Warm up 2/23/17 What cities might be the “gateway” to the west? Why follow the Oregon trial? Where did Mormons settle?

Life in the West

The Lure of the West Many of the pioneers were farmers.  They went for the inexpensive or even possibly free land. This land was available for homesteading.  They wanted the rich, fertile land for their crops.  Other people came to the frontier because they had heard stories that made the new lands sound like magical places. 

Conestoga Wagon

The journey was difficult and the reality of Living in the west not so glamorous.

A day in the life of the Wagon Trains On many days the caravan would only travel ten to fifteen miles.  On rainy and muddy days they might only travel one mile!  It would take them five to seven days just to travel the distance we can drive a car in a single hour. People would get up very early each morning in order to prepare for their daily travels.  They would have to start the fire, prepare breakfast, gather the livestock, reload the wagon, and hitch the oxen or mules before getting started.

Getting started was difficult, but eventually it was Home Sweet Home

As people moved west ,the American way of life followed and prospered

Cowboy Life Vaqueros taught many American settlers the horse skills needed to be cowboys

Barbed wire destroyed the cattle drive cowboy culture to create permanent farms/ranches.

And they kept coming to fulfill Americas Destiny “Our Manifest Destiny”

1849:Gold Rush and the 49ers Discovery of gold in Sutter’s Mill Thousands rushed to CA that year, enough to apply for statehood. Gold mining towns were expensive and dangerous to live in.

Chinese Immigrants in California

Immigrants Nativism – fear/hatred of immigrants Nativism on the West Coast feared Chinese would overwhelm the US. Chinese worked on railroads and as launderers Much like Irish immigration in the East Coast.

Push Factors Pull Factors Conditions that drive people to leave their home Conditions that attract people to a new area Economic Opportunities Religious/Economic Freedom Cheap, fertile land Hope for a new life Poverty Religious/Economic Persecution Scarce land Tyranny, oppression

What is the great fear? What do the Chinese and the Irish have in common?

Heading West: Writing Windows Write a journal entry about your experience heading west. Include the following: Think about the reasons colonists came to the new world. Did settlers moving west go for any of the same reasons? What you would take? (Conestoga wagon, horses, cows, etc.) How do you get/gather food? What hardships have you faced? (think about the video) What hardships do you think you’ll have to deal with once you reach your destination?