Oregon Trail Research Paper

My life as a female pioneer taking the journey down the Oregon Trail was one of hardship and adventure. During the early 1800s settlers began to explore new territory in the New World looking for new opportunities. Through the pioneer journeys of Lewis and Clark a route through America was discovered that would take settlers to new land in the Pacific Northwest portion of the country. To reach the new land pioneers, such as I, had to travel down what became known as the Oregon Trail.

Though Oregon had given away all its free land by 1855, more would still continue to migrate to California and Oregon for many years. Hundreds and thousands traveled the Oregon Trail, and though approximately one in ten died from illness and accident, many more remained to settle and farm the land. They believed it was their divine right to do so. Today, some historic land marks and wagon ruts remain as monuments to the Oregon Trail. Many of the brave and bold from the east traveled its path, with ambition and hope in their hearts. Many would never see the lands they wanted to settle in.

The Oregon Trail was a very important aspect in the history of our country’s development. When Marcus and Narcissa Whitman made the first trip along the Oregon Trail, many Americans saw a window of opportunity. The Oregon Trail was the only practical way to pass through the Rockies. Pioneers crammed themselves into small wagons to try to make it to the unsettled land; however, 10% of these pioneers died on the way due to disease and accidents.

The Westward Expansion was the nation's future as depended on by Thomas Jefferson. In 1803 the Louisiana purchase took place, doubling the size of the country. The Westward Expansion allowed the emigrants of the Oregon trail to expand out west, making the people a new start to a better future. The emigrant’s on the Oregon trail faced the most difficulty trying to survive and thrive in the west due to life threatening diseases, harsh weather patterns, and supply deprivation.

This topic the Oregon Trail deals with all these people were looking for a better life or some freedom to practice their religion for themselves along with their families. Saw that they needed to move somewhere else and many of them decided to move west and take the Oregon trail or move to the state of California. Even though they knew it wasn't easy there was many trails that they had to go threw. They decided to take on that idea to leave for the Oregon trail.

The land route is across the Great Plains along the Oregon Trail or across the continental United States, mainly along the California trail.

It represented the spirit and persistence of the American settlers. The Oregon trail helped settlers populate to the west. It's known as the greatest mass migration in American History. From 1836 to 1869 the Oregon trail was used on a regular basis by settlers. After the railroad came the trails weren't used as much. The Oregon trail was involved and used in the civil war to transport soldiers and supplies. In California it's split in half from the north and south. Everyone has their own beliefs on slavery, between the confederate states and the union over issues of rights and

For many American settlers, the Great Plains area didn’t spark much interest. But many were beginning to change their minds in the years leading up to the Civil War. As the Continental railroad was beginning to move westward, many were beginning to realize how wrong they were. “Settlers in Kansas found no desert, but millions of acres of fertile soil.”(DOC 1) Many settlers raced to the west to try to snag a plot of land in the west to hopefully start a new chapter in their lives. The transcontinental railroad also helped businesses boom by transporting goods much faster by the railroad. Also, the transcontinental railroad didn’t only transport goods to businesses, it also transported settlers from coast to coast. “After the transcontinental railroad was completed, it cost $150 and took one week. For the first time, U.S. Americans could freely travel from coast to coast. This radically changed both business and pleasure travel.”(How the Transcontinental Railroad Changed America) For many settlers, the transcontinental railroad was revolutionizing transportation. From delivering goods, to transporting people across the coast. We can all agree the transcontinental railroad

The Oregon tail was the longest overland route in the westward growth in the United States. The Oregon Trail is a 2,200 mile (3,500km) route from Missouri to Oregon and California. The first emigrants to make the journey were Marcus and Narcissa Whitman who made the trip in 1836. Few years later the Whitman Family and eleven other were killed by a party of Cayuse Native American on November 29, 1847. The Oregon Trail helped the United States carry out its cultural goal of Manifest Destiny, that is, to expand the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Settlers could not leave too early nor too late, if they do decide to leave early there would be no grass for the animals to consume, if they left too late they would have a chance of

1.Overland Trail from Missouri R. To Oregon&CA long,dangerous,tedious&exhausting-separated from family&homeland-still streamed to W.(5千to O,3千CA in 1845&48)-bc provided economic opportunities& healthy surrounding(appeal to panic of 1837&malaria stroke farmers), also bc men seeking for sense of adventure&women seeking for ideal home-travel in group bc fear of natives&need help passing river&mt- often elected a leader of the “train”-democratic but not accepted unanimously- everyone had to accept benefit/bad of new community.

“If any act symbolized the taming of the Northwest frontier, it was the driving of the final spike to complete the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.”1 The first railroad west of the Mississippi River was opened on December 23, 1852. Five miles long, the track ran from St. Louis to Cheltanham, Missouri. Twenty-five years prior, there were no railroads in the United States; twenty-five years later, railroads joined the east and west coasts from New York to San Francisco.2

During the years the tracks were being made, the first settlers began to move westward. Once gold was discovered in these areas, people started to travel across the nation to find gold in California. Chinese Immigrants soon began discovering the gold while mining. Traveling overland before the railroad was completed, took approximently five to six months. Travelers were through rugged mountains and arid desert. “The transcontinental railroad would make it possible to complete the trip in five days at a cost of $150 for a first-class sleeper.” (Digital History). This was an ever lasting change in America. Going from $1,000 and a five to six month trip, to an $150 and five day trip was drastic. Even though, the railroad took many years to connect, it has still been used in todays society.

The United States currently occupies around thirty-seven percent of North America, but how has this prosperous country expanded so fast in the last three centuries? The US is currently one of the largest countries in the world and the second largest in North America. Though most Americans know about the original Thirteen Colonies, several of them might have trouble trying to list another major affair through which the United States has expanded westward. Many battles and fights have caused the borders of the United States and the states and territories of the land now deemed to the United States to have changed; along with major purchases of land, the battles and fights have brought America to the current size it is.

The major industries of the Appalachian Region are mining, agriculture, and fishing. Mining in this region is well known to be found in Quebec particularly asbestos, zinc, iron, and lead. While in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the minerals potash and gypsum are found there. In both Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island the vegetable crops carrots, potatoes, cabbage and rutabagas are harvested yearly. The Appalachians are rich in fish such as salmon, cod, halibut, herring and pollock.

Women went on the Oregon trail to follow their husbands. Land to the west was a new opportunity for families to have financial freedom and a new start. The west meant new opportunities and a way to get out of debt. Catherine Haun and her husband, middle class and educated, fell into financial hard times. They wanted to go on the journey to get out of their debt. They felt as if heading west would be a firmer way to make money than the ways they tried in the past: “It was a period of National hard times and we being financially involved in our business interest near Clinton, Iowa, longed to go to the new El Dorado and ‘pick up’ gold enough with which to return and pay off our debts” (Haun 166) (Sic). As well as the financial benefit, the Haun’s also saw the journey as romantic. They saw it as a romantic wedding tour, or honeymoon, as they had only been married for a few months (Haun 166). Women also