The Oregon Trail was a 2200 mile treacherous and harsh journey that started at various points along the Missouri River and headed west to the alleged beautiful and plentiful Oregon territory. A lot of supplies were needed for the trail and families had a rough time gaining the money needed. Indians attacks in the beginning weren’t an issue but things heated up as more and more people used the trail to gain access to the Oregon territory. Disease and accidents also became an issue for travelers as not much was known about health during that time.
The Oregon Trail proved to be a very tough journey for travelers to venture out on but people were persistent on settling in this new territory. The trail’s most popular times were during the 1840s and 50s. Within that timeframe, the Oregon Territory meant not only the state of Oregon but also Idaho, Washington, and a few small parts of Wyoming that made up the Oregon Territory. The wagon trains that traveled the harsh journey through the Oregon Trail ranged in size from ten wagons to an astounding several hundred wagons. Before setting out, the people within the train would elect a leader and create certain rules that were to be strictly followed by every single traveler. The cost to go out on this journey was staggering for families at this time as it cost between five hundred and one thousand dollars to equip a family for the long trip. Most families needed to save for several years before they could afford all the equipment needed for The Oregon Trail. The absolute most important thing the pioneers needed was a good strong wagon and a healthy team to pull it long distances without much rest. Wagons were usually stout farm wagons, ten feet long and four feet wide, with canvas stretche...
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... and lost its appeal to many pioneers looking for new places to settle, thus The Oregon Trail became a thing of the past.
The Oregon Trail wasn’t worth it to most, and some even lost theirs lives trying to find a new life in this territory. Perhaps the most important item needed for the trip was a sturdy and well-built wagon, and a healthy group of oxen to carry it along. After the California gold rush, attacks and invasions by the Indians on small groups of wagons became more prevalent, thus the U.S. Army had to step in. Once the travelers arrived in the plentiful place that was the Oregon Territory, they were heartbroken that they still needed to create a home for themselves after journeying all that way. After most of the territory was settled, The Oregon Trail eventually faded away and became something most people forgot about, maybe even, a thing of the past.
It always amazes me how our forebears managed to find their way to Oklee, Minnesota. There were no roads, no cars, and no railroads. People from France, Norway, Sweden, and other European countries landed on the east coast, as they flocked to our country. When it became crowded, they moved west using the waterways and rivers for transportation. Much of the land was still wilderness. Many traveled up the Mississippi River and along the Red River, settling in the Red River Valley.
...ries of the Dakotas in the 1800’s. Identify 3 key hardships and or challenges the pioneers faced.
The construction of railroads in California impacted the state physically, socially, and economically; and ultimately helped propel California into the state it is today. During a time when masses of people were migrating to California but were doing so in an inefficient, and sometimes dangerous way, the first transcontinental railroad provided a fast and easier alternative. During the 1850's and 60's California was booming as many people from across the country uprooted their lives and headed west to begin a new life and attempt to strike it rich. Covered wagons were not an ideal way of travel but were the only way to go until the railroads were constructed.
"The Santa Fe Trail Lives On!" Welcome to SFTNet, the latest manifestation of the Santa Fe Trail saga. This service is designed for trail buffs, students, researchers, travelers on the trail--in short, anyone with an interest in historic or contemporary developments along the Santa Fe Trail. What Is The Santa Fe Trail? As many who read this introduction will know, the Santa Fe Trail is an ancient land route of communication between the desert Southwest of what is now the United States and the prairies and plains of central North America. In the Southwest it was also part of a longer route that ran down the Rio Grande into what is now northern Mexico. American Indian peoples used the route to trade the agricultural produce of the Rio Grande Valley and the bounty of the plains, such as jerked buffalo meat and buffalo hides. When the Spanish conquistador Onate came to New Mexico in 1598, he and his soldiers followed this ancient route as they explored the plains and traded with the peoples there. During the next two centuries the Spanish gained an intimate knowledge of the plains and the routes between the Mississippi-Missouri river systems and the Southwest. Then, in 1821, a trader from Missouri, William Becknell, came to Santa Fe along what was to become known as the historical route of the Santa Fe Trail. He opened the Santa Fe Trail as a commercial route between what was then ...
The time of westward expansion was filled of hardships and challenges for the citizens of America. They left their homes at their own will to help make life better for themselves, and would letter recognize how they helped our country expand. The people of the Oregon trail risked their lives to help better their lives and expand and improve the country of America. However, no reward comes without work, and the emigrants of the Oregon Trail definitely had it cut out for them. They faced challenges tougher than anyone elses during the time of westward expansion.The Emigrants of the Oregon trail had the the most difficult time surviving and thriving in the west because of environmental difficulties, illness abundance, and accident occurrence.
Secondly, Lewis and Clark’s original purpose was to find the pacific northwest passage, they failed at this. “Jefferson had dispatched them to find a water route across the continent-the fabled Northwest Passage-but they discovered that water transport from coast to coast was impossible”(plotz...
