US History
Fort Burrows
Westward Expansion 1820 - 1860
13.1 -- Oregon County
Why does Western Expansion matter to you today ?
E pluribus unum: out of many, one. This is the motto on the seal of the United
States and we see how American society today is made out of many different regions,
ethnic groups, and cultural heritages.
The United States becomes a continental republic in the 1840s. It grows to
include lands that create a much broader mix of peoples and cultures than were seen
in the thirteen colonies. Most importantly, the largely Hispanic peoples of California
and the Southwest were now part of America. The first arrival of large numbers of
Asians, beginning with Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush, was included in our
cultural mix as well. This make-up of races, and cultures, and people are who we are
today; Americans, each one of us.
Presidents:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
1789
1797
1801
1809
1817
1825
1829
1837
1841
1841
1845
1849
1850
1853
1857
1861
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1797
1801
1809
1817
1825
1829
1837
1841
1841
1845
1849
1850
1853
1857
1861
1865
(2 terms)
(1 term)
(2 terms)
(2 terms)
(2 terms)
(1 term)
(2 terms)
(1 term)
Died
(1 term)
(1 term)
Died
(1 term)
(1 term)
(1 term)
(2 terms)
George Washington - 57
John Adams - 61
Thomas Jefferson - 57
James Madison - 57
James Monroe – 58
John Quincy Adams - 57
Andrew Jackson - 61
Martin Van Buren - 54
William Henry Harrison - 68
John Tyler - 51
James K Polk - 49
Zachary Taylor - 64
Millard Fillmore - 50
Franklin Pierce - 48
James Buchanan - 65
Abraham Lincoln - 52, assassinated in office
Time Line:
1820 – The era of the mountain men is at its height. Mountain men such as Jim
Beckwourth open trails through the Rockies into Oregon and California
1821 – Mexico wins independence from Spain
1830 – Joseph Smith founds the Mormon Church in Fayette, New York
1836 – Texans defend the Alamo during the Texas war of independence
1843 – Thousands of people began traveling the Oregon Trail to find new homes in the
west
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1849 – The gold rush attracts thousands to California
1853 – The Gadsden Purchase makes it possible to build a transcontinental railroad to
the Pacific through the Southwestern region of the United States
Main Idea:
By the 1840s, thousands of pioneers were following in the footsteps of fur traders
and missionaries to settle in Oregon country.
Vocabulary:
Oregon Country – region west of the Rocky Mountains; including present day Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, parts of Wyoming, Montana and Canada
mountain man – trapper who explored and hunted in Oregon in the early 1800s
rugged individualist – person who follows his or her own independent course in life
rendezvous – French word meaning “get together”; yearly meeting where mountain
men traded furs
Oregon Trail – route to Oregon used by wagon trains in the 1800s
region – separate or different area of a country
hardy – being able to survive harsh and dangerous conditions
touched – started; begin
correlated –
proxy –
Setting the Scene: ***Have my BEST student read this and discuss***
The American Free Enterprise System {TEK 8.15(A)}
free enterprise – system in which the government plays a ‘limited’ role in the economy
The economy of the United States is based on an economic principle known as
the free enterprise. In a free enterprise system, the government plays a limited role in
the economy. Businesses are owned by private citizens. Owners decide what products
to make, how much to produce, where to sell products, and what price to charge.
Furthermore, competition is encouraged. Competition gives businesses an incentive,
{reason}, for making the best product at the lowest price.
The free enterprise system will begin after the American Revolution. Americans
will be free to engage in any economic activity without government interference. The
framers of the Constitution believe that the prosperity of the ‘new’ nation depended on
a free enterprise market economy. Provisions for private property and competition are
included in the Constitution.
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Many Americans, then and now, argue that government regulations are needed
to end abuses and to ensure against economic collapse. Other Americans believe that
government interference keeps the free enterprise system from working efficiently.
Free enterprise system is like democracy. The People are allowed to express
their preference…
The Lure of Oregon
╚ Population grew and there was less farm land in the East
╚ Great Plains were considered to be DRY
╚ Oregon Country was WEST of the Rockies
Ж Land and Climate
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Land around the Pacific Coast was fertile soil
The temperature was mild year round
Plenty of rainfall
Fine farmland in the Valley of Willamette River and Puget Sound
Dense forest covered the coastal mountain range
Natural area for ‘untapped’ or yet to be ‘trapped’ beavers and other furbearing animals
¿¿ What physical characteristics of Oregon drew settlers to the region ?
