Focus Questions: 1. "The rush to the West occurred, in part, because of a hat." What was this kind of hat made out of?

The rush to the West occurred because of the "high hat," made of water-repellent beaver fur

While acquiring fur for the hats, French, British, and American companies gradually killed off the beaver population in the East

Companies moved west in search of more beavers

Most of the first non-Native Americans who traveled to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest were fur traders and trappers

American merchant John Jacob Astor created one of the largest fur businesses, the American Fur Company

His company bought skins from western fur traders and trappers who become known as mountain men

Mountain men trapped animals on their own, far from towns and settlements

Explanation:

A hastily created army of Texas volunteers had been clashing with Mexican troops for months

Under Colonel Jim Travis, a small force took the town of San Antonio

It then occupied the Alamo, an abandoned mission near San Antonio that became an important battle site in the Texas Revolution

Volunteers from the United States joined the Alamo's defense

The rebels, numbering less than 200, hoped to stall the huge Mexican force while a larger Texas army assembled

For almost two weeks, from February 23 to March 6, 1836, the Texans held out

Before dawn on March 6, the Mexican army attacked

Despite heavy losses, the army overcame the Texans

All the defenders of the Alamo were killed, though some civilians survived

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