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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that it was the divine mission of the United States to expand westward across North America. People who held that belief thought that it was the duty of Americans to spread democratic and Protestant ideals across the continent.

American journalist John L. O'Sullivan coined the phrase in an 1845 newspaper editorial. In it he spoke of America's "manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our multiplying millions." The roots of the concept, however, can be traced to American and European writers of the colonial period. They professed the belief that God had ordained them to supplant the pagan practices of native peoples in the West. Manifest Destiny thus provided justification for the United States to acquire territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean and beyond.

Beginning in the 1600s and 1700s, the English who colonized North America had considered ways to venture into the wilderness and tame it. The desire for territorial expansion continued after the United States became an independent country. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States. Expansionists eager to acquire Spanish Florida were part of the drive for the War of 1812. After Andrew Jackson invaded Florida in 1818, the two countries signed the Transcontinental Treaty (Adams-Onís Treaty). With the treaty Spain ceded Florida and renounced its claim to the Oregon country.

During the 1820s American settlements spread westward. This expansion led to unrest on the country's western borders. President Jackson's Indian removal policy of the 1830s devastated the Southeast Indian way of life. The policy forced the Cherokee and other Indian nations to cede their lands to the United States and relocate west of the Mississippi River. The infamous Trail of Tears caused the deaths of some 15,000 Indians during the journey west.

In the 1840s the United States and Britain settled a land dispute in western North America. Through diplomacy the two countries accepted the 49th parallel as the boundary between the United States and Canada. That made the Oregon country a U.S. territory. The U.S. victory in the Mexican-American War (1846-48) resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty gave the United States more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square kilometers) of Mexican territory. This land included most of what are now Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and western Colorado.

However, the acquisition of new western territories revived arguments among the states over slavery. In fact, those disputes brought the era of Manifest Destiny to an abrupt close. Plans were underway to tie the eastern United States to the Pacific Coast with a transcontinental railroad. This led to the country's final land acquisition before the American Civil War. U.S. Minister to Mexico James Gadsden purchased a large parcel of land (present-day southern Arizona and southern New Mexico) in 1853 for a southern railroad route. The idea that it would travel through the South provoked the North. Americans soon found themselves involved in additional arguments that postponed further expansion.

After the Civil War the concept of Manifest Destiny was briefly revived on a few occasions. For example, in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska. In what was called the "New Manifest Destiny," the United States acquired territory outside of North America. In 1898 Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish-American War. As a result, the United States acquired Spanish territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. That same year the United States annexed Hawaii.

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Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that it was the divine mission of the United States to expand westward across North America. People who held that belief thought...

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History: Westward Expansion and the Old West for Kids

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Kids learn about the history of the Westward Expansion and the Old West of the United States as pioneers settled the west as the country expanded. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including daily life on the frontier, gold rush, Pony Express, timeline, glossary, and people.

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The Wild West has been romanticized in film, television, and books. It's become a symbol of independence and adventure.

What many people don't know is that westward expansion was the backbone of American history.

The Louisiana Purchase

In the first half of the 19th century, America's population grew a lot. There was a boom in immigration and more people were born. This is because of two economic depressions. People moved to new places where they could start a new life or live cheaper. Keep reading to learn more Westward Expansion facts.

President Thomas Jefferson bought the land of Louisiana from France. The land was 828,000 square miles and stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. It made the country twice as big as before.

Jefferson wanted to go further into the west. He did that with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was an American expedition to explore the newly acquired Western United States.

The journey took almost two years: They braved harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, deadly waters, injuries, hunger, sickness, and both friendly and hostile Native Americans on their way.

Jefferson also wanted to take over Spanish Florida in 1819. He believed that owning land was very important. He thought people who owned farms would be independent and virtuous.

Manifest Destiny

In 1840, 40% of the people in America lived in the area west of the Appalachian mountains. They had left their family and friends to go to a new place with more opportunities for them.

Many people who came to the US were like Thomas Jefferson. They thought that owning land and farming gave more freedom than working in a factory. Europeans living in factories might have felt enslaved because they could not get out, but the frontier offered independence for all.

In 1843, 1,000 people tried to get to Oregon. They did this by walking on the Oregon Trail. This was a trail that emigrants used to travel from Missouri to Oregon. The road was created by fur traders and trappers in the 1800s. The Oregon Trail was improved over time, making the trip safer and faster.

A journalist named John O'Sullivan created the idea of people moving West. He said that it was important for people to go to the Western frontier. O'Sullivan believed that Americans should carry "the great experiment of liberty" (freedom) all the way to the edge of this country. If they did not, then America's freedom would be lost, and this would lead them into trouble.

O'Sullivan coined the phrase "manifest destiny". The idea of "manifest destiny" is that the United States was meant to expand its power and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent.

President James Monroe finally took over Spanish Florida, though they yield to Spain the territory of Texas, where many people were settling.

In 1823, Monroe used the terms Manifest Destiny when he spoke before Congress. He said that if European countries tried to colonize the "American continents," they might be at war with America.

This policy became known as the "Monroe Doctrine". It was first used to intervene in Latin America after 1870.

Slavery and Westward Expansion

Slavery had been an issue for states in the Western part of the country. The question of whether or not slavery was allowed in these states was important to people.

The Missouri Compromise

In 1820, there was a compromise. It admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, which made it so that there were enough slaves and free people for both sides to be happy.

The US Constitution said that in the future, slavery would be prohibited north of the southern boundary of Missouri (the 36º30' parallel) in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase.

However, the Missouri Compromise did not apply to new territories. That is why the topic of slavery continued to be debated as the country grew. The Southern economy depended on cotton and forced labor.

Northerners came to believe that the expansion of slavery interfered with their own liberty. They did not mind slavery, but they didn't like how it seemed to keep them from making money.

The Mexican War

After the Missouri Compromise, Americans continued to move west. Thousands of people crossed the Rockies and moved into what was part of Great Britain's territory.

There were also thousands more who moved into Mexico's territories: California, New Mexico, and Texas. In 1837, American settlers in Texas joined with their Tejano (Mexican people of Spanish origin) neighbors and won independence from Mexico.

In 1844, James K. Polk became president. He was excited about the annexation of Texas and other Mexican territories. It did not become a priority before then.

Texas joined the union as a slave state. By 1846 Oregon joined as a free state after negotiations with Great Britain.

Polk declared war on Mexico. He said that the Mexican army had invaded our country and killed Americans. But this was not true. Many people in the North did not like the war because they thought it was only fought to get more land and to get more slaves.

In 1846, a Congressman tried to put in a measure that said slavery cannot be in any new land. He wanted this law to be put on the Mexican territory. It was not successful, but it made people think about how slavery can affect the land.

The Compromise of 1850

In 1848, the Mexican War ended and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. The US got a lot of land from Mexico. It was a big deal because it was 1 million square miles bigger than the Louisiana Purchase.

The conversation about slavery and new American territories was re-opened when the Missouri Compromise was passed. Two years after this, Kentucky Senator Henry Clay proposed another compromise.

The Compromise of 1850 was a law that tried to help people in different parts of the country.

1. The first part said that California would be free.

2. The second part said slavery could not be legal in any other new states.

3. The third part said slavery was banned in Washington DC but slaveowners could still trade them.

4. The fourth part gave Southerners more power over slaves who had escaped to Northern states.

The philosophy of expansion in the 19th century led to the forced removal of Native Americans from their homes. When new states were added to the Union, slavery became an issue because there was more territory. This led to a civil war.

The Gold Rush

In the 1800s, people found gold in California. That made many people want to head to California with their pans. But it turned out not everyone would find gold.

Six days before the Mexican War was over, gold was found in California. No one at the signing of the treaty could have imagined that it would be easy to find gold in California.

The United States and Mexico didn't think much of the area which is now California. The land was dangerous and dry and had native tribes living there. The war had been about territory - not what the territory was like. People were more likely to go to Oregon than they were to California because Oregon's land was fertile.

John Marshall, a carpenter and sawmill operator, found gold on January 24, 1848, at Sutter's Mill. John was making his routine check of the mill when he saw gold in the water. He grabbed it and knew that it was gold.

By June 1848, 75% of the men in San Francisco left for the Sierra Nevada. They were looking for gold. All of Sutter's workers left him too. They were also looking for gold, but he was mad because his cook left too! The Gold Rush changed life in San Francisco.

When people found out about gold in the East, many men left their jobs as bankers, lawyers, and doctors to search for gold in the West. They went knees deep into the freezing water to move rocks. Their hands ended up numb and bleeding.

The discovery of gold sparked a massive wave of westward migration. Prospectors who arrived in 1849 became known as the Forty-Niners. The population of San Francisco skyrocketed, and prices for goods rose greatly.

The Gold Rush brought people from all around the world to California. The Panama shortcut was a popular and easy route. it was a 7,000-mile journey with an approximate travel time of two to three months. The second route was the longest and safest and it was through the Pacific Ocean, but it had the risk of high waves. The third route was very treacherous and it was by land. The overland route across the US was by wagon train and took 3-7 months.

The gold rush in the 1850s caused an insane amount of money to come into California. It provided $187 billion worth of gold in today's dollars. Women were more likely to be successful in the Gold Rush because there was a shortage of women and traditionally female jobs like washing clothes.

The gold rush led to the settlement of the western US on a massive scale. The Gold Rush in California brought many settlers from other countries, such as China and Australia.
Read more about California Gold Rush
Sources

P.S. If you enjoyed what you read and are a teacher or tutor needing resources for your students from kindergarten all the way up to high school senior (or even adults!), check out our partner sites KidsKonnect, SchoolHistory, and HelpTeaching for hundreds of facts, worksheets, activities, quizzes, courses, and more!

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Westward Expansion Facts and History - History for Kids

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In the first half of the 19th century, America's population grew a lot. People moved to new places where they could start a new life or live cheaper.

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During the 1830s the U.S. government forced some 100,000 American Indians to leave their homes in the East and move to new lands west of the Mississippi River. Most of the Indians had to make the grueling journey on foot. About 15,000 died during the trip, which is remembered as the Trail of Tears. The term is used most commonly to describe the experience of the Southeast Indians in general and the Cherokee people in particular.

For decades before the forced relocation of the Indians, white settlers had trespassed on Indian lands. In 1763 the British government had set aside the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River for the exclusive use of the Indians. Nevertheless, many Euro-American settlers soon entered the region. The British and, later, U.S. governments did little to stop them.

In 1829 gold was found on Cherokee land in Georgia. The discovery led to growing demands from white settlers that the U.S. government take action against the Indians, whom they considered to be an obstacle. President Andrew Jackson strongly agreed with the settlers. In 1830 the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which authorized the president to negotiate with the Indians to bring about their relocation to land west of the Mississippi River.

The Indians of the Southeast reacted to the Indian Removal Act in various ways. The Choctaw were the first tribe to agree to turn over their land and move west. The Creek and the Chickasaw finished their negotiations with the government in 1832 and eventually headed west in 1836 and 1837, respectively. The Seminole fiercely resisted removal, battling U.S. troops between 1835 and 1842 in what became known as the Second Seminole War. Although many Seminole were eventually captured and removed to the west, some managed to elude the authorities and remain in Florida.

The Cherokee chose to use legal action to resist removal. Their lawsuits reached the U.S. Supreme Court but ultimately were unsuccessful in preventing their removal. In 1838 the U.S. military began to force Cherokee people from their homes, often at gunpoint. Held in miserable prison camps for days or weeks before their journeys began, many Cherokee became ill, and most were poorly prepared for the very difficult trip. With inadequate food, shelter, and clothing, the Cherokee suffered terribly on the march, especially after cold weather arrived. About 4,000 of the estimated 15,000 Cherokee died on the 116-day journey, many because the escorting troops refused to slow or stop so that the ill and exhausted could recover.

In 1987 the U.S. Congress named the Trail of Tears a National Historic Trail in memory of those who suffered and died during removal. The trail includes some 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) of routes over land and water.

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During the 1830s the U.S. government forced some 100,000 American Indians to leave their homes in the East and move to new lands west of the Mississippi River. Most of the...

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Kids learn about the Trail of Tears including when it took place, relocation of Native American tribes, the forced march of the Cherokee, the aftermath, and interesting facts.

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The Trail of Tears was a forced movement of Native Americans in the United States between 1836 and 1839. The United States government forced Native Americans to leave their lands and move outside the United States. The U.S. then took over the Native Americans' land and made it available to mostly white settlers.

Because thousands of Native Americans died during this forced movement, it is called the "Trail of Tears."

In 1828, gold was found near Dahlonega in Georgia. This resulted in a gold rush. At that time, a Native American nation called the Cherokee lived in Georgia. Many Cherokee children went to American schools. The Cherokees had their own newspaper and built three-story houses. Some even owned slaves.

Even though the land belonged to the Cherokee Nation, President Andrew Jackson wanted this land to belong to the United States. The land was worth over $7,000,000 ($172,730,303 in 2023) U.S. dollars. Jackson signed a law that forced the Cherokees to move. This was called the Indian Removal Act. However, at that time, the Cherokees had their own nation and their own government. They did not have to follow laws made by the United States. Therefore, Jackson signed laws that let him take nearly all the Cherokees' rights.

The Cherokee nation did not want to accept those laws or the Indian Removal Act, so the Cherokees' Chief John Ross tried to defend the Cherokee rights through the United States courts. In 1832, the Supreme Court of the United States said that the Cherokee were living in their own country, "in which the laws of Georgia can have no force." The Court said Georgia had no right to make the Cherokee do anything.

