Iowa became part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and was admitted as the 29th state in 1846. Before European settlement, the area was home to Native American tribes such as the Ioway, Sioux, and Meskwaki.
The Fox people, also known as the Meskwaki, originally lived in the Great Lakes region, including parts of present-day Illinois. They were known for their resistance to French colonization and later allied with the Sauk tribe after being driven from their homeland.
Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet were French explorers who, in 1673, led an expedition to explore the Mississippi River in search of the Northwest Passage. Though they discovered the river flowed south and not west to Asia, their journey provided valuable maps and opened the interior of North America to further French exploration.
The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal in 1803 where the United States bought a large area of land from France. This purchase doubled the size of the U.S. and included land that would become all or part of 15 states, including Nebraska.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from 1804 to 1806, was a journey to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Their expedition provided valuable maps, scientific data, and strengthened American claims to the western lands.
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the U.S. military and the Sauk and Fox tribes in 1832, led by the Sauk leader Black Hawk, as they resisted being displaced from their lands in Illinois. After a series of battles, Black Hawk and his followers were defeated, and the U.S. government forced them to surrender and give up their land.
Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that the United States was destined by God to expand its territory across North America. It was used to justify westward expansion, the displacement of Native Americans, and wars such as the Mexican-American War.
The Mormon Trail was a 1,300-mile route used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to migrate west from Illinois to Utah between 1846 and 1869. They traveled to escape religious persecution and to establish a new home where they could freely practice their faith.
