France Marriage, Children: husband: William II of Sicily (married February 13, 1177)child: Bohemond, Duke of Apulia: died in infancyhusband: Raymond VI of Toulouse (married October 1196)children: Raymond VII of Toulouse; Mary of Toulouse; Richard of Toulouse