Oregon Trail & Westward Expansion

• The Oregon Trail served as a route across the western frontier of North America.
• In 1836, the first organized wagon party traveled the 2,000-mile distance from Independence, Missouri, to the Willamette Valley, Oregon.
• Westward expansion motivated individuals to explore the American frontier and establish new lives in the West.
• Travelers on the Oregon Trail envisioned land with potential, open spaces, and freedom not available in the East.

American Expansion and Manifest Destiny

• Americans desired expansion from the time they first arrived in North America.
• In the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase laid the groundwork for westward expansion.
• Jefferson acquired the Louisiana territory from France in 1803 which encompassed 828,000 square miles.
• States included in the Louisiana Purchase either entirely or in part: Louisiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas.
• President John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) facilitated the growth of the United States.
• Adams focused on expanding across the entire continent, rather than simply occupying lands devoid of European settlers.
• President James Polk annexed Texas with help from John O'Sullivan and won the Mexican-American War in 1848, gaining control of additional western states.
• Manifest Destiny fueled expansionism, the belief that the United States was destined by God to expand its dominion and capitalism across North America.
• Expansionism attracted many Americans seeking new opportunities and affordable land.
• William Walker attempted to invade parts of Mexico and Nicaragua after the Mexican-American War.
• Walker installed himself as president of Nicaragua for 10 months, but lacked the leadership and supplies and was forced out of power.
• He was captured and executed in 1860 in Honduras after his third attempt at filibustering.
• John O'Sullivan conceptualized Manifest Destiny, while William Walker attempted to implement it by force.

Claiming the Oregon Country

• In the early 19th century, the United States jointly owned the Oregon Territory with Britain.
• Great Britain relinquished claims to the Northwest Territory after the War of 1812 and Treaty of Ghent.
• By 1846, migration on the Oregon Trail made it clear that the Oregon country was rapidly becoming an American territory.
• Britain signed it over fully through the Treaty of Oregon.

Westward Expansion Trails

• Three main westward expansion trails were the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail.
• Known collectively as the overland trails for the origin in the Midwest (Oregon and California Trails from Independence, Missouri, and the Mormon Trail from Council Bluffs, Iowa).
• The Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails followed a similar route, splitting in Wyoming and Idaho to head north or south.
• The California Trail led emigrants to areas such as Sacramento in Northern California.
• The Mormon Trail passed through Salt Lake City, Utah, and ended in Los Angeles, California.
• The Santa Fe Trail, originating in Independence, Missouri, crossed Kansas and New Mexico, ending in Santa Fe.
• Peak travel on the Santa Fe Trail occurred earlier (1820-1850) compared to the Oregon Trail (1843 to early 1850s).

History of the Oregon Trail

• The Oregon Trail and westward expansion were established in the early nineteenth century.
• Rudimentary trails were used primarily by fur trappers after the Rush-Bagot treaty of 1817.
• The treaty of 1817 established joint occupancy between Britain and the United States in the Oregon territory.
• Fur traders like John Jacob Astor recognized the potential of trapping in the West.
• After the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804, Astor bought land in the Oregon Territory and named it Astoria.
• In 1836, missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman traveled from St. Louis to the Walla Walla valley to preach to Cayuse Indians.
• Narcissa Whitman's letters encouraged other women to travel the trail with their families.

Purpose

• People traveled the Oregon Trail for economic opportunity, to avoid a cholera epidemic and economic depression in the Midwest.
• The Second Great Awakening inspired religious believers to preach to Native Americans or establish faith-based communities.
• Farmers were drawn by stories of fertile lands in the Oregon Country.
• The United States government offered free land in the Willamette Valley under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850.
• Free land was offered to white men over 18 years of age until 1854, after which it cost $1.25 an acre.

Starting Point

• The 2,000-mile-long Oregon Trail officially started in Independence, Missouri.
• Independence, Missouri was the farthest point west on the Missouri River.
• Independence provided outfitters, wagon repair shops, and general stores for pioneers.
• The true starting point depended on the traveling family's origin, with many joining the trail from other mid-western cities.

The Journey

• Travelers often experienced hardships rather than adventure on the Oregon Trail.
• Most pioneers walked to reduce weight in their wagons and strain on the oxen.
• Young children, the elderly, and pregnant women sometimes rode in wagons.
• Emigrants started their journey in spring to avoid extreme temperatures.
• An exceptional day's travel ranged from 15-20 miles, with the total journey taking 5-6 months.
• Emigrants carried essential provisions like flour, sugar, salt, coffee, tea, bacon, dried beans, dried fruit, cornmeal, and rice.
• They also brought weapons to supplement their diet with wild game, along with a water keg, Dutch oven, and cooking utensils.
• Dangers included starvation, dehydration, gunshot wounds, accidents, drownings, weather, and occasional altercations with Native Americans.
• The most prominent cause of death on the Oregon Trail was disease, with the National Parks Service estimating that 10% of emigrants died from illness.
• Common illnesses included cholera, dysentery, mountain fever, measles, food poisoning, scurvy, smallpox, and pneumonia.

Ending Point

• Emigrants who survived the journey and stayed on the Oregon Trail typically arrived in Oregon City, Oregon, in late fall.
• Land grants were given in the Willamette Valley, Idaho, or Wyoming.
• Travelers encountered scenery, a lively town, and the promise of a new life.

Importance

• Of the 400,000 people who traveled west, approximately 80,000 ended up in Oregon.
• 50,000 during its peak years (1840-1860).
• The Oregon Trail established trade routes, explored undeveloped land, and provided new land for American settlers.
• Expansion undermined Native American tribes, leading to displacement.
• The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 created the Indian Reservations system.
• Native Americans were forced onto designated tracts of land and restricted from leaving without permission.
• By 1890, the need to travel cross-country in a covered wagon had been eliminated.
• The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, linking east to west.