The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail — page 3 — This area did not belong to the United States until 1846 The early pioneers called themselves emigrants The emigrants epic route is known today as the Oregon Trail Until 1869 the Oregon Trail was the main land passage from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast The trail stretched approximately 2,100 miles 3,380 km It cut through the present-day states of Kansas Nebraska Wyoming and Idaho It ended in western Oregon By wagon the trip took four-and-a-half months or more Emigrants walked along side their wagons most of 6 The Oregon Question In 1818 the United Kingdom and the United States made an agreement about Oregon Country People from both nations were allowed to settle there But there was no clear boundary between British and American land Citizens of both countries lived in Oregon The border issue became known as the Oregon Question As more Americans moved into Oregon the United States wanted to settle the question once and for all The Oregon Treaty of 1846 finally set the northern boundary

The Oregon Trail — page 4 — United Kingdom Territory British Columbia Paci(cid:31)c Ocean Washington Treaty line of 1846 Montana United States Territory Oregon Idaho Oregon Treaty of 1846 From 1818 to 1846 both the United States and the United Kingdom had claims on Oregon Country What do you notice about the treaty line of 1846 How has this influenced borders today the way They crossed plains prairies mountains and deserts These landscapes were unknown to most of them But Native Americans had lived in these places for thousands of years 7

The Oregon Trail — page 5 — The Oregon Trail soon became a system of alternate routes and shortcuts It helped pioneers reach such places as Utah California and Montana The trail opened a new gateway to the West A Difficult Journey The journey along the Oregon Trail was not easy Emigrants faced many dangers It is believed 20,000 emigrants died on the trail They were often buried along the trail or in the trail itself Many Native Americans offered emigrants help They also traded with emigrants But as more emigrants 8 PERSPECTIVES Not the First American settlers were not the first to go west of the Mississippi River Long before travelers used the Oregon Trail around 3 million Native Americans lived between the Mississippi and the Pacific Other people beat Americans west as well They came from several directions The British came to Oregon Country from Canada The Spanish came through Mexico to California Texas and other regions The Chinese and Russians also arrived on the Pacific Coast by ship

The Oregon Trail — page 6 — Usually Native Americans including the Shoshones were friendly to the emigrants traveled west they took land and resources that had belonged to Native Americans They also spread deadly diseases For emigrants their future lay at the end of the Oregon Trail The journey to this wild land seemed endless They traveled one slow step at a time But they had hopes Some were drawn by affordable land Mormons veered toward Utah in search of religious freedom Others turned south after the discovery of gold in California For all emigrants it seemed the western frontier promised a better life Their adventures along the Oregon Trail and settlement in the West changed the United States forever 9

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