1. The Oregon Country

2. “Manifest Destiny” First coined by newspaper editor, John O’Sullivan in 1845. –".... the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty" A myth of the West as a land of romance and adventure emerged.

3. “American Progress” by John Gast, 1872

4. Oregon Country The Oregon country stretched from the (1) Rocky Mountains in the East to the Pacific Ocean in the West. Americans called the land in the Oregon Country “wilderness” and (2) freely staked their claims.

5. Conflicting Claims Four nations – (3) Russia, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States – laid claim to the Oregon Country. America based its claim on the voyages of (4) Robert Gray.

6. Conflicting Claims Great Britain and the United States pursued their claims most actively. In 1818, (5) Great Britain and the United States agreed to share the Oregon Country for ten years.

7. Mountain Men Soon the area was flooding with tough, rugged fur-trappers. These Mountain Men lived a lonely life and relied on their skills for survival. In the summer, these men gathered together (6) to sell their furs, buy supplies, and have some fun at rendezvous.

8. Blazing a Path for Others James Beckwourth and Jim Bridger discovered paths through the Rockies. (7) Jedediah Smith explored Yellowstone Manuel Lisa established Fort Manuel along the (8) Missouri River.

9. End of the Mountain Men By the 1830s and 1840s, (9) people stopped wearing beaver hats and within a few years the mountain man was out of work. Some turned to farming, others acted as guides for those traveling West.

10. Oregon Fever Between 1840 and 1860, (10)more than 250,000 people made the trek westward. Many of these traveled the famous Oregon Trail.

11. Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail began in (11) Independence, MO and ended at the Columbia River in Oregon. Families packed into lightweight wagons called prairie schooners and traveled across the great plains.

12. Traveling the Trail Several families would then travel together (12) in wagon trains. Families usually left Independence in May and had five months to cross the Rockies before winter. The Oregon Trail – Albert Bierstadt, 1869

13. The Doomed Donner Party April, 1846 – April, 1847 the Donner Party set out for the West, but got stuck in the harsh winter.

14. The Doomed Donner Party Of the 83 members of the Donner Party, only 45 survived to get to California! Those who survived were forced into CANNIBALISM!! Margaret Patrick John Breen Breen Breen James Reed & Wife

15. Hardships on the Trail Besides the harsh winter, many died from diseases such as (13) cholera and smallpox. Others drowned while attempting to cross swollen rivers.

16. The Pony Express Between April, 1860 and Nov., 1861. Delivered news and mail between St. Louis, MO and San Francisco, CA. Took 10 days. Replaced by the completion of the trans-continental telegraph line.

17. The Oregon Dispute: 54’ 40º or Fight! By the mid-1840s, “Oregon Fever” was spurred on by the promise of free land. Americans began to call for an end of joint occupation. The joint British-U. S. occupation ended in 1846 and by (14) 1848, Oregon was a territory.