1. Westward Expansion!
America expands west!

2. Think about it…
If your family was moving across to country to a place where there was NOTHING in the place where you were moving…no houses or stores or anything…what ten things would you definitely pack and why?
What qualities do you think a pioneer should have? List three and explain.

3. Before and after…

4. Where did they go?
Most pioneers left their homes in the east and headed westward to the Great Plains in the west
The Great Plains is a huge area of grassland between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains

5. Why move west? Rumors of gold! Free land! Adventure and escape!
Thousands moved west to California to mine for gold.
Gold Fever! California Gold Rush! 49ers!
Free land!
Homestead Act: To those who were eligible, the U.S. gave 160 acres of land.
21 year old heads of households who agreed to build on and care for the land
Adventure and escape!
Many moved simply to experience adventure and/or to escape from situations that they didn’t care for

6. Manifest Destiny
Many believed that they were destined, or meant to, expand the U.S. from “Sea to Shining Sea”

7. How did they travel? Wagons!
Most families packed up their valuables and their necessities in a covered wagon
Groups of wagons called “wagon trains” often traveled together
Family members took turns riding in wagons and walking beside the wagons
Captains often led these “trains”

8. What dangers did they face?
Lack of food, water, and shelter
Lack of protection from the weather (floods, storms)
Lack of medical care
Exposure to Native Americans who felt threatened by the presence of settlers
Conflict with other settlers- they sometimes were competing for the same land and resources (water, animals, trees). Sometimes small “range wars” broke out. These were feuds between neighboring settlers.

9. What was life like on the prairie?
Many arrived to find huge empty areas of land
Built homes (log or sod houses)
Found sources of water and food…some lived near creeks or rivers while others had to make windmills to pump water out of the ground
Many were miles from their nearest neighbors or trading posts…lonely
Harsh weather that they weren’t used to
Different soil for raising crops and animals

11. From a prairie woman…
“It might seem a cheerless life, but there were many compensations: the thrill of conquering a new country; the wonderful atmosphere; the attraction of the prairie, which simply gets into your blood and makes you dissatisfied away from it…The pioneer spirit was continuous in our family”

12. A sad part of history…
Many Native Americans were unfairly driven from the lands that they’d lived on for many, many years because the U.S. government claimed it. They were forced to move to reservations.
Herds of wild bison became nearly extinct as settlers began to use them as sources of food and shelter

13. Eventually… So many pioneers traveled west that…
Small cities and towns popped up in the west
Many families grew as they lived in the west
Immigrants moved into the west
These westward areas were eventually added as states which are much more populated today

14. More info… Watch the BrainPop on this topic! Visit these sites!
Pioneer Life: