3-2: How and why did people travel to California? 2/20/14

The US started to expand in the early 1800’s  : 34 million people immigrated to the US  Europeans came in search of better lives  After uncomfortable sea journeys lasting 3 months, many new Americans traveled from Ellis Island in NY to St. Louis, Missouri  St. Lewis was the gateway to the West  People wanted to move West to find work and settlers could buy their own farms.

US expansion continued  Traveling by land: Traveling West from the eastern states (like Missouri) to CA by foot= 2000 miles  Traveling by sea: Traveling West from NY to SF by sea through the Isthmus of Panama= 3-5 months  Men often traveled west while families stayed at home b/c it was a long and dangerous journey

Pair share  What do you think travelers encountered when coming to CA by land? By sea?  There were no cars or airplanes  People had nowhere to sleep, except in tents/wagons, or out in the open  Panama Canal Route: did not exist until early 1800’s  Didn’t open until early 1900’s

Settlers followed trails leading west: John Bidwell  Led first group of American settlers from Missouri and traveled by land  In CA:  Worked at Sutter’s Fort and as a politician  Helped create/write the 1846 Bear Flag Revolution of Independence  1 st person to find gold in Feather River  With fortune= became leading agriculturist

James Beckwourth  African American frontier scout  Guided immigrants through the Sierra Nevada mountains  A worker who took care of horses in fur trading expeditions  Discovered Beckwourth Pass  Many settlers looking for gold and land traveled through it to get to CA  Lived in several American Indian settlements  Became famous b/c was a book was written about him

Pair Share  What are the 3 ways that settlers traveled from the east coast of the United States to get to California?

Group Activity: Advertise the best way to get to CA from the east coast (there’s no right answer)  In your table groups, your poster must answer these questions:  In your opinion, which route should travelers take? Why?  What challenges might you encounter?  Climate  Other people  Time to travel  Distance  Other???

Before you begin…  What are different ways you can come to a consensus about which way your group should advertise?