Nevertheless, the U.S. government used a treaty, called the Treaty of New Echota, to remove the Cherokee nation by force. The treaty was signed by the leader of a small group of Cherokees with different opinions than the rest of the Nation. Since an official Cherokee leader did not sign the treaty, it was not legal under Cherokee law. About 15,000 Cherokees signed a petition against the treaty. Newspapers and people around the United States (including John Quincy Adams) protested the treaty. The United States Senate approved the treaty by just one vote. President Jackson signed the treaty into law on May 23, 1836. The treaty gave the Cherokees two years to leave their lands. Only about 2,000 left within the two years.

Forced removal

"

"I fought through the War Between the States and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew."
- A Georgia soldier who participated in the removal

"

The deadline for Cherokees to leave their land voluntarily was on May 23, 1838. President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott to lead the soldiers who would force the Cherokee to leave.

On May 26th, the official removal began. 7,000 soldiers forced about 15,000 Cherokees and 2,000 of their slaves to leave their land. All Cherokees had to leave their homes right away. Within three weeks, the Cherokees were all forced into concentration camps. They were forced to stay in these camps for the summer of 1838. 353 Cherokee died from dysentery and other diseases.

Finally, Chief Ross got General Scott to agree to a deal. Chief Ross promised that he and other Cherokee leaders would bring the Cherokee people to their new lands on their own. General Scott agreed and even got the U.S. Army to pay the costs of the trip.

The Cherokee traveled in groups of 1000 to 3000 people on three main routes. Different groups started in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Guntersville, Alabama; and Charleston, Tennessee. Most Cherokees had to walk; others, if they were wealthy men, could use wagons. The United States government also gave the Cherokee about 660 wagons.

It is said that many Cherokees sang a Cherokee version of the song Amazing Grace, which became a kind of anthem for the Cherokee nation.

The trip was about 1,200 miles long. During the trip, the Cherokee had to deal with winter weather, blizzards, and diseases. Not everybody agrees on how many people died on the trip. Some say 2,000 and others say 6,000, but most say about 4,000 people died. Finally, the Cherokee who were still alive arrived in what is now Oklahoma.

The Cherokee took different routes. Some were by land and others by water. Some boats were destroyed, which was a danger on water routes. On the ground, people had to walk through mud and cold weather, and it was harder walking on land.

Water route

This route was taken by about 2,800 Cherokees split into three groups. All groups started at Ross's Landing at the Tennessee River. They used boats to travel to the Ohio River, which took them south to the Mississippi River. They took the Arkansas River westward from the Mississippi. They arrived near Fort Coffee, Oklahoma. The first group left on June 6 and reached the territory after 13 days. The second and third groups had a lot of problems with diseases, so their trip took longer.

Land routes

The people who did not travel by water took land routes. Leaders chosen by John Ross guided groups of 700-1,600 people, usually on northern routes. The routes led through central Tennessee, southwestern Kentucky, and southern Illinois. The groups crossed the Mississippi north of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, then traveled through southern Missouri and west of Arkansas. The people who signed the Treaty of New Enchota were willing to trade their homeland for $5 million and land in Oklahoma. United States soldiers led them and usually took a southern route. All land routes usually ended near Westville, Oklahoma. These routes cover more than 2,200 miles in 9 states. Many people died on the journey because of diseases, lack of water, and bad road conditions.

Interesting facts about the Trail of Tears

The five tribes who were mainly affected by the Indian Removal Act were fairly civilized. They had tried to adopt some of the American culture and were friendly with the colonists.

Even though they were given money for food, many of the Cherokee died of starvation because dishonest merchants sold them bad food at high prices.

The Trail of Tears was not the end of the mistreatment of Native Americans. Much of their in Oklahoma was soon taken from them as well.

The Cherokee who survived the Trail of Tears established a new nation and government in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

John Ross survived the Trail of Tears and was elected Principal Chief of the new Cherokee Nation in 1839.

Some of the Cherokee men who survived the Trail of Tears killed John Ridge, a Cherokee leader who agreed to the Treaty of New Enchota.

The U.S. government did not pay the Cherokee the $5 million they were owed from the Treaty of New Enchota until the Cherokee filed petitions.

The Seminole tribe, one of the tribes that was forced to move, resisted for seven years.

As a result of the Indian Removal Act, 25 million acres of land was left for settlers and colonists in the southeast United States.

Related pages

Images for kids

A Trail of Tears map of Southern Illinois from the USDA - U.S. Forest Service

In Spanish: Sendero de lágrimas para niños

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The United States has a complicated history with its treatment of American Indians, also referred to as Native Americans. It is a sensitive topic for many people, and today's Wonder of the Day® explores this important issue with respect for the heritage of our indigenous citizens and our country's drive for expansion.
When you think of American Indians, what areas of the country come to mind? For many people, American Indians up images of the American West. For much of history, though, American Indian tribes could be found in many other areas of the U.S.

For example, in the early 1800s, the southeast was home to almost 125,000 American Indians who lived on millions of acres of land in states such as Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee. These indigenous peoples had lived on and cultivated these lands for many generations .

Unfortunately for these tribes, white settlers were moving into these areas in large numbers, seeking large of land they could use to grow . Viewing the native tribes as , arose and the settlers increasingly tried to push the native tribes out of their lands.

Some government officials sought to "" American Indian tribes to make them more like the Anglo settlers. They taught them to speak and read English. They also encouraged them to to Christianity and European concepts, such as private of land and .

Several American Indian tribes embraced these attempts in an effort to get along with the Anglos. In particular, the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee tribes became known as the "Five Civilized Tribes."

As more and more settlers moved to the in search of land, the land occupied by the tribes became even more valuable. No matter how "civilized" their American Indian neighbors became, the new settlers showed that they were willing to do anything to get the land they wanted, including driving out the tribes by force.

State governments joined white settlers in attempts to force American Indian tribes out. They passed laws limiting Americans Indians' rights and reducing their territory. Despite Supreme Court decisions in favor of American Indians, they continued their efforts to drive out the tribes.

The federal government got involved in 1830, when President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The act allowed the federal government to take American Indian lands east of the Mississippi River in exchange for land west of the Mississippi River in the "Indian colonization zone" in what is now Oklahoma.

Although the act stated that the federal government must negotiate removal treaties voluntarily, peacefully, and , things did not work out that way in . Instead, the federal government systematically forced American Indian tribes to give up their lands and move, often under threat of invasion by the U.S. Army.

Over the course of the next decade, tribes were forced to abandon their lands and march a thousand miles or more - on foot - to new lands west of the Mississippi. Without food, supplies, or any other type of help for the government, the march west was brutal and many did not survive it.

As one Choctaw leader said, the route from their home lands to what is now Oklahoma was a "trail of tears and death." In addition to the hardship of traveling so far on foot, starvation was common, as were deaths from diseases such as whooping cough, dysentery, cholera, and typhus.

By 1840, there were very few American Indians left in the southeastern U.S. Over 100,000 American Indians had been forced to relocate to "Indian Territory" west of the Mississippi River in what is now Oklahoma. Historians estimate that more than 15,000 American Indians died on the Trail of Tears.

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Today's Wonder of the Day retraces one of the saddest routes ever taken.

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Ah, California! It's home to the oldest tree in the world and the hottest national park. It's known for beautiful beaches and star-studded sidewalks. Of course, the Golden State was also the setting of a major event in early U.S. history. What are we talking about? The California Gold Rush!

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, just days before the end of the Mexican-American War. It all started when James Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill. Marshall and John Sutter, the mill's owner, planned to keep it a . However, secrets have a way of getting out.

The news of Marshall's find spread through California. Soon, people to the Sutter's Mill area. By June 1848, much of San Francisco emptied as people left in search of gold.

Of course, the word spread beyond California. Soon, people were coming from Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, China, and elsewhere. Some struck it rich. However, many others worked hard in the mines for little payoff.

The United States took California from Mexico at the end of the Mexican-American War (and before that, the area had belonged to various American Indian tribes for centuries). However, the region wouldn't become a state until 1850. When Americans on the East Coast heard about the gold, they headed west as well. By 1849, around 300,000 people had moved to the . They came to be called "Forty-niners" after the year many of them arrived.

The miners were not treated equally. Those who moved from China faced a great deal of trouble in California. The Foreign Miners' Tax meant non-American miners had to pay the government $3 per month. That's about $150 today. Those who were successful often became victims of robbery and violence.

When California became part of the U.S., it did so as a free . That meant slavery was there. As such, many Black Americans moved to California. However, they still faced a great deal of . Nevertheless, some of the first gold mines in Sacramento County were owned by Black miners.

In 1848, around 150,000 American Indians lived in what is today known as California. The region was home to the Mojave, Karok, Maido, and several other tribes. By 1870, most had been killed by violence, disease, or starvation. That year, there were only about 30,000 native people left in California.

Of course, the Gold Rush also had an impact on the environment. This was especially true once large mining companies got involved. They used drilling, which harmed both land and bodies of water. It even ruined crops. Regulations stopped this in 1884, but the consequences continue today. Many American Indian hunting and burial grounds were destroyed forever.

The California Gold Rush lasted until 1859, although individuals and companies continued to mine gold for decades longer. How much gold was found? The year was 1852, when miners uncovered about $81 million. Altogether, more than 750,000 pounds of gold were found during the Gold Rush.

Would you have moved to California during the Gold Rush? What would you have done to treat other people with respect? With some luck, you may have become one of America's first millionaires!

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We struck GOLD with today's Wonder of the Day!

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Today's Wonder of the Day features some good old-fashioned vittles!

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Have you ever dreamed of being a or an ? Can you imagine being the first person to discover and create a map of a new area of the world? How would you respond if the president of the United States asked YOU to explore a new ?

In 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase of France's claim to the Louisiana . The was more than 828,000 square miles of land that included all or part of 14 current U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When the " Louisiana Purchase" was completed, Jefferson wanted to explore these new lands.

He chose Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary and a skilled frontiersman , to lead an exploration of these new lands. Lewis chose William Clark to join him on the expedition . Together, Lewis and Clark recruited other men to join their Corps of Discovery and began to plan their trip.

One of Jefferson's main goals was to find a direct route by water from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean - the so-called "Northwest Passage." Jefferson hoped such a route would connect the new western lands to already used to buy and sell goods.

He also wanted Lewis and Clark to map the area and its . Along the way, they would also claim control over the Native American tribes in the new lands.

These new lands to the west were so foreign that Jefferson believed the expedition might encounter woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes and mountains made of salt. Although Lewis and Clark did not see any such fantastic sights, they did see many amazing things as they traveled more than 8,000 miles over the course of two years, four months and 10 days.

Even though they didn't find the Northwest Passage Jefferson hoped for, Lewis and Clark's team did reach the Pacific Ocean. They also mapped the area, documented more than 300 plants and animals that hadn't been known about before, and established relationships and with more than two dozen Native American tribes.

Upon reaching the Pacific Ocean, Clark estimated that they had traveled 4,162 miles from the Missouri River. Would you believe his guess was within 40 miles of the actual distance?

Lewis and Clark did not succeed on their expedition without a lot of help from the native peoples they encountered along the way. One good example of such help was Sacagawea, a Native American woman who accompanied her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, on the expedition .

Although little is known for certain about Sacagawea, scholars believe she helped Lewis and Clark navigate through some she was familiar with. She also served as an interpreter from time to time.

Perhaps most important, though, the presence of a native woman as part of the expedition probably reassured the tribes they encountered that the expedition was a peaceful mission.

On May 14, 1805 - one year after the expedition began - Sacagawea saved the journals and records of Lewis and Clark when they fell out of a capsized boat. Lewis and Clark praised her quick action and named the Sacagawea River in Montana in her honor on May 20.

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What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

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Have you ever dreamed of being a or an ? Can you imagine being the first person to discover and create a map of a new area of the world? How would you respond if the president of the United States asked YOU to explore a new ? In 1803, U.S.

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In 1803 the area of the United States was much smaller than it is today. In that year, however, the country bought the Louisiana Territory from France. The territory…

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Kids learn about the Louisiana Purchase. When President Thomas Jefferson bought land west of the Mississippi from the French.

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The French Quarter, marked by beautiful architecture, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans.

People first arrived in the area now called Louisiana around 12,000 years ago. During its history Native American tribes lived on the land including the Atakapa, Choctaw, Chitimacha, Natchez, and Tunica lived on the land.

In 1541 explorer Hernando de Soto claimed the territory for Spain. Then in 1682 France took possesion of the region. Ownership of the land would go back and forth between these nations until the United States bought the area that would become Louisiana from France in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1812 Louisiana became the 18th state.

The city of New Orleans was founded in 1718, and just a few years later many African people were brought to the city as slaves. The mix of African, French, and Spanish influences gave Louisiana, and particularly the city of New Orleans, a unique culture.

In 1861, during the Civil War, Louisiana left the Union. It rejoined the United States in 1868. Today the Chitimacha, Coushatta, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, and Tunica-Biloxi tribes still live in this state.

WHY'S IT CALLED THAT?

Louisiana was named after King Louis XIV when the land was claimed for France in 1682.

Louisiana is called the Pelican State because of its state bird.

GEOGRAPHY AND LANDFORMS

Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas in the north, Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico in the east, the Gulf of Mexico in the south, and Texas in the west. The state can be divided into three geographic regions.

The East Gulf Coastal Plain is the low land east of the Mississippi River. It's marshy near the river and becomes hilly in the north.

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain runs west of the Mississippi River from Arkansas in the north down to the Gulf of Mexico. Ridges topped by fields called frontlands run along the river, and fields called backlands (with very fertile silt and clay) slope away. Wetlands cover the southern coastline.