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
The trail of tears was a hideous harsh horrible time that the Native Americans will not forget the 1830s about 100,000 Native Americans peacefully lived on 1,000,000 and 1,000,000 of akers. They have been on this land generations before the wight men arrived. There was gold found in Gorga and the land was for ital. They used huge cotton plantations because the people would get rich off of them. In 1830 Andrew Jackson privily sinned the removal act. Te removal act gave the Government the power to trade the land for the land that the Native Americans were on. The Native Americans did not want to move, but the precedent sent troops to force the removal. Solders who looted there homes traveled 15,000 Cherokees, and gunpoint marched over 12,000
New technology regarding transportation changed the economy in terms of reduced land cost, more exports, and cheaper modes of travel. One of the worst ways to travel before 1790 was by wagon: the crude roads were bumpy, it was slow, and altogether transportation was unpleasant for the travellers. This was unappealing to many settlers, which explains why there was minimum westward movement from the Appalachian Mountains. This was felt in the bones of a private company who then built the Philadelphia-Lancaster Turnpike, named so for the spikes that would turn after a traveller paid his or her toll. Although paved roads were expensive, state governments and some individuals paid for them. The new roads enticed settlers to go
The transcontinental railroad would eventually become a symbol of much-needed unity, repairing the sectionalism that had once divided the nation during the Civil War. The construction of the transcontinental railroad was also an extension of the transportation revolution. Once commodities such as gold were found in the western half of America, many individuals decided to move themselves and their families out west in search of opportunity. Not only did the railroad help to transport people, but it also it allowed for goods to be delivered from companies in the east. In the end, the American transcontinental railroad created a national market, enabling mass production, and stimulated industry, while greatly impacting American society through stimulated immigration and urbanization.
The Lewis and Clark expedition across the present day United States began May 14, 1804. With the approval of President Jefferson and the U.S. Congress, Lewis and Clark gathered an exploration party of about four dozen men. These men headed off to discover Western America. On September 1, 1805, they arrived at the Bitterroot Mountains, near present day Idaho. This began a nightmare that would not end until they reached modern-day Weippe. September 1, 1805, the explorers set out traveling west, heading into rough, seldom traveled, mountainous country. They stopped at today’s North Fork of the Salmon River, known as Fish Creek to Lewis and Clark, where they caught five fish, and were able to kill a deer (MacGregor 125). Some of the men’s feet and horse’s hooves were injured due to the rough, rocky terrain. The next day, they were entering mountains far more difficult to pass than any American had ever attempted (Ambros 284). Clark describes the route: "Throu’ thickets in which we were obliged to cut a road, over rocky hillsides where horses were in perpetual danger of slipping to their certain distruction and up and down steep hills…" (De Voto 232). Traveling along the steep hills, several horses fell. One was crippled, and two gave out. Patrick Gass described the trip that day as, "…the worst road (If road it can be called) that was ever traveled" (MacGregor 125). To make conditions even worse, it rained that afternoon, which made the trail even more treacherous. The party was only able to travel five miles that day. On September 3, snow fell and the team’s last thermometer broke. Several more horsed slipped and injured themselves. Later that day, the snow turned into sleet. The expedition family consumed the last of their salt pork and fish and began their descent into the Bitterroot Valley. That night, was the coldest yet. The next day, the party went down a very steep descent to a river that Lewis named, Clark’s River, (Today known as The Bitterroot River.) There, they encountered a band of Salish Indians, whom the captains called Flatheads. They stayed there with the Indians the next couple of days to trade. They acquired thirteen new Appaloosa Horses, including three colts, for seven worn out horses. The Salish Indians shared berries and roots with the men for their meals. On September 6, they set off traveling northward along the Bitterroot River for about ten miles.
The Trail of Tears was a hard battled journey for the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee were driven to move west. They had to compromise and sign treaties, which drove them out of their land by the U.S. government. This was unfair to the Cherokees; the white settlers wanted the land for gold. Trail of tears is historically monumental because it shows the U.S. government cruelty to the Native Americans. It was unfair rights because they basically stole Cherokees land to satisfy their hunger for gold.
Before the Gold rush, the United States was at war with Mexico over territory. If it had not been for the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848 the United States might have turned out differently than it currently is today. The Treaty of Guadalupe was signed on February 2, 1848 and ended the Mexican-American war. Mexico transferred nearly half of their land to the U.S. (Rohrbough 12). Some Americans felt it was part of Manifest Destiny, especially by believer President James Polk (Smith, Orsi, and Rawls 26). The Treaty of Guadalupe guaranteed that any Mexican citizen in California who did not want to continue their allegiance to Mexico would within a year be granted the automatic “title and rights of citizens...
On top of the farming craze, mining soon became very popular. Towns centered on mining would emerge, but shortly after they would disappear. This caused the Indians to move according to the mining towns. All this movement in the west caused life to become even more difficult for the Native Americans. When Americans and immigrants moved to the west they brought disease and violence with them. Ninety percent of Native Americans died after the gold rush in California (p. 501 Nash et al., 2010).
"Oregon Trail." UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 6. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 1185-1189. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.