3 Trails Heading West

The Oregon Trail Independence, Missouri to The Oregon Territory 2,000 miles of trail

Oregon Trail First People to go were fur traders – very few Second People were Missionaries – tried to convert Native Americans to Christians After that – Settlers began moving looking for a better life

Oregon Trail 1843 – 1,000 pioneers made the trip 1850 – 12,000 pioneers had made the trip (400,000 total) Very Dangerous trip Disease – Cholera Many people died – an estimated ten deaths per mile

Mormon Trail Nauvoo, Illinois to The Great Salt Lake (1,300 miles long) Mormon religion had many new ideas – Started by Joseph Smith – he wrote The Book of Mormon Many people disagreed with Smith and his Book – the Mormons were not accepted and forced to move westward to a place where they could practice their religion freely

Mormon Trail Joseph Smith is Murdered The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States. He was killed while jailed in Carthage, Illinois on charges relating to his ordering the destruction of facilities producing the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper whose first and only edition claimed Smith was practicing polygamy and that he intended to set himself up as a king. Smith had voluntarily surrendered to the authorities at the county seat at Carthage to face the charges that he was accused of. While he was in jail awaiting trial an armed mob of men with painted faces stormed the jail and shot him and his brother Hyrum to death. The Latter Day Saints view Joseph and Hyrum as martyrs. (a person who suffers persecution or death usually due to religious beliefs)

Mormon Trail Brigham Young would become the new leader of the Mormons When the Utah Territory became part of the United States, the Mormons were granted permission to settle there By moving West they created the Mormon Trail Thousands would follow Young westward to the Great Salt Lake (Salt Lake City)

The Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe 900 mile trail Santa Fe was owned by Mexico The trail was created to start Trade (not settle) with the U.S. and Mexico Americans became very rich – more Americans took interest in this land By 1846 – Americans dominated New Mexico and took the land over for the U.S. Mexico did little to stop them