Farthest west is the West Gulf Coastal Plain, which runs from Arkansas to the southernmost part of the state. Louisiana's highest point, Driskill Mountain, is in the northern part of this region. Going south, the land slopes down to become prairie, then marshland, and eventually the sandy islands that border the coastline called barrier beaches.

Coyotes, American beavers, muskrats, and swamp rabbits are some of Louisiana's mammals. The state's best-known reptilemight be the American alligator. But the area is also home to alligator snapping turtles, constrictors called Louisiana pine snakes, and venomous harlequin coral snakes. Bright pink roseate spoonbills, yellow-crowned night-herons, Louisiana waterthrushes, and purple gallinules are among Louisiana's many birds. Southern toads, crawfish frogs, and Louisiana slimy salamanders are a few of the state's amphibians.

Pecan, Louisiana hickory, magnolia, live oak and bald cypress (the state tree) are among Louisiana's most common trees. Plants and flowers that grow in Louisiana include little brown jug, American hogpeanut, and sensitive partridge pea.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Louisiana's top natural resources include fertile soil, natural gas, and oil. Louisiana is also the biggest U.S. producer of salt.

-Famous folks from the Pelican State include civil rights activist Madam C.J. Walker, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, and many jazz and blues performers such as Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, and Jelly Roll Morton.

-Louisiana is known for its unique Creole (a mix of Spanish, French, African, and other) cuisine, including Jambalaya-a mixture of spicy rice, meat, and seafood.

-Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve includes a War of 1812 battlefield with reenactments and a national cemetery; a wetland preserve (where Louisiana's state bird, the brown pelican, can be spotted); and several cultural centers that tell the history of Louisiana's people, art and music.

-Reptiles must be kept at least 200 yards away from the Mardi Gras parade route.

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Get facts and photos about the 18th state.

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From California Gold Book: First Nugget, Its Discovery and Discoverers, by W.W. Allen and R.B. Avery, 1893

Early in 1848 James W. Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey, picked up some glittering flakes from the American River at the site of a sawmill he was building near Coloma, California. He gathered up the pieces and sped to the office of the mill's owner, John Sutter. Urging Sutter to secrecy, Marshall showed him his findings. Sutter tested the flakes and confirmed Marshall's suspicion: gold had been found in California. Within months, Marshall's discovery was made public, bringing a flood of fortune seekers to the region. The California Gold Rush would transform California and fuel the westward push of the United States.

In the years that followed Marshall's discovery, California's population exploded. The promise of wealth and a new life lured people from around the world to California. American gold seekers traveled west from the Eastern states, migrating in such vast numbers that their passage stimulated advancements in transcontinental travel. People of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities came to California, selling their property and getting loans to afford the journey. Along the way, they risked danger and disease for a chance at gaining riches.

In 1849 alone, $10 million worth of gold was pulled from the ground, and over the next few years this number grew. In view of the huge amounts of money that could be made, and the rising lawlessness in mining settlements, politicians pushed to speed up the process of statehood. In 1850 California became the 31st state. The Gold Rush peaked in 1852, when $81 million worth of gold was extracted in California. Afterward, the number slowly declined. By the end of the 1850s the Gold Rush was over, but its legacy would continue to influence California-and the country-in the years to come.

Word of Marshall's find was carried by overland travelers and by ships that stopped at the California coast. The earliest gold seekers came from Oregon, Mexico, and South America, especially Chile and Peru. Then news spread across the Pacific, drawing hopeful miners from the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), China, and Australia. Later they were joined by Europeans, particularly from Germany, Ireland, and France.

Back in the United States, the first accounts of California gold in East Coast newspapers were skeptical. It was not until President James K. Polk confirmed the early discoveries in late 1848 that the Gold Rush ignited in the United States. The tens of thousands who rushed to California in 1849 came to be called the Forty-niners. Altogether, they numbered about 80,000. By 1853 the number of fortune seekers would rise to 250,000.

Women on the Goldfields
About 95 percent of the Forty-niners were men, typically white men from the Eastern states. Married men usually left their families at home in the East, with the promise of returning with riches. In 1850 women made up less than 10 percent of California's population.

Despite their small numbers, women participated in the Gold Rush in many ways. Because many of the men who came west were accustomed to having their wives clean and cook for them, they paid women to perform these tasks. Some women made a living by running boardinghouses, where they housed and cooked for miners. With so few women in California, those who did live there found their skills and company to be in high demand.

Gold Rush women were divided socially and labeled as either "bad" or "good." They were held to a different moral standard than men. Women who had nontraditional lifestyles or jobs were thought of as immoral and labeled "bad." One of the most famous "bad" women of the Gold Rush was Miss Ah Toy, a Chinese prostitute and businesswoman who lived in San Francisco.

American Indians
The influx of gold seekers had serious consequences for the many Native American peoples of California. The people whose ancestors had lived on the land for thousands of years shared little of the prosperity brought to California by the Gold Rush. Many American Indians were involved in the Gold Rush from its earliest days but were mistreated by white settlers and forced to work for them.

California's Indians were devastated by the many diseases that were brought by migrants during the late 1840s and throughout the 1850s. Smallpox, measles, and cholera spread quickly because the Indians had no immunity to them. Before the Gold Rush, Indians made up most of California's population, numbering about 150,000. By 1870, however, only 30,000 Indians remained. It has been estimated that disease was responsible for 60 percent of the American Indian population losses during the mid-1800s. Those who survived still felt the impact of the Gold Rush. The settlements that arose and the environmental impact of gold mining made traditional Native American lifestyles very difficult or impossible to maintain.

Whether coming from within the United States or from abroad, those who made the journey to California faced many risks. There were a number of routes to take to California. Chinese miners sailed across the Pacific Ocean, spending up to two months making the trip in small boats. The three main routes used by American gold seekers were the Oregon-California Trail, the Cape Horn route, and the Panama shortcut.

None of the routes to California was free from challenges or expense. Trips could cost $400 or more (a substantial sum at the time) and lasted several months. Each of the routes attracted a different demographic of gold seekers. Those traveling with families usually made the journey overland because it was too expensive or too cramped to do so on a ship. People traveling overland could expect six months of hardship and many unpredictable accidents along the way. Thousands of people died before reaching their destination. The sea voyage around Cape Horn could last up to eight months. Although the route through Panama offered the shortest travel time (as little as a month), it required braving the many threats of the Panama jungle.

The Oregon-California Trail
The Oregon-California Trail stretched more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from Missouri to Oregon and California. By wagon, the journey could take upwards of six months to complete. The starting point of the trail was Independence, Missouri. Heavy wagons pulled by oxen, mules, or horses usually set off in wagon trains. These were groups of wagons that made the long, hard journey together. Banding together as a team offered advantages in terms of safety along the trail. A large wagon train could intimidate bandits or hostile American Indians who might consider attacking a lone wagon.

People in wagon trains also relied on each other for support when problems arose. The varied terrain across the country was a constant challenge for travelers. In wagon trains people could share supplies or lend a hand pushing the wagon or carrying loads across tough passes. In good conditions, a wagon could cover 12 to 20 miles (19 to 32 kilometers) in a day. However, if the roads were muddy or there were rivers to cross, they were lucky to cover 5 miles (8 kilometers). Other difficulties of the journey included accidents and illness. Among the common trail diseases were cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid fever, and scurvy.

Despite the many dangers along the way, by the end of 1849 more than 6,000 wagons carrying 40,000 people had traveled to California across the Oregon-California Trail.

The Cape Horn Route
The longest route to California was the sea voyage around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America. Gold seekers first boarded a ship on the East Coast of the United States, in New York City or Boston, Massachusetts. The ship traveled south around Cape Horn and then north to California, where passengers would get off at San Francisco. The voyage took about six months. The Cape Horn route covered 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 kilometers). During this lengthy trip, passengers faced illness, hunger, and poor nutrition. Ships traveling the Cape Horn route were often very crowded, which caused sickness to spread quickly.

The Panama Shortcut
A third route involved both sea and overland travel. The first step of the journey was to board a ship departing from the East Coast of the United States and sailing to the Atlantic coast of Panama, in Central America. Then travelers crossed the Isthmus of Panama, the strip of land that connects North America and South America. They canoed up the Chagres River, in central Panama. Then they rode a mule through the jungle to reach Panama City on the Pacific coast. There they boarded a ship to San Francisco.

By taking the Panama shortcut, gold seekers could cut about 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) and a few months off the Cape Horn route. Unfortunately, the advantages of the Panama shortcut came at a very steep price. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria were a huge threat to travelers through Panama.

Transcontinental Travel
The huge demand for transportation to California gave rise to important developments in transcontinental travel. The influx of travelers through Panama inspired the creation of the Panama Railroad. Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, it was the world's first transcontinental railroad. Construction began in 1850 and was completed five years later. In 1863, a few years after the end of the Gold Rush, workers began building the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. It was completed in 1869. When the Panama Canal was built in the early 20th century, it closely followed the route of the Panama Railroad. Though only about 51 miles (82 kilometers) long, the canal had a huge impact on world trade.

The drive to get to California as quickly as possible was spurred by the fact that people were claiming mining territories on a first-come-first-served basis. Before it achieved statehood, California had no laws or government. In 1848 there was also no federal law to regulate mining. People came to California thinking that gold was free for the taking.

Rules about rights to property and how miners interacted were governed by a miners' code. This code was a system for managing property rights through the staking of claims. Miners did not own the property they claimed. However, the first person to get to a site, discover gold, and mine it was entitled to the gold he found. A person could maintain his claim to a site only if he notified other miners that it belonged to him. A miner's claim to a site lasted only as long as the miner continued to work it. If a person left his mining site, he lost his claim to it. The site was considered free to be claimed by a new miner. Taking over a marked site that was not being worked was called "claim jumping."

Miners usually claimed a site and left within a short period of time. The California Gold Rush was truly a race to find the site that would yield the most gold. Since no one knew exactly where the gold was or how much could be found, a miner would typically abandon an unproductive site quickly and then claim another.

Mining Towns
As mining camps began to form, each district established a set of rules. Without a government or other authority to enforce these rules, however, property claims were not very secure. The miners' code worked only if people were willing to follow it. Many property rights were maintained only with the threat of violence, and disputes over claims were frequently settled with weapons rather than diplomacy. California's mining districts were thought of as lawless, violent, and immoral places.

Many men came to California with the attitude that the laws that governed their behavior at home did not apply to them out west. Miners could spend 12 to 16 hours a day, six days a week doing hard physical labor at their claim sites. They spent their Sundays off in mining towns, playing as hard as they worked. Alcohol was readily available in mining towns and so was opium. Without authorities to keep people in check, drunken bar brawls and petty fights could end in murder. Mining towns also presented men with plenty of opportunities to gamble.

Men in mining towns outnumbered women nine to one. The lack of women meant that mining town society was rougher and rowdier than in the East. Mining towns were, however, far more ethnically diverse than most towns in the United States during the mid-1800s. Chinese, Mexican, African American, and American Indian people interacted with each other and with white Americans to a degree that was unmatched in the East. Prejudice and racism were common, however, and some of the violence that occurred in mining towns was racially driven.

Racial Discrimination and Violence
By early 1849 an estimated 6,000 Mexicans had come to California seeking gold. California had been part of Mexico until the United States took control at the end of the Mexican-American War just a year earlier. Nevertheless, Mexican miners were treated as outsiders and often suffered discrimination. The tension between Mexican and American miners was heightened by the fact that many Mexican miners were more experienced and successful than the Americans. In 1850 California passed a Foreign Miners Tax, which forced non-American miners to pay $20 a month to the state. This tax targeted Mexican miners in an effort to drive them out of California.

In 1852 the government imposed a new Foreign Miners Tax, this time aimed at removing the Chinese. Many people had left China because of the poor economic conditions that followed the first Opium War (1839-42). The number of Chinese immigrants grew so much during the 1850s that they made up a fifth of the population in California's mining towns.

Some African American Forty-niners arrived in California as free people looking to make their own fortunes. Others were slaves brought by their owners. Free African American miners did not have full rights as American citizens and were often mistreated by white American miners. In 1850 California joined the Union as a free state, and many slaves gained their freedom. Nevertheless, slavery continued in some areas.

In 1848 American Indians made up about half of the gold diggers in California. They were expected to perform the hardest labor for the lowest price. In 1850 the California legislature passed the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. The act created a list of American Indian crimes and punishments and denied Indians the right to testify in court. Under the terms of the act, American Indians could be seized and forced to do involuntary labor. In effect, the act allowed white people to enslave Indians. An amendment to the act in 1860 allowed whites to take orphaned Indian children as slaves and force them to serve until they reached 35 to 40 years of age.

The Indians suffered the worst of the racial violence that occurred during the Gold Rush. When the Forty-niners flooded California, they overran Indian lands. Most white Americans felt that the Indians stood in the way of progress. They believed in Manifest Destiny-the idea that it was their divine right and duty to spread Protestant and democratic ideals across the continent. Indian communities were attacked by groups of miners who wanted to stake claims on their land. In some instances, entire villages were murdered. Many Indians were forced to march to reservations, where conditions were dismal and many people starved.

Tragically, the abuse of American Indians was widely accepted and even encouraged. In certain California districts, miners were paid for Indians' body parts and scalps. The popular attitude among whites was that Indian lives were worthless. Gold Rush miners did not just deny American Indians their right to land, they denied their right to life. The belief in white superiority and Manifest Destiny was supported by the U.S. government's brutal treatment of American Indians across the country.

