1. Unit 9: Westward Expansion
Lesson 3: The Oregon Trail

2. What was the Oregon Trail?
A trail that led to the Oregon Country
That’s helpful
The Oregon Country included today’s states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Montana, & Canada

3. The Rocky Mountains formed the eastern border,
while the Pacific Ocean formed the western border

4. What was special about this area?
At first, its fur-bearing animals
For hundreds of years, it was fashionable for Europeans & North Americans to wear hats made of beaver pelts
Because of the high demand, fur trappers had
exhausted the supply of beaver in all of the streams they knew

5. In the early 1800s, a few trappers crossed the Mississippi River to find more places to hunt
Some of them ended up in Oregon Country

6. Who did the Oregon Country belong to?
4 countries tried to take control of the Oregon Country:
1. the U.S.
2. England
3. Spain
4. Russia
Of these countries, the U.S. & England were the most determined to control the land

7. Why did the British think the land belonged to them?
Englishman Sir Francis Drake visited the coast of Oregon in 1579
Also, a member of English Captain George Vancouver’s crew navigated a river part of the way through Oregon in 1792

8. Why did we think the land belonged to us?
In 1792, sea captain Robert Gray sailed the Columbia River & gave it its name
In 1805, Lewis & Clark reached the mouth of this river
By 1807, American fur traders had set up trading posts all along the route of Lewis & Clark’s expedition
(They were competing with British traders who pushed into Oregon from Canada)

9. Agreement with England
In 1818, the U.S. & England agreed to share the Oregon Country for 10 years
Under the agreement, British & American citizens would enjoy equal rights
With few settlers in the region, Spain & Russia gave up their claims in 1825

10. Mountain Men wanted to secure their claims in Oregon
British & American fur-trading companies
wanted to secure their claims in Oregon
They needed young men to serve as camp keepers (cook & guard the camps)
They also needed trappers
These “rough” explorers became known as mountain men

11. The Life of a Mountain Man
It was hard & lonely
Most of them traveled with little more than a “possibles sack”
Small leather pouch holding a tool for stitching leather, a mold for making lead musket balls, and a surgeon’s lance for digging out bullets

12. 6-8 heavy iron traps on his back
During the spring trapping season, a mountain man might haul
6-8 heavy iron traps on his back
To set the traps, he had to wade in the near-freezing streams

13. When his hunting efforts came up empty,
he went to bed hungry

14. Mountain men learned many of their trapping skills & survival methods from Native Americans
Many of them ended up marrying Native American women
Speaking of wedding…

15. In the summer, trappers would meet traders from Missouri who bought the trappers’ furs
In turn the traders sold them supplies (though the supplies were very expensive)

16. in winter camps of up to 60 men
Because mountain streams froze between October & March, & thus they couldn’t hunt beaver in the streams, trappers would gather
in winter camps of up to 60 men
They hunted during the day, & at night they huddled around fires in buffalo-hide lodges & told stories

17. What were the mountain men good for besides hunting for fur?
They opened the door for settlement of the West
Before long, covered wagons started showing up in their camps
Coinciding with the arrival of these settlers was a fashion change that put the mountain men
“out of business”
 Fashionable sheep

18. In the late 1830s & the 1840s, people stopped wearing beaver hats
The mountain men then needed to
find other work
Some became farmers
Others became guides for wagon trains

19. The route that the former mountain men knew best- the Oregon Trail- soon became a major highway across the continent
It extended from
Independence, Missouri to the
Columbia River in Oregon

20. Oregon Fever
At first, settlers came to Oregon slowly, in small numbers
Eventually, though, stories made their way back east
& became very exaggerated
Easterners who wanted to see such things as 5ft-wide turnips
got the itch to head to Oregon

21. Between 1840 & 1860, more than 60,000 people traveled the Oregon Trail
The trip began at jumping-off places like Independence, Missouri

22. Jumping-off places were where families stocked their lightweight covered wagons & hitched them to teams of oxen
Several families then formed a wagon train
Each wagon train elected a leader to make decisions on the trail

23. Timing was Important
Most wagon trains left Independence, MO in May, when enough spring grass covered the plains to feed the oxen
They then had 5 months to get across the Rockies
If they arrived later, they might freeze to death

24. Day-to-Day Life on the Trail
After starting at dawn, the oxen would move along at about
2mph
Near dusk the men would start searching for water & grass
When they found both, they drew the wagons into a circle

25. While the animals grazed & the men stood guard, the women fried bacon & baked biscuits
over fires fueled by buffalo chips (dried manure)

26. When the wagons reached deep rivers or steep mountains, families had to
lighten their loads
They’d dump barrels, clothing, trunks, spades, & anything else
that would slow them down

27. The “Roadside Telegraph”
The emigrants helped each other by leaving messages on boards, rocks, tree trunks, & animal skulls beside the trail
These messages saved some people’s lives by warning them about
dead-end shortcuts or poison water holes

28. Hundreds of travelers never made it to Oregon
Some turned back or settled on the plains
Many died of diseases like cholera & smallpox
Others drowned in rivers or died in accidents
Graves & the carcasses of dead animals lined the trail

29. Relations with Native Americans
For the most part, Native Americans traded with the travelers & tried to help them out
Some provided them with horses, clothing, & fresh food
Others guided them through difficult parts of the trail

30. There were very few incidents of violence between wagon trains & Native Americans
Diseases were the
major danger for the settlers

31. Annexing Oregon
Eventually, many Americans wanted to annex, or add, Oregon to the U.S.
James K. Polk, who was elected President in 1844,
agreed with them

32. Oregon Country becomes the Oregon Territory, then the state of Oregon
Polk began negotiations with the British, and Oregon became a territory in 1848
Then, in 1859 it became a state
This transfer of territory occurred without bloodshed
The upcoming acquisition of Texas, though, would not be nearly as peaceful