Chapter 17 - The Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road PDF

Okay, here's the markdown conversion of the image you sent: # CHAPTER 17 Correlates with 5.29 Develops SSP.01, 02, 04, 05 ## THE CUMBERLAND GAP AND THE WILDERNESS ROAD ### A Royal Proclamation! After the end of the French and Indian War, many colonists were excited to settle in the new lands jus...

Okay, here's the markdown conversion of the image you sent: # CHAPTER 17 Correlates with 5.29 Develops SSP.01, 02, 04, 05 ## THE CUMBERLAND GAP AND THE WILDERNESS ROAD ### A Royal Proclamation! After the end of the French and Indian War, many colonists were excited to settle in the new lands just won from France. However, many American Indians in the Ohio Territory objected to the presence of British soldiers and settlers and continued to rebel. Great Britain did not want to deal with ongoing fighting between colonial settlers and American Indians. After all, the war had just ended! To avoid future conflicts, King George III passed a law called the **Proclamation of 1763**. The proclamation set aside the land west of the Appalachian Mountains for the American Indians, and it prohibited colonists from settling there. Colonists were furious! They did not like being told where they could and could not settle. The colonists who had already settled west of the Appalachian Mountains were not happy at being told to return east, and many refused. Even though the Proclamation of 1763 forbade Americans from settling past the Appalachian Mountains, people ignored it and headed West! ### Reading for Information Answer the questions. 1. How did the Proclamation of 1763 affect the colonists? **The Proclamation of 1763 prohibited the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.** 2. How did the Proclamation of 1763 affect American Indians? **The Proclamation of 1763 set aside land west of the Appalachian Mountains for them.** 3. How did the colonists react to the Proclamation Act of 1763? Why? **Colonists were furious about the Proclamation of 1763 because they did not like being told where they could and could not settle.** ## The Cumberland Gap What happens in history is often related to geography. In the history of Tennessee, the **Cumberland Gap** was key to how the state developed. The Cumberland Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains. The Cumberland Gap is near where Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia come together. This shortcut through the mountain wilderness was like an invitation to settlers. The passageway influenced people to travel to the Tennessee region and make it their home. ### A Trickle, Then a Flood After the Proclamation of 1763, it took a while for people to use the Cumberland Gap. At first, there was just a trickle of American Indians, frontiersmen, and others. But over time, a great migration took place—up to 300,000 people!—as a flood of settlers, pioneers, colonists, and others used the natural gap in the mountains as a shortcut through the wilderness. Over time, more paths were cut until a network of trails wound from the East to the West, and back. ### Wilderness Road - Passageway to the West Settlers by the thousands passed through the Cumberland Gap on a pathway that came to be known as the Wilderness Road. In 1775, an explorer named Daniel Boone and about 30 men carved this road through the wilderness. It became the lifeline to the West. As people settled in Tennessee and beyond, the **Wilderness Road** became a vital route for **commerce**. Settlers sent goods back East and needed goods from the eastern U.S. as well. The Wilderness Road became essential to the growth of the young United States of America! ### The Big Deal The Cumberland Gap and the Wilderness Road changed everything. The ability to break through the Appalachian Mountains was a major factor in America's westward development. Word quickly spread that there was a shortcut to the lands and riches in the West. More people could come to Tennessee (and beyond) faster and safer. This great migration of people included not just rugged frontiersmen, but regular families that wanted to improve their way of life. Thousands and thousands of settlers (at least 300,000) trekked through the Cumberland Gap or wound their way across the Wilderness Road. These passages to the West linked eastern America with the new western territories. It changed the growth pattern of the United States and created extensive trading routes—back and forth—for the good of everyone. Westward Expansion went from being an idea to an adventurous and active fact of everyday life. These passageways provided the path to freedom, opportunity, and commerce for the growing nation and the people eager to take advantage of all the land had to offer. ## Inference Match each group of people with the opportunity they may have found by using the Cumberland Gap and Wilderness Road. | | | | | :---- | :-------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------- | | **E** | 1. Frontiersmen | A. We traded goods between eastern and western America. | | **B** | 2. Native Americans| B. We found paths to trade with other tribes. | | **C** | 3. Pioneers | C. We explored new opportunities in Tennessee and beyond. | | **A** | 4. Traders | D. We moved west to create new homelands for our families.| | **D** | 5. Settlers | E. We were eager to blaze new trails over and through geographic obstacles.| ## Cause and Effect Identify the key reasons for and effects of the Wilderness Road. ### Reasons for the Wilderness Road * The Cumberland Gap provided a path through the mountains. * Settlers wanted to move west. * Daniel Boone and his men carved a road through the Cumberland Gap. ### Effects of the Wilderness Road * A great migration of settlers used the Wilderness Road to move west of the mountains. * The Wilderness Road became a vital route for commerce. * The Wilderness Road was essential to the growth of the U.S. ## Writing Prompt Write an essay to answer these questions: What was the importance of the Cumberland Gap to Tennessee and to the development of our nation? If there had been no shortcut through the mountains and the wilderness, how might that have changed the history of Tennessee? **The Wilderness Road is still an important roadway today!** It makes up part of U.S. Route 25, which is also called the Dixie Highway.