Editing History of North America (section)

==Expansion era==
{{main|History of the United States (1789–1849)|Canada under British Imperial control (1764–1867)|Mexican–American War}}
[[File:U.S._Territorial_Acquisitions.png|thumb|Territorial expansion of the United States; dotted area is the [[Louisiana Purchase]].]]

From the time of independence of the United States, that country expanded rapidly to the west, [[Louisiana Purchase|acquiring the massive Louisiana territory]] in 1803. Between 1810 and 1811 a Native confederacy under Tecumseh [[Tecumseh's War|fought unsuccessfully]] to keep the Americans from pushing them out of the Great Lakes. Tecumseh's followers then went north into Canada, where they helped the British to block an American attempt to seize Canada during the [[War of 1812]]. Following the war, British and Irish settlement in Canada increased dramatically.

US expansion was complicated by the division between "free" and "slave" states, which led to the [[Missouri Compromise]] in 1820. Likewise, Canada faced a division between [[French Canadian|French]] and [[English Canadian|English]] communities that led to the outbreak of [[Rebellions of 1837|civil strife in 1837]]. Mexico faced constant political tensions between liberals and conservatives, as well as the rebellion of the English-speaking region of Texas, which declared itself the [[Republic of Texas]] in 1836. In 1845 Texas joined the United States, which would later lead to the [[Mexican–American War]] in 1846 that began [[American imperialism]]. As a result of conflict with Mexico, the United States made further territorial gains in [[History of California|California]] and the Southwest.