1. Trails West

2. The Lure of the West Vast stretches of land offered a chance to make money Some Americans want to take land away from Native Americans Land speculators bought huge areas of land in hopes the price of land would rise Land speculators than sold the land for much higher prices, and accumulated big profits Manufacturers and merchants headed West to sell goods to the farmers Others moved West to find jobs or escape people whom they owed money For what reasons did Americans go West?

3. The Trail to Santa Fe Led from Missouri to Santa Fe Trader William Becknell went to Santa Fe with hardware, cloth, and china, and returned with gold and silver coins News spread that New Mexico was a place where traders could grow rich Becknell returned to Santa Fe with covered wagons, aka prairie schooners Becknell could not get his wagons over the mountains, so took a shortcut that cut through a desert They ran out of water, and resorted to cutting off their mules’ ears and killing their dogs to drink the blood What caused Americans to travel to Santa Fe?

4. The Oregon Trail Led from Missouri to the Oregon Territory First people to travel the trail were missionaries Amazing stories coming from Oregon inspired others to travel there The sun always shone there Wheat grew as tall as a man 1843, nearly 1,000 people made the trip. The next year amount of people double. The trail was extremely dangerous, therefore people traveled in wagon trains Wagon trains members would make rules and elect leaders, cooperation = survival What was the journey to Oregon like?

5. The Mormon Trail Mormons traveled not for wealth, but for religious reasons Settled in Utah, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Lived in close communities, worked hard, shared goods, and prospered Had enemies mostly because of their belief in polygamy – allowing a man to have more than one wife at a time Brigham Young became leader of the Mormons and moved them to Utah Why did some people oppose the Mormons?

7. Label Trail on Map use pg 395 in text book Oregon Trail California Trail Pony Express Mormon Trail Santa Fe Trail Use one color for each trail Provide map key of trails Pony Express