Immigrants and American settlers were lured west by newspaper advertisements claiming that California was a land of "inexhaustible gold mines" where anybody could strike it rich. These ads often made light of the challenges that miners would face when they arrived. Few of the people who came to California were prepared for the grueling realities of gold mining. Some men spent hours standing knee-deep in frigid creeks as they hopefully panned for gold. Others faced extreme risks digging and blasting for gold. Most of the Forty-niners had no mining experience or skills and had to learn through trial and error. Even with very hard work, few miners actually achieved the success they dreamed of.

During the 1850s the amount of available gold began to decline. New mining techniques evolved to reach the gold that remained further below the surface. As mining technology advanced, the character of gold mining in California changed. Mining by individuals who worked their own claims was replaced by large-scale industrial mining. Rather than seeking their own fortunes, miners were hired to work in mines owned by corporations. The new mining techniques employed by these companies had a devastating impact on California's environment and landscape.

Early Techniques
Panning was the simplest way of collecting gold. It involved scooping soil or gravel from the bottom of a stream into a shallow pan. The miner would then swirl the water in the pan so that the heavier pieces of gold would sink to the bottom while the lighter material-dirt and gravel-would come to the surface. The miner tilted the pan to allow the dirt and gravel to wash away, leaving only the gold behind. Panning was the slowest and least effective method of collecting gold. Miners could typically get through 50 pans in a day and collect only a small amount of gold.

The rocker, or cradle, was a machine developed to speed up this process. A rocker was a long wooden box mounted on two curved pieces of wood similar to the curved runners of a rocking chair or baby's cradle. The box was set at a downward angle. The miner shoveled dirt into the box and then poured water over it. The material was sifted by rocking the box from side to side. As the material was washed along, barriers called riffles captured pieces of gold, which were then collected by hand.

Later devices used the same concept as the rocker but improved on it. The long tom was bigger than the rocker and therefore could handle more material. It also contained a sheet of metal with holes in it to aid the sifting process. The long tom evolved into the sluice box, an even longer version of the same device. A sluice box was placed in a running stream, making it more efficient than devices in which water had to be supplied by hand.

Hydraulic Mining
Hydraulic mining involved using jets of water to break apart hard rock to reach the gold ore inside. The water was piped through a hose and blasted out through a nozzle. The powerful stream was shot at a hillside, breaking the hard rock into pieces. The water and blasted rock flowed through sluice boxes to collect the gold. The unwanted material was washed or dumped into nearby streams and rivers.

Hydraulic mining permanently changed the landscape of northern California. The debris left behind from blasting the Sierra Nevada mountains clogged rivers and streams flowing toward San Francisco Bay. Along with blocking navigation on these rivers, the debris caused them to frequently overflow their banks. Flooding spread silt and sand over farmland in the Sacramento Valley, which was disastrous for many farmers. Mining debris also killed wildlife in the rivers and upset the natural balance of ecosystems.

Hydraulic mining was very profitable, and for some time the environmental damage it caused was overlooked because of the gold that it yielded. In time, however, the mounting issues it created led to an outcry against its use. Hydraulic mining was eventually ended as it became too problematic and too expensive.

The Gold Rush transformed the people, culture, economy, and landscape of California in profound ways. California was rapidly converted from a rural, inaccessible region to a populous territory filled with booming towns and cities. The Gold Rush spurred advancements in transportation, which made transcontinental travel in the United States easier than ever before. The influx of immigrants to California made it a place of multiculturalism and ethnic diversity.

In the years that followed the Gold Rush, the period and the changes it brought about were somewhat romanticized by white Americans. This chapter of U.S. history was often told as the story of single, white, American men risking everything to go west and claim their fortunes. The American miners were portrayed as daring, hardworking, and admirable symbols of Manifest Destiny. However, white American miners represented only one version of the Gold Rush story.

Alternative Perspectives
For many white Americans, the Gold Rush represented the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny. The West was "civilized" according to the common ideals of their society at the time: the American Indians were almost entirely removed, the environment was dominated and its resources plundered, and the American way of life was spread from coast to coast.

To understand the Gold Rush more fully, however, it is necessary to acknowledge alternative perspectives on the era. The discovery of gold in California fueled the region's growth and economy. However, destructive mining techniques permanently damaged the environment. The Gold Rush drew enormous numbers of immigrants from around the world, making California one of the most culturally diverse places in the United States. However, competition between ethnic groups gave rise to oppression and violence.

Government-sanctioned discrimination against Mexican and Chinese miners and the exploitation of American Indians are clear evidence that the period was not a golden age for everyone involved. Discriminatory laws against immigrant miners and the taxes that were demanded of them illustrate how minority groups were denied social, political, and economic equality. For California's Indians in particular, the Gold Rush was a tragedy. In the stampede to stake claims, Indians were systematically murdered and driven off their lands. Diseases wreaked havoc on their populations, and laws allowed white Americans to enslave them. The romanticized picture of the era has to be balanced with the viewpoints of the Indians and other groups who suffered because of the miners' lust for gold.

The Slavery Question and the Civil War
The Gold Rush, and the growth it brought, thrust California into the heated national debate over slavery. At the start of the 1850s, the African American population in California numbered fewer than 1,000. Nevertheless, California's position regarding slavery would weigh heavily in the tense relationship between the Northern and Southern states.

On September 9, 1850, California joined the United States as the 31st state. The process of granting statehood to California had been accelerated in light of the population explosion brought on by the Gold Rush. Another factor was the lawlessness that was growing there in the absence of an official state government. Although there was much momentum to bring California into the Union, there was also much controversy over its status in regard to slavery. At the time, the country had equal numbers of free states, where slavery was illegal, and slave states, where slavery was allowed. California petitioned Congress to enter the Union as a free state, which would have upset the balance of free and slave states. The dispute threatened to break up the Union.

After months of debate, Congress finally passed the Compromise of 1850. The South agreed to allow California to enter the Union as a free state and accepted the prohibition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia. In return, the North allowed New Mexico and Utah to organize as territories with no mention of slavery and gave the South a stronger fugitive slave law.

The Compromise of 1850 postponed but could not prevent war between the North and the South. After the American Civil War began in 1861, California's gold proved to be an important resource for the Union. In that time of crisis, gold shipments from the Sierra Nevada funded the U.S. government and its war effort. This contribution to the Union victory was yet another legacy of the Gold Rush.

Benoit, Peter. The California Gold Rush. New York, NY: Children's Press, 2013.Collins, Terry. Stake a Claim!: Nickolas Flux and the California Gold Rush. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2014.Hall, Brianna. Strike It Rich! The Story of the California Gold Rush. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2015.Maxwell-Long, Thomas. Daily Life During the California Gold Rush. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2014.Micklos, John, Jr. A Primary Source History of the Gold Rush. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2016.Onsgard, Bethany. Life During the California Gold Rush. Minneapolis, MN: Core Library, 2015.Raum, Elizabeth. The California Gold Rush: An Interactive History Adventure. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2016.

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Early in 1848 James W. Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey, picked up some glittering flakes from the American River at the site of a sawmill he was building near Coloma,...

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Kids learn about the California Gold Rush from the Old West. Thousands of people move to the west to search for gold and strike it rich.

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The Pony Express was a system that delivered mail on horseback between Missouri and California. The service lasted for only about a year and a half in the early 1860s.…

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Kids learn about the Pony Express from the Old West. Riders would swap horses at stations to deliver the mail faster to and from California.

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Outdoor Nevada | The Pony Express | Season 5 | Episode 9 | PBS

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John meets up with the Schellbourne Riders to learn about the Pony Express.

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♪♪ ♪Hammering/whistling♪ Andrew: Anyone who has ever gone mining or prospecting can tell you, this is some hard work.

Unfortunately, hard work doesn't always pay off.

Sometimes luck has to be on your side.

This edition of "History in a Nutshell".

We'll explore such a case, the California gold rush.

The discovery of gold in the late 1840s changed the American West forever.

Hundreds of 1000s of folks from the United States And abroad flocked to California with hopes And dreams of making a quick buck mining for gold.

While some did make a considerable profit during the Gold Rush, many others were not quite so lucky.

Making the trek to California was difficult enough.

But many who actually made it to California had to face long periods of grueling backbreaking labor on top of the dog eat dog lawlessness of the Wild West.

The Gold Rush as a significant event in American history, And essentially fast tracked California to becoming a state in 1850.

From 1848 to 1855, about $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which reached its peak in 1852.

Join me as we dig a little deeper into the history of the gold rush.

As the Mexican American War concluded, California became an American possession.

At the time, the area was populated by about 6500 Californio's 700 Americans, And 150,000 Native Americans.

January 24 1848, was a typical workday for Carpenter, James W. Marshall.

Marshall was commissioned by German born Swiss pioneer John Augustus Sutter to construct a water powered sawmill in Coloma.

Located on the American River.

Sutter was the founder of the colony called Nueva Helvetia, which is present day Sacramento.

While digging a channel for the sawmill, Marshall looked down And saw shiny metallic flakes in the water below him.

As soon as the workday was over, Marshall made a four day trip to present his discovery to Sutter.

After running some tests, it turned out that the shiny metal flakes Marshall found were indeed pure gold.

Despite Sutter And Marshall wanting to keep the discovery a secret, it would not take long for rumors of a gold discovery to circulate in nearby San Francisco.

In April 1848, some curious San Franciscans made their way to the South Fork of the American River to do some digging for themselves.

One of these curious San Franciscans was a business owner by the name of Sam Brannan.

In May, Brannon returned to San Francisco where he excitedly confirmed the rumors while running up And down the streets like a madman holding a glass bottle filled with gold dust.

To say that San Francisco became a blaze with excitement would be an understatement.

Many San Franciscans dropped whatever they were doing right then in there And made a beeline for Sutter's Fort with hopes of finding gold.

Soon after, news of the gold discovery spread north And south And Californians journeyed to the Sierra Nevada mountains with hopes of striking it rich.

Sam Brannan ended up becoming California's first millionaire.

He made his fortune selling mining supplies to gold seekers.

In just 10 weeks, Brannons store took in around $36,000 worth of gold, about $1 million in today's value.

News of gold And California spread to the East Coast.

However, many were skeptical at first, taking the news as exaggerated.

That would all change on December 8 1848 When President James K Polk officially announced during a congressional address that the news is true.

Gold has indeed been found in California.

Many American citizens soon found themselves gripped with gold fever, and a massive movement westward began.

1000s of Eastern Americans, mostly men, made their way to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the location of the mother lode.

Although some women did tag along for the journey, most were left behind to run the businesses and farms.

People from other parts of the world, including Europe, China, Mexico, And South America flocked to California as well.

Out of all the foreigners traveling to California, the Chinese, which made their way across the Pacific Ocean, was the largest group.

They came to America to escape the political And economic turmoil of the ruling Ching government And the destruction from the Taiping Rebellion.

Starting over in the US seemed like a breath of fresh air for Chinese immigrants.

All these folks making the journey to California were called Forty-Niners.

Yep, that's how a certain football team in California got its name.

So how did Americans get to California, there were primarily three ways.

The first was by sailing ship to sail all the way around South America, turning at Cape Horn, And then sailing up the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco.

That trip typically took between four to six months.

The second was to take a steamship to the Isthmus of Panama.

Cross overland, then take another steamship up to San Francisco.

The third And most popular way was to cross the North American continent via the Oregon And California trails.

With all these folks heading to California, this made for tremendous business opportunities.

Companies such as the US Mail Steamship Company, And the Pacific mail Steamship Company obtained vast wealth among their owners.

Wells Fargo got its start during the gold rush as an express shipping company And bank, transporting gold bullion, mail, And other valuables back And forth between the east And west coasts of the US.

Mining towns sprung up all over California.

In order to accommodate the mass influx of gold seekers, many businesses such as shops, hotels, saloons, And more were established with a goal of making their own fortunes.

Wagon drivers called teamsters turned a good profit by taking supply goods to California.

The flooding of people to San Francisco caused that town's population to explode.

In 1848, there were roughly only 600 people living there.

Two years later, you're looking at between 25,000 to 30,000 people, with more arriving every single day.

Once folks got to California, how was gold obtained , the goal was to find as much gold as quickly as possible.

Mining technology radically advanced thanks to determination And ingenuity.

The money was in the ground, And the more dirt prospectors could process at a time, the more gold they were likely to find.

The most common method was called placer mining, where miners would come stream beds for gold using various tools.

Prospectors panned for gold by collecting dirt in a pan And used water from a stream to filter out gold from unwanted debris.

Panning worked, but was notoriously slow.

Newer tools such as rockers And long toms were invented to process larger loads of dirt at a faster rate.

Actually, finding gold was more a matter of luck than anything.

Depending on where one mined, some location claims turned a small fortune, while others turned up little to nothing at all.

Most of the surface gold dried up by around 1850 but the demand for profit continued to increase.

Industrialization led to a new mining method And 1853 called hydraulic mining, where prospector has built dams And used high pressure water jets to clear away massive amounts of gold bearing dirt And gravel.

By the end of the 1850s, the California Gold Rush fizzled out.

The most profitable deposits in California became exhausted.

And once that happened, many miners went to look for gold elsewhere.

When the Comstock Lode was discovered in Nevada in 1859, many left California, creating a new rush.

What are the lasting legacies of the California gold rush?

The rush was one of the largest single movements of human beings in world history.

More than 300,000 people from all over the world came to California searching for that precious substance.

While some folks made fortunes during the rush, it came at a cost.

Merchants And entrepreneurs made far more profit than the miners themselves did.

On the plus side, many of the businesses formed during the rush prospered, And America's economy boomed thanks to the sudden influx of gold And capital.

The California Gold Rush was so profitable in fact, economies all over the globe experienced stimulation.

