By: Sage Kelley Period 4-5

This field trip that we are partaking in is one of education. We will be traveling to many historical landmarks. These landmarks will show us the Manifest Destiny and help us understand the migration to the West. HERE WE GO…. (Dramatic exit)

Our first stop is here in St. Louis, Missouri. Why is this on our field trip? Well this is the town named after the famous explorer Meriwether Louis. He explored the west, particularly the Missouri river. He traveled from Missouri to the Pacific ocean. His tales of the west gave people the itch to move. Many people moved westward towards the Pacific ocean. His story was spread throughout the U.S. causing a giant part of the westward expansion.

 Independence, Missouri is the next stop on our trip. Independence is a very important place in the history of the Manifest Destiny. For Independence is the starting city of the Oregon Trial. It was used as a gateway towards Oregon. Many people got items necessary for the long road ahead here. It was a very important place to the Oregon trail.  The Oregon Trail is one of the key pieces to the Manifestation of the west. The Oregon trail was a path from Missouri to Oregon. Many people traveled the 2,000 miles to get to Oregon. Why? Well, stories were passed on about how great Oregon was. Most of these stories were exaggerations, but they worked. These stories worked because frankly, the people hadn’t been there to witness it. This was one reason why many people moved westward to Oregon. Another reason was the farmland and the thought of new land. They could own as much land as they could acquire. This is why Independence is on our trip. (On the next page is a map)

 For Buffington has a lot of history. The reason were in Fort Buffington, Georgia is because it is one of the many Native American forts on the trail of tears. Fort Buffington was a place in Georgia that Natives had taken over once they were starting to get pushed out of their homes. This was one of the forts in which the Natives hid.  Why is this important to Manifest Destiny? The Trail of Tears is one of the most important reasons for the Manifest Destiny. This is because and act was put into place when citizens of the U.S. got fed up with living around Natives. They thought of them as a horrible race that should be shunned, and they were. They were pushed out of the U.S. when the Native Removal act was out in place. The Americans thought it was their God given right to take the West from the Indians therefore resulting in the name “Manifest Destiny”. Indians were pushed from their homes to anywhere west of the Mississippi river. This will never be forgotten.  So natives were pushed out of the area while Americans moved into there place. This was how the natives were affected by the Westward Expansion.

Pictures

 Our next stop is going to be in Santa Antonio, Texas.  This place is called the Alamo, and it is extremely important to the Western Movement. What happened here? Well, many Americans started to move to Texas. During this time, Santa Ana (Mexican ruler) decided to take control of Texas. This resulted in a war over Texas independence. Texans wanted to have their own country while Santa Ana wanted Texas for his own. 150 Texans hid out in the Alamo (an old church) in Texas. They were attacked by thousands of Mexicans and were all murdered. This idea of rebellion and courage gave many Texans heroic attitudes as they soon raised up to take Texas’ independence and become their own country!  How does this have to do with Manifest Destiny? This idea of fighting for land caused many people to come to Texas to live. Soon Texas was bought out and became part of the U.S. This is why the Alamo has to do with Manifest Destiny. With out it, we might not own Texas!

 Fort Texas is located in Brownsville, Texas. This fort was a drastic part of the Westward expansion.  During the Mexican-American war Mexicans fought Americans and tried to take back their land. They attacked Fort Texas in U.S. succeeded in victory and soon won the war.  With the U.S.’s victory, they acquired California and many people moved out towards the west.  This helped the Manifest Destiny.

 Sutter’s Mill is one of the most important places in Manifest Destiny.  John Sutter found flakes of gold in Coloma, California. This caused thousands of people to come west to look for gold. This was called the gold rush.  People came from all over the world to try to get their hands on gold.  This caused westward expansion and Manifest Destiny. Without Sutter’s discovery, we may not live in California!

Fort Clatsop is located in Oregon near the end of the Columbian river. What happened here was very important to the history of Manifest Destiny. This was the last camp in which Lewis and Clark stopped on their journey. After they reached the Pacific ocean, they stayed at this fort until they had enough supplies to go home. The journeys of Lewis and Clark almost started the Manifest Destiny, and without Lewis and Clark fulfilling their journey, the west may still be a mystery. As I explained before, their journey made people want to travel west to see these new sights.