Major+Hardships+on+the+Oregon+Trail

1. My topic is Major Hardships on the Oregon Trail 2. What I already know: Who? Most American experienced atleast one hardship. What? Hunger, disease. Where? The West. When? The 19th century. Why? They didn't have all the supplies they needed and it took awhile to get through the Oregon Trail. How? By wagons and horses and cows. 3. What I want to know (research questions): Who? Who had the most difficult results from the hardships that took place? What?

Hardships on the Oregon Trail

Many people wanted to move West to find a better quality of life. Therefore they needed to find a way to get there that many people would end up using to get ther. If they went through the journey in groups they would have a better chance of surviving. The Oregon Trail impacted the Westward Expansion in U.S. history by helping people move west to get jobs and help the West expand economically.

Traveling was very difficult for pioneers to get around. It took much longer to get somewhere with covered wagons than it would with the modern car. They didn't have a GPS that long ago. "The pioneers heard about the great farming out west, so they decided to take the horrible 2,000 mile journey that awaited them.(Steedman) Therefore, they decided to take the Oregon Trail.Everyone traveled in wagon trains. Starting in Missouri then traveling Northwest to Fort Kearney. Wagons followed the Platte and North Platte rivers west and northwest to Fort Laramie in southeast Wyoming. They kept going westward, and they then arrived at the South Pass. This was located on the Southwestern end of the Rocky Mountains' Wind River Range. Which then became a boomtown in the 1800s."(Oregon Trail) The Oregon Territory helped people move west and settle.

If the Oregon Trail wasn't made it would be a lot more difficult to get to the West."The Oregon Trail was mainly used to get to The Oregon Territory. It was used from the late 1840s to the 1870s. The Oregon Territory were lands that were ceded by the British in 1846. Measuring 2,000 miles, the Oregon Territory was present-day Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and parts of Montana and Wyoming.' (Oregon Trail) The Oregon Trail helped people get to the Oregon Territory."The Oregon Trail was very long. It then ran Southwest to Fort Bridger, which was located in Wyoming. Travelers bound for the Pacific Northwest continued along the Oregon Trail. It soon ran along the snake river in Idaho. The Route then turned Northwest, and they reached the difficult crossing through the Blue Mountains to Walla Walla which was in Washington. Towards the end was the Columbia River, Fort Vancouver and into the Willamette Valley of Oregon. You were able to travel through the trail in about six months but it was a very brutal trail." (Oregon Trail) The Oregon Trail was very long and had many places to stop."Explorers and trappers didn't start making routes to travel across in the west until the early 19th century. A fur trading party followed the route, Oregon Trail, as early as 1812. The Oregon Trail started at the Missourt river at Independence, Missouri all the way to The Pacific Northwest."(Spanning the West) The Oregon Trail was very long and helped a lot of people travel across the Northwest area.

It was amazing how the pioneers managed to cross the 2,000 mile journey with little covered wagons. Traveling in groups helped keep them all safe. The were a huge family until they found their destination. "Their canvas tops flapping in the wind, a long line of wagons roll across a sea of grass. This is a wagon train making the long trek west. From a distance, the wagons looked like sailing ships, which is how they got the nickname, "prairie schooners". (Steedman) The wagon trains were fairly easy to spot.In the early 1800s, men, women and children decided to pack up all of their things and travel westward. These people became known as Pioneers." (Steedman) This is how many pioneers were recognized.

I praise the pioneers for making this dangerous journey and making it alive! The Oregon Trail was many things: exhausting because emigrants walked almost the entire way. Boring because everything was so repetitive. Dangerouse from river crossings or steep hills. One in ten people died on their way to Oregon. Disease was the worst fear, and attacks from indians were the least to fear because they were rare. But not everything was bad because they had marriages, births and holidays. They sometimes for the first time would see major landmarks which indicated they were getting closer. (Trail F.A.Q.s)It would be amazing to get through the Oregon Trail.

code code Works Cited code "Commentary on A General Circular to All Persons of Good Character Who Wish to Emigrate to the code code    Oregon Territory." //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2010. code code . code code "Oregon Trail." //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. code code . code code "Oregon Trail." //isu//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. . code code "Spanning the West (1800-1900)." //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. code code . code code Steedman, Scott, and Mark Bergin. //A Frontier Fort on The Oregon Trail//. New York: Peter Bedrick code code Books, 1994. Print. code code Stefoff, Rebecca. //The Opening of the West//. New York: Benchmark Books, 2003. Print. code code "Trail FAQ's." //End of the Oregon Trail//. Oregon City, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. code code . code