Many miners who didn't strike it lucky finding gold were able to cash in on green gold.

Some folks traded in their mining tools for farming equipment, And took advantage of California's climate to establish prosperous farms.

People certainly needed to eat during the rush.

While the rush had its perks, it unfortunately created massive negative impacts for California as well.

Much of California's landscape was destroyed by the hydraulic mining, And the dams built for hydraulic mining took much needed water away from surrounding farmlands.

Hydraulic mining became so destructive that the practice was eventually banned by federal law in 1884.

Massive amounts of mercury were used to extract gold from the ground.

So much mercury was used during the rush that the waters surrounding the Sierra Nevada Mountains are still contaminated with it, And could possibly remain that way for around 10,000 years.

If someone found gold, those findings could just as easily be taken away.

There was little to no law enforcement And California's Gold fields And crimes like robberies And murder were common.

Many women became widows thanks to crime, mining accidents, or disease.

Additionally, one could work all day mining for gold And then turn around And lose it by drinking or gambling it all away.

Oppression of minorities was another major issue during the rush.

When the supply of gold began to dwindle, violence And anti immigrant tension skyrocketed.

Many Chinese immigrants were hard workers at first welcomed by their mining compatriots.

Unfortunately, they soon became victims of prejudice, accused of stealing the gold which white miners believed belong to them.

California's government even went so far as to impose a $20 per month tax on immigrants in 1850.

The anti-immigrant sentiment became so bad that people from France, Mexico And Chile gave up And went back to their home countries.

The demographic which suffered the worst was California's Native American population.

The sudden rush of people to California brought diseases which Native Americans were not prepared to handle.

The increase in farms pushed many American Indians from their homes, gravel, silt And toxic chemicals for mining operations, destroyed habitats And killed fish.

Around 150,000 American Indians lived in California just before the rush due to genocides, diseases And destruction of habitats.

By 1873, roughly 30,000 remained.

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History in a Nutshell | The California Gold Rush | Season 2 | Episode 4 | PBS

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Learn how the discovery of gold in California transformed the American west!

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Learn about the Oregon Trail from the Old West. A roadway used by pioneers in covered wagons to travel west.

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The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east-west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the current states of Idaho and Oregon.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The first land route across what is now the United States was mapped by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806. Lewis and Clark initially believed they had found a practical overland route to the west coast; however, the two passes they found going through the Rocky Mountains, Lemhi Pass and Lolo Pass, turned out to be much too difficult for prairie schooner wagons to pass through without considerable road work. On the return trip in 1806, they traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River and the Clearwater River over Lolo pass again. They then traveled overland up the Blackfoot River and crossed the Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass, as it would become known, and on to the head of the Missouri River. This was ultimately a shorter and faster route than the one they followed west. This route had the disadvantages of being much too rough for wagons and controlled by the Blackfoot tribes. Even though Lewis and Clark had only traveled a narrow portion of the upper Missouri River drainage and part of the Columbia River drainage, these were considered the two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains, and the expedition confirmed that there was no "easy" route through the northern Rocky Mountains as Jefferson had hoped. Nonetheless, this famous expedition had mapped both the eastern and western river valleys (Platte and Snake Rivers) that bookend the route of the Oregon Trail (and other emigrant trails) across the continental divide-they just had not located the South Pass or some of the interconnecting valleys later used in the high country. They did show the way for the mountain men, who within a decade would find a better way across, even if it was not to be an easy way.

Pacific Fur Company

Founded by John Jacob Astor as a subsidiary of his American Fur Company (AFC) in 1810, the Pacific Fur Company (PFC) operated in the Pacific Northwest in the ongoing North American fur trade. Two movements of PFC employees were planned by Astor, one detachment to be sent to the Columbia River by the and the other overland under an expedition led by Wilson Price Hunt. Hunt and his party were to find possible supply routes and trapping territories for further fur trading posts. Upon arriving at the river in March 1811, the Tonquin crew began construction of what became Fort Astoria. The ship left supplies and men to continue work on the station and ventured north up the coast to Clayoquot Sound for a trading expedition. While anchored there, Jonathan Thorn insulted an elder Tla-o-qui-aht who was previously elected by the natives to negotiate a mutually satisfactory price for animal pelts. Soon after, the vessel was attacked and overwhelmed by the indigenous Clayoquot, killing many of the crew. Its Quinault interpreter survived, and later told the PFC management at Fort Astoria of the destruction. The next day, the ship was blown up by surviving crew members.

The North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company

In August 1811, three months after Fort Astor was established, David Thompson and his team of British North West Company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria. He had just completed a journey through much of western Canada and most of the Columbia River drainage system. He was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. Along the way he camped at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers and posted a notice claiming the land for Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a fort on the site ( Fort Nez Perces was later established there). Astor, concerned the British navy would seize their forts and supplies in the War of 1812, sold to the North West Company in 1812 their forts, supplies and furs on the Columbia and Snake River. The North West Company started establishing more forts and trading posts of its own.

From 1812 to 1840, the British, through the HBC, had nearly complete control of the Pacific Northwest and the western half of the Oregon Trail. In theory, the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812, restored possession of Oregon territory to the United States. "Joint occupation" of the region was formally established by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818. The British, through the HBC, tried to discourage any U.S. trappers, traders and settlers from work or settlement in the Pacific Northwest.

By overland travel, American missionaries and early settlers (initially mostly ex-trappers) started showing up in Oregon around 1824. Although officially the HBC discouraged settlement because it interfered with its lucrative fur trade, its Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver, John McLoughlin, gave substantial help, including employment, until they could get established. In the early 1840s thousands of American settlers arrived and soon greatly outnumbered the British settlers in Oregon. McLoughlin, despite working for the HBC, gave help in the form of loans, medical care, shelter, clothing, food, supplies and seed to U.S. emigrants. These new emigrants often arrived in Oregon tired, worn out, nearly penniless, with insufficient food or supplies, just as winter was coming on. McLoughlin would later be hailed as the Father of Oregon.

Great American Desert

Reports from expeditions in 1806 by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and in 1819 by Major Stephen Long described the Great Plains as "unfit for human habitation" and as "The Great American Desert". These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured up by terms like "desert" were tempered by the many reports of vast herds of millions of Plains Bison that somehow managed to live in this "desert". In the 1840s, the Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were illegal for homesteading until well after 1846-initially it was set aside by the U.S. government for Native American settlements. The next available land for general settlement, Oregon, appeared to be free for the taking and had fertile lands, disease-free climate (yellow fever and malaria were then prevalent in much of the Missouri and Mississippi River drainage), extensive uncut, unclaimed forests, big rivers, potential seaports, and only a few nominally British settlers.

Fur traders, trappers and explorers

Fur trappers, often working for fur traders, followed nearly all possible streams looking for beaver in the years (1812-40) the fur trade was active. Fur traders included Manuel Lisa, Robert Stuart, William Henry Ashley, Jedediah Smith, William Sublette, Andrew Henry, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Peter Skene Ogden, David Thompson, James Douglas, Donald Mackenzie, Alexander Ross, James Sinclair, and other mountain men. Besides describing and naming many of the rivers and mountains in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest, they often kept diaries of their travels and were available as guides and consultants when the trail started to become open for general travel. The fur trade business wound down to a very low level just as the Oregon trail traffic seriously began around 1840.

In fall of 1823, Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crew south from the Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River. They were looking for a safe location to spend the winter. Smith reasoned since the Sweetwater flowed east it must eventually run into the Missouri River. Trying to transport their extensive fur collection down the Sweetwater and North Platte River, they found after a near disastrous canoe crash that the rivers were too swift and rough for water passage. On July 4, 1824, they cached their furs under a dome of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long trek on foot to the Missouri River. Upon arriving back in a settled area they bought pack horses (on credit) and retrieved their furs. They had re-discovered the route that Robert Stuart had taken in 1813-eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick was often hired as a guide when the fur trade dwindled in 1840. Smith was killed by Comanche natives around 1831.

Fur traders tried to use the Platte River, the main route of the eastern Oregon Trail, for transport but soon gave up in frustration as its many channels and islands combined with its muddy waters were too shallow, crooked and unpredictable to use for water transport. The Platte proved to be unnavigable. The Platte River and North Platte River Valley, however, became an easy roadway for wagons, with its nearly flat plain sloping easily up and heading almost due west.

Missionaries

Early emigrants

On May 1, 1839, a group of eighteen men from Peoria, Illinois, set out with the intention of colonizing the Oregon country on behalf of the United States of America and drive out the HBC operating there. The men of the Peoria Party were among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail. They were initially led by Thomas J. Farnham and called themselves the Oregon Dragoons. They carried a large flag emblazoned with their motto " Oregon Or The Grave". Although the group split up near Bent's Fort on the South Platte and Farnham was deposed as leader, nine of their members eventually did reach Oregon.

In September 1840, Robert Newell, Joseph L. Meek, and their families reached Fort Walla Walla with three wagons that they had driven from Fort Hall. Their wagons were the first to reach the Columbia River over land, and they opened the final leg of Oregon Trail to wagon traffic.

In 1841, the Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first emigrant group credited with using the Oregon Trail to emigrate west. The group set out for California, but about half the party left the original group at Soda Springs, Idaho, and proceeded to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, leaving their wagons at Fort Hall.

On May 16, 1842, the second organized wagon train set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, with more than 100 pioneers. The party was led by Elijah White. The group broke up after passing Fort Hall with most of the single men hurrying ahead and the families following later.

Great Migration of 1843

In 1846, the Barlow Road was completed around Mount Hood, providing a rough but completely passable wagon trail from the Missouri River to the Willamette Valley: about 2,000 miles (3,200 km).

Oregon Country

In 1843, settlers of the Willamette Valley drafted the Organic Laws of Oregon organizing land claims within the Oregon Country. Married couples were granted at no cost (except for the requirement to work and improve the land) up to 640 acres (2.6 km ²) (a section or square mile), and unmarried settlers could claim 320 acres (1.3 km ²). As the group was a provisional government with no authority, these claims were not valid under United States or British law, but they were eventually honored by the United States in the Donation Land Act of 1850. The Donation Land Act provided for married settlers to be granted 320 acres (1.3 km ²) and unmarried settlers 160 acres (0.65 km ²). Following the expiration of the act in 1854 the land was no longer free but cost $1.25 per acre ($3.09/hectare) with a limit of 320 acres (1.3 km ²)-the same as most other unimproved government land.

Women on the Overland Trail

Consensus interpretations, as found in John Faragher's book, Women and Men on the Overland Trail (1979), held that men and women's power within marriage was uneven. This meant that women did not experience the trail as liberating, but instead only found harder work than they had handled back east. However, feminist scholarship, by historians such as Lillian Schlissel, Sandra Myres, and Glenda Riley, suggests men and women did not view the West and western migration in the same way. Whereas men might deem the dangers of the trail acceptable if there was a strong economic reward at the end, women viewed those dangers as threatening to the stability and survival of the family. Once they arrived at their new western home, women's public role in building western communities and participating in the western economy gave them a greater authority than they had known back East. There was a "female frontier" that was distinct and different from that experienced by men.

Women's diaries kept during their travels or the letters they wrote home once they arrived at their destination supports these contentions. Women wrote with sadness and concern of the numerous deaths along the trail. Anna Maria King wrote to her family in 1845 about her trip to the Luckiamute Valley Oregon and of the multiple deaths experienced by her traveling group:

But listen to the deaths: Sally Chambers, John King and his wife, their little daughter Electa and their babe, a son 9 months old, and Dulancy C. Norton's sister are gone. Mr. A. Fuller lost his wife and daughter Tabitha. Eight of our two families have gone to their long home.

Similarly, emigrant Martha Gay Masterson, who traveled the trail with her family at the age of 13, mentioned the fascination she and other children felt for the graves and loose skulls they would find near their camps.

Anna Maria King, like many other women, also advised family and friends back home of the realities of the trip and offered advice on how to prepare for the trip. Women also reacted and responded, often enthusiastically, to the landscape of the West. Betsey Bayley in a letter to her sister, Lucy P. Griffith described how travelers responded to the new environment they encountered:

The mountains looked like volcanoes and the appearance that one day there had been an awful thundering of volcanoes and a burning world. The valleys were all covered with a white crust and looked like salaratus. Some of the company used it to raise their bread.

Mormon emigration

Following persecution and mob action in Missouri, Illinois, and other states, and the assassination of their prophet Joseph Smith in 1844, Mormon leader Brigham Young led settlers in the Latter Day Saints (LDS) church west to the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. In 1847 Young led a small, fast-moving group from their Winter Quarters encampments near Omaha, Nebraska, and their approximately 50 temporary settlements on the Missouri River in Iowa including Council Bluffs. About 2,200 LDS pioneers went that first year and they were charged with establishing farms, growing crops, building fences and herds, and establishing preliminary settlements to feed and support the many thousands of emigrants expected in the coming years. After ferrying across the Missouri River and establishing wagon trains near what became Omaha, the Mormons followed the northern bank of the Platte River in Nebraska to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. They initially started out in 1848 with trains of several thousand emigrants, which were rapidly split into smaller groups to be more easily accommodated at the limited springs and acceptable camping places on the trail. The much larger presence of women and children meant these wagon trains did not try to cover as much ground in a single day as Oregon and California bound emigrants, typically taking about 100 days to cover the 1,000 miles (1,600 km) trip to Salt Lake City. (The Oregon and California emigrants averaged about 15 miles (24 km) per day.) In Wyoming, the Mormon emigrants followed the main Oregon/California/Mormon Trail through Wyoming to Fort Bridger, where they split from the main trail and followed (and improved) the rough path known as Hastings Cutoff, used by the ill-fated Donner Party in 1846.

