1. A Tale of Determination
Westward Expansion

2. Santa Fe Trail 700 miles long
Start – Independence, MO to Santa Fe, NM (direction of the Southwest)
William Becknell was the 1st to travel this trail

3. Mountain men Helped by Natives Traded fur/pelts Rendezvous system
Started by William Ashley
Once a year – men met in the mountains to sell furs/trade
After – went back to hunt the rest of the year
Result…made more trails for settlers to follow

4. Oregon Country Oregon Trail
Start Independence, MO in the direction of the Northwest
Farmers – looked for land to farm
Missionaries – looked to convert Natives to Christianity

5. Native relationships Treaty of Fort Laramie Each Native group was:
Given a defined territory
Pledged to never attack each other or Americans
Allowed US gov’t to build roads & forts in the territories
The US would:
Make annual payments to the Natives
Honor each group’s boundaries

6. Other groups also rebelled:
Cayuse War
Cayuses killed Marcus & Narcissa Whitman along with 12 others (missionaries)
Five Cayuses were executed by US officials
Other groups also rebelled:
Walla Wallas
Yakimas
Spokanes

7. Polk – Presidential Campaign
“54 40’ or fight” was his political campaign slogan
Wanted the boundary of US to be 54 40’ but stayed as 49th parallel instead

8. Negatives of Oregon Country
Harsh climate
Bad conditions
Raging rivers
Only could travel from months of April/May to August/September
Any time in between – too dangerous
Took 3 – 6 months to travel the entire Oregon Trail
Donner Party
Got caught in the harsh winter of the Northwest
Resorted to cannibalism to survive

9. California Gold Rush
1848 – John Sutter and employee, James W. Marshall found gold in their mill
People who went to seek fortune became known as the “Forty – Niners”
14,000 population – 1848 to 20,000 population – 1852
Caused California to become one of the 1st states in the West
Natives, Chinese, African-Americans faced:
Discrimination
Prejudice
Slavery
No political/legal rights