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Ж Competing Claims
╚ Oregon region was claimed by 4 countries; United States, Great Britain,
Spain, & Russia
╚ Settlers jointly existed from the US and Great Britain
╚ Spain and Russia had few settlers and withdrew their claims to the land
Fur Trappers in the Far West
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Furs sold in China
Yankee Traders came to Oregon to buy furs
Indians nicknamed the Yankee white man - ‘Boston’
Our Motto – ‘trapping animals and living off the land’
Ж Lives Filled with Danger
╚ Must be skilled against wild animals, harsh weather, scarcity of food,
a real ‘survivor’
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╚ Lived with Indians, learned their skills, married their women
Ж Trading Furs
╚ Mountain men worked during the fall & spring collecting and skinning
╚ July was rendezvous month – the month to cash in
“The mountain men engaged in contests of skill at running,
jumping, wrestling, shooting with the rifle, and running
horses…..they sang, they laughed, they whooped, they tried to
out-brag and out-lie each other in stories of their adventures.”
Washington Irving, The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A., in the
Rocky Mountains and the Far West, 1837
╚ Beaver hats were popular on the East Coast and Europe which kept the fur
prices high
╚ By the end of 1830s, the market for fur began to ‘dry-up’; beaver hats were
being replaced with gimme ball caps (NOT)
Exploring New Lands
╚ Whites found and followed the Indian trails through the Rockies
╚ Jedediah Smith led settlers through South Pass, today’s Wyoming
╚ Manuel Lisa, Latino fur trader, founded Fort Manuel, the 1st outpost on the
Upper Missouri River
╚ James Beckwourth, a black man that headed West to escape Virginia slavery
╚ He was accepted by the Crow Indians and got himself promoted to Chief
╚ He is given credit for the mountain pass through the Sierra Nevada which was
later the major route used to get to California
Missionaries in Oregon
Amen Brother!!!!!
╚ 1st white Americans to settle permanently in Oregon Country were missionaries
╚ Missionaries, like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, planned to convert Indians to
Christianity and set up a mission school and clinic
╚ Missionaries sent back glowing reports to stir up interest in Oregon Country
╚ Conflicts arose as more settlers spread onto Indian land
╚ Newcomers carried diseases that killed the Indians – AUUUUUCHOOO
╚ A measles outbreak among settlers and spread to the Indians killing many
children
╚ Indians blamed the settlers and killed the Whitmans and 12 others
Wagon Trains West
╚ Oregon Fever – tales of wheat growing as tall as a man and turnips growing five
feet in diameter – touched off a race to get to Oregon
╚ Beginning in 1843, each Spring wagon trains headed West on the Oregon Trail
╚ Each wagon train elected its own leaders
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╚ They left in April hoping to arrive by October; 2000 miles in 5 months, 12 to 15
miles per day
Ж Life on the Trail
╚ “Wagons Ho!”
╚ 6am on the trail, brief stop for noonday meal, continuing until 6 or 7 pm, herd up
cattle and children, circle the wagons, sleep… repeat…
╚ Original roadside pollution begins; as the settlers travel further West, they would
‘lighten the load’ by leaving supplies, clothes, trash, etc on the side of the trail
╚ Cholera, rain swollen rivers, blistering heat on the Plains, early snows, etc
AUUUUUCHOOO
¿¿ Why do you think settlers were willing to brave the hardships of the Trail West ?
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Ж Trading with Native Americans
╚ Indians had food – Anglos had clothing and tools
╚ Women did the trading
“Whenever we camp near any Indian village, we are no sooner
stopped than a whole crowd may be seen coming galloping into
our camp. The women do all the swapping.”
John S. Unruh, quoted in The Plains Across:
The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West, 1840-1860
Ж Oregon At Last
╚ Between 1840 and 1860, 50,000 settlers arrived from the Oregon Trail
╚ More Americans than British so the British moved out
1. Why were settlers and trappers attracted to Oregon and the Far West ?
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2. How did mountain men help explore lands in the Far West ?
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3. What role did Missionaries play in the settlement of Oregon ?
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4. What hardships did Settlers face on the wagon trails to the West?
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