Oregon Trail Research Paper Outline

From 1865 to 1900 agriculture was at war, shifting from small, individual farms to larger commercialized farms because of the devaluing of currency, competition from corporate farms with more land and better technology, and government policies that proved detrimental to those clinging to old ways of life. To escape debt and seek profit in new lands, many farmers started working westward but so did corporations looking to expand. Because of westward expansion, companies like the union pacific railroad company built railroads that connected lands all across the U.S. and earned 10 miles of land in either direction of the railroad. This land put the railroad in control of many western lands and in control of the prices of land, travel and resource transportation.

— Virginia Reed, daughter of James Reed. A tragic story of the Donner party is a very harrowing adventure through the journey of the big group and how about half of the people lived to tell the tale. On April 16, 1846 nine wagons were reported departing from Springfield Illinois on a journey of what is now called the Oregon Trail. Formerly known as the northern trail there were a lot of advantages and disadvantages to the Oregon trail there was more land and wonderful

The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.

When the war ended the land north of the Gila River became United States territory and a few years later the rest of the area was obtained through the Gadsden Purchase. Then began the great westward movement. From adventurers to businessmen, our early pioneers came west to seek their fortunes. After a battle with the Indian settlers trying to prevent the

“The Oregon Trail,” written by Francis Parkman is a description of the experiences traveling into the unknown depths of the American west in 1846. The story is told from the first person point of view of Parkman, a scholar from Boston who embarks on the great expedition of traveling into the west in hopes of studying the lives of the Native Americans. His journey is also one of the first detailed descriptions of the beauty and the bounty of a largely uninhabited North American territory. But one of the most critical elements of the story was Parkman’s encounters and recruitment of members to his band of travelers who ultimately play a major role in the success of the western journey.

The Oregon Trail was traveled by over five hundred thousand people between 1841-1869. Many people wanted to travel on the Oregon Trail in hope of better health. They did not bring many supplies; they only brought the bare necessities. The pioneers traveled in covered wagons, called prairie schooners, pulled by oxen. The journey started in Independence, Missouri, and ended in Oregon City, Oregon.

Before we had cars and planes, we really only had one way of transporting goods on land, and that way was by train. Trains were all over the inhabited United States, but the North had more than anywhere else in the U.S. because they were full of industry and were constantly having to ship goods all around because of it. The North had two thirds of the railroads in the United States because of the need for transportation which was more important to the North than the South. At the start of the war 22,000 miles of track had been laid in the Northern states and 9,500 miles in the South.(Railroads of the Confederacy) But for both sides it was much needed no matter how many tracks they had.

The trail was grueling and many people died. In the early 1800s, Native Americans did not have equal

Traveling hundreds of thousands of miles through dangerous paths American pioneers took on hardships as they sought westward in hopes of a better life. The journey westward began in the early 1800s when the US exploded with new territory’s nearly tripling the US’s size. It all started in 1803 when the US bought the Louisiana Territory from France. Quickly, many farmers picked up their belongings and headed out west to the rich, fertile land for a fresh start. Next, Andrew Jackson invaded Florida claiming it for the US which was also another opportunity for settlers to begin a new life.

After years of waiting and preparing we started on the journey to the west. We made our way to Independence, Missouri to go on the Oregon Trail which was laid by traders and trapers. While there I became familiar with George Wilson who was also a working family man. A lot of families left together making the trail busy and causing jams..

The Oregon Trail In 1843, The Great Migration was transformed into the largest migration event in history when citizens across the south were able to travel west and overcome the physical frontiers discovering the fresh land filled with gold in other necessary resources in the west. ’ The Oregon Trail is one of the most iconic pieces of American history and part of the larger history of Oregon. The trail was first written about in 1849 by a historian while in use by migrants and American settlers. The Oregon Trail was the biggest migration trail in the U.S being used by 300,000 to 400,000 travelers in 1840 and 1860.

Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern

Anyway, he finally into coming to Oregon just before we came to California Crossing. If you don’t know, it is the place in your journey where you have to decide whether you will be going to California or Oregon. Our family is going for the land as well as the fur trade industry. By supper time we reached Ash Hollow, though Norm thought it would be best if we kept going for a mile or two just in case of we would encounter some unfriendly indians. Some of the others complained out of exhaustion, but I know how smart my Norm is so I went along.

The land around the Oregon Trail was also important and profitable because it could and was used for farmers to plant and harvest corn, wheat, and other vegetables. With more produce, there was more trade and transfer of goods. People earned their wages on cheap land and were able to make a living out of a few simple grains from all around the world. Some people even saw the emigration as way to make money. Businessmen saw an opportunity and created “a bustling industry of frontier trading posts sprang up to supply food and equipment for the five-month haul”(History OL).

The Oregon Trail didn’t follow a single set path. While most Oregon bound emigrants traveled a route that passed by landmarks in Missouri Kansas Wyoming and Oregon there was never just one set of wagon ruts leading west. Frontier explorers and fur trappers blazed the rough outlines of the Oregon Trail in the early 19th century, but the route was initia considered too demanding for women, children or covered wagon to navigate. That year Marcus helped lead the first major wagon train of around one Thousand Settler along the Oregon trail an exodus now know as the great migration. Traffic soon skyrocketed and by the late 1840 's and early 1850 upwards of 50 thousand people were using the trail each year.