1. Mormons 1819-Joseph Smith has a vision of God coming down a pillar of light and forgiving his sins, and telling him that all the churches have strayed from the truth 1830-Smith is arrested for his preaching 1832-A mob tars and feathers Smith in front of his house 1833-The Missouri Mormons begin to suffer violence at the hands of other locals Mob violence will drive the Mormons out of Jackson County and across the Missouri River to Clay County in November. 1836-The Missouri Mormons are forced to leave Clay County 1838-Non-Mormons attempt to stop Mormons from voting, leading to blood shed. Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs orders all Mormons to either be driven from the state or wiped out. Stirred up by the governor's decree, an anti-Mormon mob massacres church members at Haun's Mill. Smith is arrested and will spend the next five months in jail. 1846-Facing further harassment, thousands of the Mormons leave on a great march west. 1847-They arrive in the valley of the Great Salt Lake and announce that this is where the Mormons will settle

2. Buffalo Soldiers · Buffalo soldiers were African American soldiers in the United States Army. They served from 1867 to 1896. They were told to fight against native Americans. They were named buffalo soldiers because they were strong like buffalos. · sent to guard the settlers when they were fighting against native Americans · African Americans in the army built over 300 miles in roads and laid over 200 miles of telegraph lines. · Buffalo soldiers were given the hardest jobs in the army. · These soldiers helped open up the west to new American settlers.

3. Mountain Men · Hard life · Starvation, dehydration, heat, cold, animal and Indian attacks · Fur trappers · Traveled in groups of around 50, trapped with 2 or 3 other mountain men · Trapped in fall and spring · Did not trap in winter · Indians a huge threat, often attacked small parties of mountain men · Many mountain men were well known Indian Fighters · The Shoshone, Crows and Mandans Indians friendly towards trappers · Blackfeet, Arikaras and Comaches Indians very hostile and feared by mountain men · Sold furs in summer at rendezvous points, exchange for supplies · Rendezvous points became very popular, everyone came to them, sort of like a carnival · Upper Missouri Fur Trade: mountain men sold buffalo skins to Indians, they went down the river to St. Louis trading posts and sold to them · Rocky Mountain Trapping system: trapped beavers, took pelts, sold them · Fur trade collapsed in 1840, furs out of style, mountain men became guides for people moving west · Mountain men sometimes became diplomats to the Indian tribes Jedediah Smith · Born January 6, 1799 · Traveled more uncharted territory than any other mountain man · Traveled through central Rockies, down to Arizona, across the Mojave Desert and in and out of California. First to go to California from the southwest · Mauled by a grizzly bear, the bear ripped his scalp off · Killed by Comanche warriors in 1831

4. Women in the West Hazards of giving birth and raising children with no medical care Social isolation that could bring numbing loneliness Every woman had their own reasons for braving such harsh conditions-some were wives and mothers who dreamed of a better life for their families, some were single women who hoped for independence denied to them elsewhere, some wanted to carry the Christian gospel to the Indians Often had to do backbreaking work of plowing the fields for planting Lived through many hardships-drought, prairie fires, violent storms, and illness for which there was no cure Greatest fear was Indian attacks. Narcissa Prentiss Whitman – She was only 16 when she offered her services to the Presbyterian Mission Board – Wanted to bring her Christian faith to the Indians of the West – Church was not about to permit a young unmarried woman to travel alone in the wilderness – When she was 27 she met a man who shared her dreams. Marcus Whitman was a medical doctor as well as a preacher. His services were sorely needed in the West. – Marcus and Narcissa married on February 18, 1836 – Narcissa and Marcus went to Waiilatpu to live among the Cayuse (Indian Tribe) – When word got back to the East that two women had made the trip unharmed and a doctor has set up a practice in the wilds of Oregon, many other families began planning their own trip west to settle the frontier