1. Warm-up
1. The phrase Manifest Destiny was coined by John O'Sullivan in 1845

2. White Americans believed they had a God-given right to occupy the entire North American continent.

3. Manifest Destiny was an entirely new concept.

4. Manifest Destiny was used to encourage people to move further East.

5. Advertising, newspaper stories and pictures encouraged people to move onto the Plains. 

6. Gold was found in Kansas in 

7. The Homestead Act offered people 160 acres of land.

8. Under the terms of the Homestead Act people had to build a house on the Plains and live there for 5 years.

9. Stories of failure were widely circulated.

10. Paintings encouraged people to fulfill Manifest Destiny.

2. Trails West
Read about trails west starting on page 309 of the red book.
When you finish reading, create a bubble map about the three trails west. Include the name of the trail and the purpose of the trail (Where did it go? Who traveled on it?)
Which trail would you have wanted to travel? Why?

3. Trails West Bubble Map
Directions: Record the name and purpose of the three trails west in a similar bubble map.
Trails West
Oregon Trail/California Trail
Santa Fe/Old Spanish Trail
Mormon Trail

4. Trails West Key Oregon Trail Mormon Trail Santa Fe Trail
2,000 miles long from Independence Missouri to Oregon Country.
Traveled by pioneers.
Follows Platte and Sweet water Rivers, crosses the Rocky Mountain and forked to the Willamette Valley in Oregon or south into California.
Six months, start in late spring.
Cost was about $600/family
Pioneers took wagons for goods but usually walked
Hardships: shortages of good, supplies and water, rough weather, geographic barriers, disease, Indian attacks, robbers, etc…
1845 5,000 settlers in Willamette Valley.
Went from Nauvoo Illinois to Salt Lake - 1,300 miles.
Traveled by Mormons escaping persecution.
Brigham Young become head of church and guide thousands of Mormons to Great Salt lake.
,000 Mormons in Utah.
Independence Missouri to Santa Fe, new Mexico miles.
Traveled mainly by merchant traders.
Used ancient native American trading route.
Hardships: desert, rough mountains, danger from thieves, Indian raid etc…
High profits encourage traders.
Us government sent troops to ensure safe passage of merchants.

5. Major Western Trails
The first major western trail was the Santa Fe Trail, which stretched 800 miles from Independence, Missouri, to the town of Santa Fe, the capital of Spanish New Mexico. It began as a trade route.
Santa Fe Trail
The 2,000-mile Oregon Trail stretched from Independence, Missouri, to the rich farming lands of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. It was used by Native Americans, Lewis and Clark, fur traders and mountain men, and finally migrants.
Oregon Trail
Between 1847 and 1853, some 16,000 Mormons migrated west following the 1,300-mile route that became known as the Mormon Trail. It ran from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City in present-day Utah.
Mormon Trail

6. The Results??
Wagons West – trains of 10 to 100 wagons moved settlers the 2000 miles from Missouri to Oregon or California
260,000 Americans
made the trip
Trip took 5 months
Donner Party (cannibalism)
showed the danger
Those that made it
got better farms

7. Oregon Trail Slide-Show
Ms. Schaller is going to show you some pictures of the Oregon Trail and people pretending to travel along the Oregon Trail.
You will use some of these ideas to help you in our Oregon Trail Challenge at the end of class.

9. Oregon Trail on a tour designed to simulate
Wagon Train Crossing Prairie Lined With Cliffs A wagon train crosses a prairie lined with cliffs on the
Oregon Trail on a tour designed to simulate
the pioneer experience on the Oregon Trail. Near Bayard, Nebraska.

10. "EMIGRANTS TO THE WEST" prepare a meal on the prairie.
Emigrants To The West Illustration Original caption: American Westward Expansion:
"EMIGRANTS TO THE WEST" prepare a meal on the prairie.

12. Covered Wagon Parts at Crossing Site on the Green River Covered wagon parts sit on rocks above the edge of the Green River Where wagons on the Oregon Trail crossed the river near LaBarge, Wyoming.

13. trade and which also served as a pony express station, still stands
Pony Express Station on Oregon Trail A weathered building built in 1857 to serve Oregon-California
trade and which also served as a pony express station, still stands
in Hanover, Kansas.

14. the skeleton of a young pioneer woman
Excavating Oregon Trail Burial Site A hand holding a whisk broom brushes dirt from
the skeleton of a young pioneer woman
who died while crossing the country on the Oregon Trail
in the 19th century. Wyoming, USA.

19. Aerial View of Motorhomes and
Covered Wagons Parked in a Circle Covered wagons and motor homes stand in a circle in imitation
of the protective circles pioneers formed as they set up camp
while crossing the country in wagon trains along the
Oregon Trail. Near Bayard, Nebraska.

23. veers off from the Oregon Trail near South Pass, Wyoming.
Aerial View of "Y" in the Oregon Trail The Sublette Cutoff, which leads South to Utah and Califonia,
veers off from the Oregon Trail near South Pass, Wyoming.

26. Check for Understanding
What were some challenges that individuals encountered while traveling west?
Which trail west would you have taken? Why?
Check for Understanding

27. Homework Read “Opening the Oregon Trail”
Use your metacognative markers to track you thinking as you read.