chapter 9, section 2 trails to the west p. 322-327 to journey westward, traders and settlers have to...
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The Fur Trade John Jacob Astor : German immigrant establishes American Fur Company (1808) - Follows Louis & Clark’s maps to Oregon - Founds Astoria, Oregon - Becomes richest man on Earth John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor IV April 15, 1912TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 9, Section 2Trails to the West
p. 322-327
To journey westward, traders and settlers have to travel along difficult
and dangerous trails.
Traders Lead the WayMain Idea: Merchants and fur traders blaze important trails to both Oregon and the Southwest.
• William Becknell leads wagon trains down the Santa Fe Trail– From Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico (800 miles)– Nearly gets himself & his whole party killed
The Fur Trade
• John Jacob Astor: German immigrant establishes American Fur Company (1808)- Follows Louis & Clark’s maps to Oregon- Founds Astoria, Oregon- Becomes richest man on Earth
John Jacob AstorJohn Jacob Astor1763-18481763-1848
John Jacob Astor IVJohn Jacob Astor IV1864- April 15, 19121864- April 15, 1912
Mountain Men (see p. 323)
• fur trappers of the Northwest– live isolated, dangerous lives
• Trappers rendezvous with merchants- a meeting where trappers
would trade furs for supplies• James Beckwourth
discovers a pass through the Sierra Nevada Mountains into California
• Extra Credit: Research Mountain Men: Beckwourth, Smith, Clyman, and/or Jim Bridger, then share their stories with the class Jim Bridger James Clyman
The Oregon TrailMain Idea: Thousands of men & women made the hazardous, 2000 mile journey to Oregon.
• After the traders, missionaries travel the Oregon Trail to convert Native Americans
• Marcus & Narcissa Whitman attempt to serve Cayuse tribe.- 1836- Whitmans arrive Walla
Walla River, Washington state- Narcissa is first white woman
to cross the continental divide• This is not what she imagined– Cayuse grow hostile after measles
epidemic, kill Whitman’s & 12 other settlers
Marcus & Narcissa Whitman
missionaries
The Oregon Trail (continued)• Trail is 2000 miles
– Took 6 months – Missouri to Oregon or
California
• Life on the Oregon Trail is hard & dangerous– See page 324-325
• Settlers travel in wagon trains for mutual support & protection from Native Americans
– Trail scattered with “leeverites”
– Did I mention it was dangerous?
The Donner PartyThe Donner Party• Emigrants who moved
West in 1846• Left in spring on “Four
month journey”• Arrived the next spring• 87 people in party• How many survived?
Lansford Hastingswrote “Emigrants Guide to California”
“Donner Party” departs Springfield. Illinois. April 18, 1846
George Donner when he was young
James and Margaret Reed
• Remains of Donner and Reed wagons in Salt Flats
• Snow sets in
The Donner PartyLeft Springfield, Illinois in April 1846 Arrived in Sutters Fort, CA April 1847
Donner Pass 1870s
• Georgia Donner (left) and Eliza Donner (right). This picture would have been taken very shortly after their return from the mountains. The woman in the center is a nanny who was not a part of the Donner Party.
Legacy of the Donner Party
• 46 out of 87 live• 2/3rds of men die• 2/3rds of women live• Donners get worst:• - all 4 adults and 4 children die• James Reed becomes a leading
citizen of San Jose “Never take no cut-offs and hurry
along as fast as you can.” -Virginia Reed in letter to her sister
Donner State Park near Truckee, CA
Life in the WestMain Idea: Women enjoy new status in the West, but settlers face conflicts with Native Americans already living on the land.
• Pioneer life filled with hardships– Use hand tools to: clear land, plant
crops, & build shelters– Have to face: disease, accidents,
storms, floods, & hostile natives
• Women in the West - demonstrate they can work just as hard as men
• Women gain legal rights more quickly than in the East– 1869 - Wyoming Territory first area
in U.S. to give women the vote
Women working in the West
Native Americans & Settlers• Tensions high between
Native Americans & white settlers
• 1850: Discovery of gold in Oregon causes increase in white & Chinese miners– 1855: War breaks out– Miners massacre men,
women & children– Indians kill whites & Chinese – Fight continues until U.S. Army
forces Native Americans to sign treaty giving up their land
– More treaties to come……More treaties to come……
Picture used by newspapers to show the brutality of Native Americans