Along the Mormon Trail, the Mormon pioneers established a number of ferries and made trail improvements to help later travelers and earn much needed money. One of the better known ferries was the Mormon Ferry across the North Platte near the future site of Fort Caspar in Wyoming which operated between 1848 and 1852 and the Green River ferry near Fort Bridger which operated from 1847 to 1856. The ferries were free for Mormon settlers while all others were charged a toll ranging from $3 to $8.

California Gold Rush

In January 1848, James Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada portion of the American River, sparking the California Gold Rush. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the male population in Oregon went to California in 1848 to cash in on the opportunity. To get there, they helped build the Lassen Branch of the Applegate-Lassen Trail by cutting a wagon road through extensive forests. Many returned with significant gold which helped jump-start the Oregon economy. Over the next decade, gold seekers from the Midwestern United States and East Coast of the United States dramatically increased traffic on the Oregon and California Trails. The "forty-niners" often chose speed over safety and opted to use shortcuts such as the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff in Wyoming which reduced travel time by almost seven days but spanned nearly 45 miles (72 km) of desert without water, grass, or fuel for fires. 1849 was the first year of large scale cholera epidemics in the United States, and thousands are thought to have died along the trail on their way to California-most buried in unmarked graves in Kansas and Nebraska. The adjusted 1850 U.S. Census of California showed this rush was overwhelmingly male with about 112,000 males to 8,000 females (with about 5,500 women over age 15). Women were significantly underrepresented in the California Gold Rush, and sex ratios did not reach essential equality in California (and other western states) until about 1950. The relative scarcity of women gave them many opportunities to do many more things that were not normally considered women's work of this era. After 1849, the California Gold Rush continued for several years as the miners continued to find about $50,000,000 worth of gold per year at $21 per ounce. Once California was established as a prosperous state, many thousands more emigrated there each year for the opportunities.

Later emigration and uses of the trail

The Army improved the trail for use by wagons and stagecoaches in 1859 and 1860. Starting in 1860, the American Civil War closed the heavily subsidized Butterfield Overland Mail stage Southern Route through the deserts of the American Southwest.

In 1861, John Butterfield, who since 1858 had been using the Butterfield Overland Mail, also switched to the Central Route to avoid traveling through hostile territories during the American Civil War. George Chorpenning immediately realized the value of this more direct route, and shifted his existing mail and passenger line along with their stations from the "Northern Route" (California Trail) along the Humboldt River. In 1861, the First Transcontinental Telegraph also laid its lines alongside the Central Overland Route. Several stage lines were set up carrying mail and passengers that traversed much of the route of the original Oregon Trail to Fort Bridger and from there over the Central Overland Route to California. By traveling day and night with many stations and changes of teams (and extensive mail subsidies), these stages could get passengers and mail from the midwest to California in about 25 to 28 days. These combined stage and Pony Express stations along the Oregon Trail and Central Route across Utah and Nevada were joined by the First Transcontinental Telegraph stations and telegraph line, which followed much the same route in 1861 from Carson City, Nevada to Salt Lake City. The Pony Express folded in 1861 as they failed to receive an expected mail contract from the U.S. government and the telegraph filled the need for rapid east-west communication. This combination wagon/stagecoach/pony express/telegraph line route is labeled the Pony Express National Historic Trail on the National Trail Map. From Salt Lake City the telegraph line followed much of the Mormon/California/Oregon trails to Omaha, Nebraska.

After the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, telegraph lines usually followed the railroad tracks as the required relay stations and telegraph lines were much easier to maintain alongside the tracks. Telegraph lines to unpopulated areas were largely abandoned.

As the years passed, the Oregon Trail became a heavily used corridor from the Missouri River to the Columbia River. Offshoots of the trail continued to grow as gold and silver discoveries, farming, lumbering, ranching, and business opportunities resulted in much more traffic to many areas. Traffic became two-directional as towns were established along the trail. By 1870 the population in the states served by the Oregon Trail and its offshoots increased by about 350,000 over their 1860 census levels. With the exception of most of the 180,000 population increase in California, most of these people living away from the coast traveled over parts of the Oregon Trail and its many extensions and cutoffs to get to their new residences.

Even before the famous Texas cattle drives after the Civil War, the trail was being used to drive herds of thousands of cattle, horses, sheep, and goats from the midwest to various towns and cities along the trails. According to studies by trail historian John Unruh the livestock may have been as plentiful or more plentiful than the immigrants in many years. In 1852, there were even records of a 1,500-turkey drive from Illinois to California. The main reason for this livestock traffic was the large cost discrepancy between livestock in the midwest and at the end of the trail in California, Oregon, or Montana. They could often be bought in the midwest for about 1/3 to 1/10 what they would fetch at the end of the trail. Large losses could occur and the drovers would still make significant profit. As the emigrant travel on the trail declined in later years and after livestock ranches were established at many places along the trail large herds of animals often were driven along part of the trail to get to and from markets.

Trail decline

The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, providing faster, safer, and usually cheaper travel east and west (the journey took seven days and cost as little as $65, or equivalent to $1,323 in 2021). Some emigrants continued to use the trail well into the 1890s, and modern highways and railroads eventually paralleled large portions of the trail, including U.S. Highway 26, Interstate 84 in Oregon and Idaho and Interstate 80 in Nebraska. Contemporary interest in the overland trek has prompted the states and federal government to preserve landmarks on the trail including wagon ruts, buildings, and "registers" where emigrants carved their names. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries there have been a number of re-enactments of the trek with participants wearing period garments and traveling by wagon.

As the trail developed it became marked by many cutoffs and shortcuts from Missouri to Oregon. The basic route follows river valleys as grass and water were absolutely necessary.

The Oregon Trail's nominal termination point was Oregon City, at the time the proposed capital of the Oregon Territory. However, many settlers branched off or stopped short of this goal and settled at convenient or promising locations along the trail. Commerce with pioneers going further west helped establish these early settlements and launched local economies critical to their prosperity.

At dangerous or difficult river crossings, ferries or toll bridges were set up and bad places on the trail were either repaired or bypassed. Several toll roads were constructed. Gradually the trail became easier with the average trip (as recorded in numerous diaries) dropping from about 160 days in 1849 to 140 days 10 years later.

Many other trails followed the Oregon Trail for much of its length, including the Mormon Trail from Illinois to Utah; the California Trail to the gold fields of California; and the Bozeman Trail to Montana. Because it was more a network of trails than a single trail, there were numerous variations with other trails eventually established on both sides of the Platte, North Platte, Snake, and Columbia rivers. With literally thousands of people and thousands of livestock traveling in a fairly small time slot the travelers had to spread out to find clean water, wood, good campsites, and grass. The dust kicked up by the many travelers was a constant complaint, and where the terrain would allow it there may have been between 20 and 50 wagons traveling abreast.

Remnants of the trail in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the entire trail is a designated National Historic Trail.

Initially, the main jumping off point was the common head of the Santa Fe Trail and Oregon trail-Independence, and Kansas City. Travelers starting in Independence had to ferry across the Missouri River. After following the Santa Fe trail to near present-day Topeka, they ferried across the Kansas River to start the trek across Kansas and points west. Another busy "jumping off point" was St. Joseph-established in 1843. In its early days, St. Joseph was a bustling outpost and rough frontier town, serving as one of the last supply points before heading over the Missouri River to the frontier. St. Joseph had good steamboat connections to St. Louis and other ports on the combined Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi River systems. During the busy season there were several ferry boats and steamboats available to transport travelers to the Kansas shore where they started their travels westward. Before the Union Pacific Railroad was started in 1865, St. Joseph was the westernmost point in the United States accessible by rail. Other towns used as supply points in Missouri included Old Franklin, Arrow Rock, and Fort Osage.

Starting initially in Independence, Missouri, or Kansas City in Missouri, the initial trail follows the Santa Fe Trail into Kansas south of the Wakarusa River. After crossing Mount Oread at Lawrence, the trail crosses the Kansas River by ferry or boats near Topeka and crossed the Wakarusa and Black Vermillion rivers by ferries. West of Topeka, the route paralleled what is now U.S. Route 24 until west of St. Mary's. After the Black Vermillion River the trail angles northwest to Nebraska paralleling the Little Blue River until reaching the south side of the Platte River. Destinations along the Oregon Trail in Kansas included St. Mary's Mission, Pottawatomie Indian Pay Station, Vieux's Vermilion Crossing, Alcove Springs and Hollenberg Station. Travel by wagon over the gently rolling Kansas countryside was usually unimpeded except where streams had cut steep banks. There a passage could be made with a lot of shovel work to cut down the banks or the travelers could find an already established crossing.

Those emigrants on the eastern side of the Missouri River in Missouri or Iowa used ferries and steamboats (fitted out for ferry duty) to cross into towns in Nebraska. Several towns in Nebraska were used as jumping off places with Omaha eventually becoming a favorite after about 1855. Fort Kearny (est. 1848) is about 200 miles (320 km) from the Missouri River, and the trail and its many offshoots nearly all converged close to Fort Kearny as they followed the Platte River west. The army maintained fort was the first chance on the trail to buy emergency supplies, do repairs, get medical aid, or mail a letter. Those on the north side of the Platte could usually wade the shallow river if they needed to visit the fort.

The Platte River and the North Platte River in the future states of Nebraska and Wyoming typically had many channels and islands and were too shallow, crooked, muddy and unpredictable for travel even by canoe. The Platte as it pursued its braided paths to the Missouri River was "too thin to plow and too thick to drink". While unusable for transportation, the Platte River and North Platte River valleys provided an easily passable wagon corridor going almost due west with access to water, grass, buffalo, and buffalo chips for fuel. The trails gradually got rougher as it progressed up the North Platte. There were trails on both sides of the muddy rivers. The Platte was about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 2 to 60 inches (5.1 to 152.4 cm) deep. The water was silty and bad tasting but it could be used if no other water was available. Letting it sit in a bucket for an hour or so or stirring in a 1/4 cup of cornmeal allowed most of the silt to settle out.

Today much of the Oregon Trail follows roughly along Interstate 80 from Wyoming to Grand Island, Nebraska. From there U.S. Highway 30 which follows the Platte River is a better approximate path for those traveling the north side of the Platte.

Cholera on the Platte River

Because of the Platte's brackish water, the preferred camping spots were along one of the many fresh water streams draining into the Platte or the occasional fresh water spring found along the way. These preferred camping spots became sources of cholera in the epidemic years (1849-1855) as many thousands of people used the same camping spots with essentially no sewage facilities or adequate sewage treatment. One of the side effects of cholera is acute diarrhea, which helps contaminate even more water unless it is isolated and/or treated. The cause of cholera (ingesting the Vibrio cholerae bacterium from contaminated water) and the best treatment for cholera infections were unknown in this era. Thousands of travelers on the combined California, Oregon, and Mormon trails succumbed to cholera between 1849 and 1855. Most were buried in unmarked graves in Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming. Although also considered part of the Mormon Trail, the grave of Rebecca Winters is one of the few marked ones left. There are many cases cited involving people who were alive and apparently healthy in the morning and dead by nightfall.

Fort Laramie was the end of most cholera outbreaks which killed thousands along the lower Platte and North Platte from 1849 to 1855. Spread by cholera bacteria in fecal contaminated water, cholera caused massive diarrhea, leading to dehydration and death. In those days its cause and treatment were unknown, and it was often fatal-up to 30 percent of infected people died. It is believed that the swifter flowing rivers in Wyoming helped prevent the germs from spreading.

A branch of the Oregon trail crossed the very northeast corner of Colorado if they followed the South Platte River to one of its last crossings. This branch of the trail passed through present day Julesburg before entering Wyoming. Later settlers followed the Platte and South Platte Rivers into their settlements there (much of which became the state of Colorado).

After crossing the South Platte River the Oregon Trail follows the North Platte River out of Nebraska into Wyoming. Fort Laramie, at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte rivers, was a major stopping point. Fort Laramie was a former fur trading outpost originally named Fort John that was purchased in 1848 by the U.S. Army to protect travelers on the trails. It was the last army outpost till travelers reached the coast.

Over time, two major heavily used cutoffs were established in Wyoming. The Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff was established in 1844 and cut about 70 miles (110 km) off the main route. It leaves the main trail about 10 miles (16 km) west of South Pass and heads almost due west crossing Big Sandy Creek and then about 45 miles (72 km) of waterless, very dusty desert before reaching the Green River near the present town of La Barge. Ferries here transferred them across the Green River. From there the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff trail had to cross a mountain range to connect with the main trail near Cokeville in the Bear River Valley.

The Lander Road, formally the Fort Kearney, South Pass, and Honey Lake Wagon Road, was established and built by U.S. government contractors in 1858-59. It was about 80 miles (130 km) shorter than the main trail through Fort Bridger with good grass, water, firewood and fishing but it was a much steeper and rougher route, crossing three mountain ranges. In 1859, 13,000 of the 19,000 emigrants traveling to California and Oregon used the Lander Road. The traffic in later years is undocumented.

Numerous landmarks are along the trail in Wyoming including Independence Rock, Ayres Natural Bridge and Register Cliff.

