A. the Santa Fe Trail
Explanation:
The Santa Fe Trail was a famous 19th century transport route that ran through the center of North America, connecting the cities of Independence (now in Missouri) and Santa Fe (today in New Mexico) along some 1,400 km of arid meadows, deserts and mountains. The route was opened in 1821 by merchant William Becknell and was used until the arrival of the railroad to Santa Fe, in 1880. Santa Fe was near the end of Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that brought merchandise from Mexico City.
Following in part the traces made more than two centuries before by the expedition of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1540-1542), the French explorer Pedro Vial, a subject in the service of Spain, established what would later be the path of Santa's path. Faith traveling initially from Santa Fe del Yunque to San Luis de Illinues, that is from west to east, linking the Spanish capitals in that time of New Mexico and Alta Luisiana. This route was first used by New Mexicans and, after the Treaty Adams-Onís (1821) was also used by the Americans. The first of them was William Becknell, who in 1821 led a commercial expedition from Franklin, where he lived, to Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that led south to Mexico.
The road was used in 1846 as the route for the American invasion of New Mexico during the Mexican-American War. After the acquisition by the USA UU of the Southwest that put an end to the war, the track helped open the region to economic development and American settlements, playing a vital role in the expansion of the United States. UU in the lands he had acquired. The route served as a vital commercial and military route until the arrival of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880.