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Many people were fascinated with the west. They wanted to get rich or start a new life. This made many people want to go west

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Jedediah smith was a mountain man. He led an expedition through the rocky mountains and was majorly attacked by a grizzly bear which shredded his back, and almost tore off an ear. He was a very strong man and 10 days later, got back into his exploration.He was a skillful fur trader, hunter, trapper, author, and explorer in the West.

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When Mexico gained independence from Spain, it opened up the Santa Fe trail which also opened up new trade with Mexico. William Becknell, from Missouri, set off on the Santa Fe trail to trade in Santa Fe. Though the trip was not easy, he returned with a huge profit. This encouraged hundreds of traders to go from Missouri to New Mexico each year.

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The Oregon trail was one of the most famous trails to travel on to go West. The first whites to cross the continent to Oregon were Marcus and Narcissa Whitemen, who were missionaries, in 1836. Their reports of Oregon's land began to attract many other American settlers. Stories about Oregon also attracted many settlers from Missouri. In 1843, nearly 1,000 people migrated from Missouri to Oregon. The next year, twice as many people came to Oregon. People traveled on wagons due to the trail being dangerous.

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The Oregon Trail was a trail that stretched fore 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon. the trail was a dangerous route and people often traveled in groups.

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Many traveled to the west to get riches but one group traveled west for a religious uprising. Joseph Smith founded a church in upstate New York for people to become Mormon.  Mormons lived in closed communities where they worked hard and shared their good. This helped their community grow. Even the peaceful Mormons had enemies. some people thought the practice of polygamy which allows a man to have more than one wife at a time.

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The trail of Santa Fe connected Missouri with Santa Fe. It was developed by William Becknell and was used as an important highway until 1880  when the Santa Fe  railroad was being constructed. William made huge profit from the trail by selling merchandise to the New Mexicans.

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Fur trapping became a big part in Mountain men's life. Mountain men made a living off of killing animals, collecting their fur, and selling it for a good amount of money. The West had opened up a chance to make good money for the mountain men. The Louisiana purchased doubled the land of the U.S., but there was one thing getting in the way of the U.S. and their new discoveries: the Native Americans. When Louisiana was bought Native Americans were living on that land. The U.S. wanted them off. No matter what reason, everyone seemed to want to move West. Though the West was said to be an amazing place, the journey there was not nice.