The main Oregon and California Trail went almost due north from Fort Bridger to the Little Muddy Creek where it passed over the Bear River Mountains to the Bear River Valley, which it followed northwest into the Thomas Fork area, where the trail crossed over the present day Wyoming line into Idaho. In the Eastern Sheep Creek Hills in the Thomas Fork valley the emigrants encountered Big Hill. Big Hill was a detour caused by a then-impassable cut the Bear River made through the mountains and had a tough ascent often requiring doubling up of teams and a very steep and dangerous descent. (Much later, US-30, using modern explosives and equipment, was built through this cut). In 1852 Eliza Ann McAuley found and with help developed the McAuley Cutoff which bypassed much of the difficult climb and descent of Big Hill. About 5 miles (8.0 km) on they passed present-day Montpelier, Idaho, which is now the site of the National Oregon-California Trail Center. The trail follows the Bear River northwest to present-day Soda Springs. The springs here were a favorite attraction of the pioneers who marveled at the hot carbonated water and chugging "steamboat" springs. Many stopped and did their laundry in the hot water as there was usually plenty of good grass and fresh water available. Just west of Soda Springs the Bear River turns southwest as it heads for the Great Salt Lake, and the main trail turns northwest to follow the Portneuf River valley to Fort Hall, Idaho. Fort Hall was an old fur trading post located on the Snake River. It was established in 1832 by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth and company and later sold in 1837 to the Hudson's Bay Company. At Fort Hall nearly all travelers were given some aid and supplies if they were available and needed. Mosquitoes were constant pests, and travelers often mention that their animals were covered with blood from the bites. The route from Fort Bridger to Fort Hall is about 210 miles (340 km), taking nine to twelve days.

At Soda Springs was one branch of Lander Road (established and built with government contractors in 1858), which had gone west from near South Pass, over the Salt River Mountains and down Star Valley before turning west near present-day Auburn, Wyoming, and entering Idaho. From there it proceeded northwest into Idaho up Stump Creek canyon for about 10 miles (16 km). One branch turned almost 90 degrees and proceeded southwest to Soda Springs. Another branch headed almost due west past Gray's Lake to rejoin the main trail about 10 miles (16 km) west of Fort Hall.

On the main trail about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Soda Springs Hudspeth's Cutoff (established 1849 and used mostly by California trail users) took off from the main trail heading almost due west, bypassing Fort Hall. It rejoined the California Trail at Cassia Creek near the City of Rocks. Hudspeth's Cutoff had five mountain ranges to cross and took about the same amount of time as the main route to Fort Hall, but many took it thinking it was shorter. Its main advantage was that it helped spread out the traffic during peak periods, making more grass available.

There were only a few places where the Snake River was not buried deep in a canyon, and few spots where the river slowed down enough to make a crossing possible. Two of these fords were near Fort Hall, where travelers on the Oregon Trail North Side Alternate (established about 1852) and Goodale's Cutoff (established 1862) crossed the Snake to travel on the north side. Nathaniel Wyeth, the original founder of Fort Hall in 1834, writes in his diary that they found a ford across the Snake River 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of where he founded Fort Hall. Another possible crossing was a few miles upstream of Salmon Falls where some intrepid travelers floated their wagons and swam their stock across to join the north side trail. Some lost their wagons and teams over the falls. The trails on the north side joined the trail from Three Island Crossing about 17 miles (27 km) west of Glenns Ferry on the north side of the Snake River.

Goodale's Cutoff, established in 1862 on the north side of the Snake River, formed a spur of the Oregon Trail. This cutoff had been used as a pack trail by Native Americans and fur traders, and emigrant wagons traversed parts of the eastern section as early as 1852. After crossing the Snake River the 230-mile (370 km) cutoff headed north from Fort Hall toward Big Southern Butte following the Lost River part of the way. It passed near the present-day town of Arco, Idaho, and wound through the northern part of what is now Craters of the Moon National Monument. From there it went southwest to Camas Prairie and ended at Old Fort Boise on the Boise River. This journey typically took two to three weeks and was noted for its very rough lava terrain and extremely dry climate, which tended to dry the wooden wheels on the wagons, causing the iron rims to fall off the wheels. Loss of wheels caused many wagons to be abandoned along the route. It rejoined the main trail east of Boise. Goodale's Cutoff is visible at many points along US-20, US-26, and US-93 between Craters of the Moon National Monument and Carey.

The trail continued west to Three Island Crossing (near present-day Glenns Ferry.) Here most emigrants used the divisions of the river caused by three islands to cross the difficult and swift Snake River by ferry or by driving or sometimes floating their wagons and swimming their teams across. The crossings were doubly treacherous because there were often hidden holes in the river bottom which could overturn the wagon or entangle the team, sometimes with fatal consequences. Before ferries were established there were several drownings here nearly every year.

The north side of the Snake had better water and grass than the south. The trail from Three Island Crossing to Old Fort Boise was about 130 miles (210 km) long. The usually lush Boise River Valley was a welcome relief. The next crossing of the Snake River was near Old Fort Boise. This last crossing of the Snake could be done on bull boats while swimming the stock across. Others would chain a large string of wagons and teams together. The theory was that the front teams, usually oxen, would get out of water first and with good footing help pull the whole string of wagons and teams across. How well this worked in practice is not stated. Often young Native American boys were hired to drive and ride the stock across the river-they knew how to swim, unlike many pioneers. In present-day Idaho, I-84 roughly follows the Oregon Trail from the Idaho-Oregon State border at the Snake River. Approximately seven miles (11 km) east of Declo in present-day rural Cassia County, I-84 meets the western terminus of the western section of I-86. I-86 heads east, then northeast to American Falls and Pocatello following the Oregon Trail, while I-84 heads southeast to the State border with Utah. US-30 roughly follows the path of the Oregon Trail from Pocatello to Montpelier

Starting in about 1848 the South Alternate of Oregon Trail (also called the Snake River Cutoff) was developed as a spur off the main trail. It bypassed the Three Island Crossing and continued traveling down the south side of the Snake River. It rejoined the trail near present-day Ontario, Oregon. It hugged the southern edge of the Snake River canyon and was a much rougher trail with poorer water and grass, requiring occasional steep descents and ascents with the animals down into the Snake River canyon to get water. Travellers on this route avoided two dangerous crossings of the Snake River. In present-day Idaho, the state highway ID-78 roughly follows the path of the South Alternate route of the Oregon Trail.

In 1869, the Central Pacific established Kelton, Utah as a railhead and the terminus of the western mail was moved from Salt Lake City. The Kelton Road became important as a communication and transportation road to the Boise Basin.

Boise has 21 monuments in the shape of obelisks along its portion of the Oregon Trail.

Once across the Snake River ford near Old Fort Boise the weary travelers traveled across what would become the state of Oregon. The trail then went to the Malheur River and then past Farewell Bend on the Snake River, up the Burnt River canyon and northwest to the Grande Ronde Valley near present-day La Grande before coming to the Blue Mountains. In 1843 settlers cut a wagon road over these mountains making them passable for the first time to wagons. The trail went to the Whitman Mission near Fort Nez Perces in Washington until 1847 when the Whitmans were killed by Native Americans. At Fort Nez Perce some built rafts or hired boats and started down the Columbia; others continued west in their wagons until they reached The Dalles. After 1847 the trail bypassed the closed mission and headed almost due west to present-day Pendleton, Oregon, crossing the Umatilla River, John Day River, and Deschutes River before arriving at The Dalles. Interstate 84 in Oregon roughly follows the original Oregon Trail from Idaho to The Dalles.

Several Oregon Trail branches and route variations led to the Willamette Valley. The most popular was the Barlow Road, which was carved through the forest around Mount Hood from The Dalles in 1846 as a toll road at $5 per wagon and 10 cents per head of livestock. It was rough and steep with poor grass but still cheaper and safer than floating goods, wagons and family down the dangerous Columbia River.

In Central Oregon, there was the Santiam Wagon Road (established 1861), which roughly parallels Oregon Highway 20 to the Willamette Valley. The Applegate Trail (established 1846), cutting off the California Trail from the Humboldt River in Nevada, crossed part of California before cutting north to the south end of the Willamette Valley. U.S. Route 99 and Interstate 5 through Oregon roughly follow the original Applegate Trail.

Travel equipment

Wagons and pack animals

By 1842, many emigrants favored oxen-castrated bulls (males) of the genus (cattle), generally over four years old-as the best animal to pull wagons, because they were docile, generally healthy, and able to continue moving in difficult conditions such as mud and snow. Oxen could also survive on prairie grasses and sage, unlike horses, who had to be fed. Moreover, oxen were less expensive to purchase and maintain than horses. Oxen also could stand idle for long periods without suffering damage to the feet and legs. Oxen were trained by leading, the use of a whip or goad, and the use of oral commands (such as "Gee" (right), "Haw" (left), and "Whoa" (stop)). Two oxen were typically yoked together at the neck or head; the left ox was referred to as the "near" or "nigh" ox, and the right ox as the "off" ox. While no reins, bits, or halters were needed, the trainer had to be forceful. Oxen typically traveled at a steady pace up to two miles an hour.

One drawback of oxen was the difficulty of shoeing. Oxen hooves are cloven (split), and they had to be shod with two curved pieces of metal, one on each side of the hoof. While horses and mules allowed themselves to be shod relatively easily, the process was more difficult with oxen, which would lie down and tuck their feet under themselves. As a result, several men had to lift and hold an ox while he was being shod.

Mules were used by some emigrants. The competing merits of oxen and mules were hotly debated among emigrants. Some found oxen to be more durable. Others, by contrast, believed that mules were more durable, and mules may have had a lower attrition rate on the trail than oxen. Like oxen, mules could survive on prairie grasses. Mules were, however, notoriously ill-tempered. Mules also cost about three times as much as oxen, a deciding factor for many emigrants.

Three types of wagons were pulled:

In 1855 the typical cost of food for four people for six months was about $150 which would cost almost $5,000 today.

Food and water were key concerns for migrants. Wagons typically carried at least one large water keg, and guidebooks available from the 1840s and later gave similar advice to migrants on what food to take. T. H. Jefferson, in his Brief Practice Advice guidebook for migrants, recommended that each adult take 200 pounds of flour: "Take plenty of bread stuff; this is the staff of life when everything else runs short."

Food often took the form of crackers or hardtack; Southerners sometimes chose cornmeal or pinole rather than wheat flour. Emigrants typically ate rice and beans only at forts stopped at along the way, because boiling water was difficult on the trail, and fuel was not abundant. Lansford Hastings recommended that each emigrant take 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of " bacon" (a word which, at the time, referred broadly to all forms of salt pork), 20 pounds of sugar, and 10 pounds of salt. Chipped beef, rice, tea, dried beans, dried fruit, saleratus (for raising bread), vinegar, pickles, mustard, and tallow might also be taken. Joseph Ware's 1849 guide recommends that travelers take for each individual a barrel of flour or 180 pounds of ship's biscuit (i.e., hardtack), 150-180 pounds of bacon, 60 pounds of beans or peas, 25 pounds of rice, 25 pounds of coffee, 40 pounds of sugar, a keg of lard, 30 or 40 pounds of dried fruit ( peaches or apples), a keg of clear, rendered beef suet (to substitute for butter), as well as some vinegar, salt, and pepper. Many emigrant families also carried a small amount of tea and maple sugar.

Some pioneers took eggs and butter packed in barrels of flour, and some took dairy cows along the trail. Hunting provided another source of food along the trail; pioneers hunted American bison as well as pronghorn antelope, deer, bighorn sheep, and wildfowl. From rivers and lakes, emigrants also fished for catfish and trout. When emigrants faced starvation, they would sometimes slaughter their animals (horses, mules, and oxen). In desperate times, migrants would search for less-popular sources of food, including coyote, fox, jackrabbit, marmot, prairie dog, and rattlesnake (nicknamed "bush fish" in the later period).

At the time, scurvy was well-recognized, but there was a lack of clear understanding of how to prevent the disease. Nevertheless, pioneers' consumption of the wild berries (including chokeberry, gooseberry, and serviceberry) and currants that grew along the trail (particularly along the Platte River) helped make scurvy infrequent. Marcy's guide correctly suggested that the consumption of wild grapes, greens, and onions could help prevent the disease and that if vegetables were not available, citric acid could be drunk with sugar and water.

Emigrant families, who were mostly middle-class, prided themselves on preparing a good table. Although operating Dutch ovens and kneading dough was difficult on the trail, many baked good bread and even pies.

Clothing, equipment and supplies

Tobacco was popular, both for personal use, and for trading with natives and other pioneers. Each person brought at least two changes of clothes and multiple pairs of boots (two to three pairs often wore out on the trip). About 25 pounds of soap was recommended for a party of four, for bathing and washing clothes. A washboard and tub were usually brought for washing clothes. Wash days typically occurred once or twice a month, or less, depending on availability of good grass, water, and fuel.

Most wagons carried tents for sleeping, though in good weather most would sleep outside. A thin fold-up mattress, blankets, pillows, canvas, or rubber gutta percha ground covers were used for sleeping. Sometimes an unfolded feather bed mattress was brought for the wagon, if there were pregnant women or very young children along. Storage boxes were ideally the same height, so they could be arranged to give a flat surface inside the wagon for a sleeping platform.

The wagons had no springs, and the ride along the trail was very rough. Despite modern depictions, hardly anyone actually rode in the wagons; it was too dusty, too rough, and too hard on the livestock.

Travelers brought books, Bibles, trail guides, and writing quills, ink, and paper for writing letters or journalling (about one in 200 kept a diary).

A belt and folding knives were carried by nearly all men and boys. Awls, scissors, pins, needles, and thread for mending were required. Spare leather was used for repairing shoes, harnesses, and other equipment. Some used goggles to keep dust out of the eyes.

Saddles, bridles, hobbles, and ropes were needed if the party had a horse or riding mule, and many men did. Extra harnesses and spare wagon parts were often carried. Most carried steel shoes for horses, mules, or livestock. Tar was carried to help repair an ox's injured hoof.

