Westward Expansion

“American Progress”John Gast

Manifest Destiny• Coined by John O’Sullivan – The belief that it was the United States’ mission to

spread Democracy and Christianity by expanding the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific

How did the People get to the West?

1. Sail around South America (5-8 months)– Long, dangerous, boring and $

“Suddenly a heavy blow struck the starboard quarter and careened the ship over on her side...A crash was heard overhead--chains rattling and falling, sails madly flapping, yardarms snapping and masts breaking; for a few seconds, the noise was terrific..." –Linville Hall

2. Sail to Isthmus of Panama, take a mule for a week through jungles, and sail up to

San Francisco (6-8 Weeks)– Diseases

3. Overland trails (Oregon Trail)•Most famous route to the west • 4-6 months, 2,000 Miles; 500,000 pioneers

Boise, Idaho

1836: Marcus and Narcissa Whitman Became the first people to travel to Oregon in a covered wagon.

1843: The Great Migration - the first big wave of migration on the trail, when about 1,000 pioneers headed west

1869: The first transcontinental railway was completed.

Oregon Trail Timeline

The Oregon Trail

Jumping-Off town

Jumping-Off Town• Began in Independence, MO• Ended in the Oregon territory

…Boom Town- a town experiencing an increase in population

“A multitude of shops had sprung up to furnish emigrants with necessaries for the journey. The streets were thronged with men, horses and mules…” –Francis Parkman

When would you start?

Ghost Town

• Food– Dried food that would not spoil: flour, dried fruit, bacon, coffee,

sugar, tea, rice, beans, biscuits, and whisky for “medical purposes” – Farm animals – Water barrels

• Tools– Hammers, nails, spare tires– Plows, seeds, shovels etc.

• Guns (Hunting/protection)• School books• Paintings, furniture, Bible, quilts etc.

WHAT TO BRING!?!?!?!…a Girl’s worst nightmare…

Covered Wagons

4 feet wide and 10 feet high

Iron tires

Water/dust proof canvas

4-6 Oxen -2mph; 15

(Food, old, sick, young) …Most people walked

Hardships:• 1 in 10 pioneers died along the way…

….Most people walked all 2,000 miles barefoot!

1. River Crossings– Cross it, or float (ferry services)– Hundreds drowned while crossing Kansas

North Platte and Columbia Rivers – Strong currents, rocks

"Crossing rivers in those days was far different than what it is today. It requires a great deal of manual labor to propel one of the ferry boats…A pulley on a short rope was attached to the boat to keep it from going downstream. Where the water was shallow, they used spike poles, and where it was deep they used oars. Two wagons were all that could be ferried at one time. Just think what a slow process, and hundreds of wagons waiting and hundreds coming every day. Well, we got over the river at last by swimming the cattle. In that work my brother William came near losing his life by drowning."(from Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852, by Weldon Willis Rau.)

2. Accidents– Children fell out of wagons and were crushed by the heavy

wheels– Guns misfiring – Poisonous lakes/ponds , plants, snakes– Wagons broke down– Oxen died from exhaustion– Getting lost

3. Nature’s fury– Weather (Snow, rain, heavy thunderstorms, hail)– Flooding

4. Starvation (Donner’s Party)5. Indian Attacks

6. Disease – Deadliest problem: Cholera –infection of the

small intestine caused by bacteria– Symptoms: diarrhea and vomiting dehydration, death• Often 2/3 of the party would die

Effects of the Oregon Trail• 500,000 pioneers traveled west in

search of freedom, adventure, opportunity, wealth, religious duty…etc.• Ended in 1869 with the arrival of the

Transcontinental Railroads