Goods, supplies, and equipment were often shared by fellow travelers. Items that were forgotten, broken, or worn out could be bought from a fellow traveler, post, or fort along the way. New iron shoes for horses, mules, and oxen were put on by blacksmiths found along the way. Equipment repairs and other goods could be procured from blacksmith shops established at some forts and some ferries. Emergency supplies, repairs, and livestock were often provided by local residents in California, Oregon, and Utah for late travelers on the trail who were hurrying to beat the snow.

Non-essential items were often abandoned to lighten the load, or in case of emergency. Many travelers would salvage discarded items, picking up essentials or leaving behind their lower quality item when a better one was found abandoned along the road. Some profited by collecting discarded items, hauling them back to jumping off places, and reselling them. In the early years, Mormons sent scavenging parties back along the trail to salvage as much iron and other supplies as possible and haul it to Salt Lake City, where supplies of all kinds were needed. Others would use discarded furniture, wagons, and wheels as firewood. During the 1849 gold rush, Fort Laramie was known as "Camp Sacrifice" because of the large amounts merchandise discarded nearby. Travelers had pushed along the relatively easy path to Fort Laramie with their luxury items but discarded them before the difficult mountain crossing ahead, and after discovering that many items could be purchased at the forts or located for free along the way. Some travelers carried their excess goods to Salt Lake City to be sold.

Professional tools used by blacksmiths, carpenters, and farmers were carried by nearly all. Axes, crow bars, hammers, hatchets, hoes, mallets, mattocks, picks, planes, saws, scythes, and shovels were used to clear or make a road through brush or trees, cut down the banks to cross a wash or steep banked stream, build a raft or bridge, or repair the wagon. In general, as little road work as possible was done. Travel was often along the top of ridges to avoid the brush and washes common in many valleys.

Statistics

Estimated California Oregon Mormon Trail Emigrants

Some of the trail statistics for the early years were recorded by the U.S. Army at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, from about 1849 to 1855. None of these original statistical records have been found-the Army either lost them or destroyed them. Only some partial written copies of the Army records and notes recorded in several diaries have survived.

Emigration to California spiked considerably with the 1849 gold rush. Following the discovery of gold, California remained the destination of choice for most emigrants on the trail up to 1860, with almost 200,000 people traveling there between 1849 and 1860.

Travel diminished after 1860, as the Civil War caused considerable disruptions on the trail. Many of the people on the trail in 1861-1863 were fleeing the war and its attendant drafts in both the south and the north. Trail historian Merrill J. Mattes has estimated the number of emigrants for 1861-1867 given in the total column of the above table. But these estimates may well be low since they only amount to an extra 125,000 people, and the 1870 census shows that over 200,000 additional people (ignoring most of the population increase in California, which had excellent sea and rail connections across Panama by then) showed up in all the states served by the Bozeman, California, Mormon, and Oregon Trail(s) and their offshoots.

Mormon emigration records after 1860 are reasonably accurate, as newspaper and other accounts in Salt Lake City give most of the names of emigrants arriving each year from 1847 to 1868. Gold and silver strikes in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon caused a considerable increase in people using the trails, often in directions different from the original trail users.

Though the numbers are significant in the context of the times, far more people chose to remain at home in the 31 states. Between 1840 and 1860, the population of the United States rose by 14 million, yet only about 300,000 decided to make the trip. Many were discouraged by the cost, effort and danger of the trip. Western scout Kit Carson is thought to have said, "The cowards never started and the weak died on the way", though the general saying was written by Joaquin Miller, in reference to the California gold rush. According to several sources, 3 to 10 percent of the emigrants are estimated to have perished on the way west.

Many who went were between the ages 12 and 24. Between 1860 and 1870, the U.S. population increased by seven million; about 350,000 of this increase was in the Western states.

Western census data

These census numbers show a 363,000 population increase in the western states and territories between 1860 and 1870. Some of this increase is because of a high birth rate in the western states and territories, but most is from emigrants moving from the east to the west and new immigration from Europe. Much of the increase in California and Oregon is from emigration by ship, as there was fast and reasonably low cost transportation via east and west coast steamships and the Panama Railroad after 1855. The census numbers imply at least 200,000 emigrants (or more) used some variation of the California/Oregon/Mormon/Bozeman trails to get to their new homes between 1860 and 1870.

The cost of traveling over the Oregon Trail and its extensions varied from nothing to a few hundred dollars per person. Women seldom went alone. The cheapest way was to hire on to help drive the wagons or herds, allowing one to make the trip for nearly nothing or even make a small profit. Those with capital could often buy livestock in the Midwest and drive the stock to California or Oregon for profit. About 60 to 80 percent of the travelers were farmers and as such already owned a wagon, livestock team, and many of the necessary supplies. This lowered the cost of the trip to about $50 per person for food and other items. Families planned the trip months in advance and made much of the extra clothing and many other items needed. Individuals buying most of the needed items would end up spending between $150-$200 per person. As the trail matured, additional costs for ferries and toll roads were thought to have been about $30 per wagon.

The route west was arduous and fraught with many dangers, but the number of deaths on the trail is not known with any precision; there are only wildly varying estimates. Estimating is difficult because of the common practice of burying people in unmarked graves that were intentionally disguised to avoid their being dug up by animals or natives. Graves were often put in the middle of a trail and then run over by the livestock to make them difficult to find. Disease was the main killer of trail travelers; cholera killed up to 3 percent of all travelers in the epidemic years from 1849 to 1855.

Native attacks increased significantly after 1860, when most of the army troops were withdrawn, and miners and ranchers began fanning out all over the country, often encroaching on Native American territory. Increased attacks along the Humboldt led to most travelers' taking the Central Nevada Route. The Goodall cutoff, developed in Idaho in 1862, kept Oregon bound travelers away from much of the native trouble nearer the Snake River. Other trails were developed that traveled further along the South Platte to avoid local Native American hot spots.

Other common causes of death included hypothermia, drowning in river crossings, getting run over by wagons, and accidental gun deaths. Later, more family groups started traveling, and many more bridges and ferries were being put in, so fording a dangerous river became much less common and dangerous. Surprisingly few people were taught to swim in this era. Being run over was a major cause of death, despite the wagons' only averaging 2-3 miles per hour. The wagons could not easily be stopped, and people, particularly children, were often trying to get on and off the wagons while they were moving-not always successfully. Another hazard was a dress getting caught in the wheels and pulling the person under. Accidental shootings declined significantly after Fort Laramie, as people became more familiar with their weapons and often just left them in their wagons. Carrying around a ten-pound rifle all day soon became tedious and usually unnecessary, as the perceived threat of natives faded and hunting opportunities receded.

A significant number of travelers were suffering from scurvy by the end of their trips. Their typical flour and salted pork/bacon diet had very little vitamin C in it. The diet in the mining camps was also typically low in fresh vegetables and fruit, which indirectly led to early deaths of many of the inhabitants. Some believe that scurvy deaths may have rivaled cholera as a killer, with most deaths occurring after the victim reached California.

Miscellaneous deaths included deaths by childbirth, falling trees, flash floods, homicides, kicks by animals, lightning strikes, snake bites, and stampedes. According to an evaluation by John Unruh, a 4 percent death rate or 16,000 out of 400,000 total pioneers on all trails may have died on the trail.

Other trails west

There were other possible migration paths for early settlers, miners, or travelers to California or Oregon besides the Oregon trail prior to the establishment of the transcontinental railroads.

From 1821 to 1846, the Hudson's Bay Company twice annually used the York Factory Express overland trade route from Fort Vancouver to Hudson Bay then on to London. James Sinclair led a large party of nearly 200 settlers from the Red River Colony in 1841. These northern routes were largely abandoned after Britain ceded its claim to the southern Columbia River basin by way of the Oregon Treaty of 1846.

The longest trip was the voyage of about 13,600 to 15,000 miles (21,900 to 24,100 km) on an uncomfortable sailing ship rounding the treacherous, cold, and dangerous Cape Horn between Antarctica and South America and then sailing on to California or Oregon. This trip typically took four to seven months (120 to 210 days) and cost about $350 to $500. The cost could be reduced to zero if you signed on as a crewman and worked as a common seaman. The hundreds of abandoned ships, whose crews had deserted in San Francisco Bay in 1849-50, showed many thousands chose to do this.

Another possible route consisted of taking a ship to Mexico traversing the country and then catching another ship out of Acapulco, Mexico to California etc. This route was used by some adventurous travelers but was not too popular because of the difficulties of making connections and the often hostile population along the way.

Running from 1857 to 1861, the Butterfield Stage Line won the $600,000/yr. U.S. mail contract to deliver mail to San Francisco, California. As dictated by southern Congressional members, the 2,800-mile (4,500 km) route ran from St. Louis, Missouri through Arkansas, Oklahoma Indian Territory, Texas, New Mexico Territory, and across the Sonora Desert before ending in San Francisco, California. Employing over 800 at its peak, it used 250 Concord Stagecoaches seating 12 very crowded passengers in three rows. It used 1,800 head of stock, horses and mules and 139 relay stations to ensure the stages ran day and night. A one way fare of $200 delivered a very thrashed and tired passenger into San Francisco in 25 to 28 days. After traveling the route, New York Herald reporter Waterman Ormsby said, "I now know what Hell is like. I've just had 24 days of it."

The ultimate competitor arrived in 1869, the First Transcontinental Railroad, which cut travel time to about seven days at a low fare of about $60 (economy)

One of the enduring legacies of the Oregon Trail is the expansion of the United States territory to the West Coast. Without the many thousands of United States settlers in Oregon and California, and thousands more on their way each year, it is highly unlikely that this would have occurred.

Arts, entertainment, and media

The western expansion, and the Oregon Trail in particular, inspired numerous creative works about the settlers' experiences.

Commemorative coin

The Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar was coined to commemorate the route. Issued intermittently between 1926 and 1939, 202,928 were sold to the public. With 131,050 minted in 1926, that year's issue remains readily available for collectors.

The Oregon Trail has featured in various songs, especially in western music genres.

"The Oregon Trail" is a song written by Peter DeRose and Billy Hill, recorded by singing cowboy artist Tex Ritter in 1935, and by Australian country musician Tex Morton in 1936.

Woody Guthrie wrote and recorded a song entitled "Oregon Trail" while travelling in the region in 1941. It was the opening track in his Columbia River Collection album.

The story of the Oregon Trail inspired the educational video game series The Oregon Trail, which became widely popular in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In 2014 a musical named The Trail to Oregon!, based on The Oregon Trail game, with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim and a book by Jeff Blim, Nick Lang and Matt Lang was performed in Chicago and later posted to YouTube by StarKid Productions.

Television

The Oregon Trail was a television series that ran from September 22 through October 26, 1977, on NBC. The show stars Rod Taylor, Tony Becker, Darleen Carr, Charles Napier, and Ken Swofford. Although the show was canceled after six episodes, the remaining seven episodes were later aired on BBC 2 in the United Kingdom, the entire series was shown in the UK on BBC1, from November 1977 to January 1978, and on April 13, 2010, Timeless Media Group (TMG) released in the USA the entire show on six DVDs, running 750 minutes. The set includes 14 original episodes, including the feature-length pilot and the six episodes that did not air on NBC.

The episode of Teen Titans Go! titled "Oregon Trail" parodies expeditions that took place on the Oregon Trail, as well as the 1985 video game The Oregon Trail.

The animated movie Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary portrays the expedition of a dozen wagons to Oregon, part of which was the young Calamity Jane.

In Spanish: Senda de Oregón para niños

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Introduction
The United States began building a transcontinental railroad in 1863 to connect the East Coast with the West Coast. Work began from both sides of the country, meeting at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. During those six years workers laid some 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) of track from Nebraska to California. Today various freight and passenger railroads still use sections of the line.

Up until the mid-1800s in the United States, people had few ways to get from the East Coast to the West Coast. They could travel by wagon train or stagecoach overland, by ship around South America, or by ship to Panama, where they took a railroad to that country's western coast and boarded a second ship to go back north to the United States. The journeys were long, expensive, and arduous. To ease the transportation difficulties, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862. This act set aside land and money to build a transcontinental railroad. It also appointed the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroads to perform the work.

From The Days of a Man, Being Memories of a Naturalist, Teacher, and Minor Prophet of Democracy, by David Starr Jordan, Vol. 1, 1922

Railroads already connected many of the larger cities in the east by the time the decision was made to link the East and West Coasts. The Union Pacific Railroad was tasked with building westward from Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad started from Sacramento, California, and worked eastward. A group of California businessmen later called the "Big Four"- Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, Collis P. Huntington, and Mark Hopkins -controlled the Central Pacific. Thomas C. Durant oversaw the Union Pacific at the time.

Financing the Railroad
Through the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, the U.S. government provided the companies with financial support for the major undertaking. Each company received long-term loans in the form of government bonds, with the amount of the bonds tied to the amount of track laid. The government also awarded the companies sizable parcels of land along the entire length of their route, making the endeavor a competition between the sides. Each company had an incentive to work quickly to secure a longer route and thus more land and bonds. In 1864 a second Pacific Railway Act increased the financial incentives.

During the project Durant almost forced the Union Pacific into bankruptcy by siphoning money from the railroad for his personal gain. The illegal manipulation of contracts by the Union Pacific's construction and finance company, Crédit Mobilier, became known as the Crédit Mobilier Scandal. Several U.S. Congressmen were implicated in the scandal.

Building the Railroad
Although the Central Pacific began laying tracks in 1863, the American Civil War disrupted the work of the Union Pacific in the Midwest. That company was not able to begin construction until the war ended in 1865. The Union Pacific subsequently hired hundreds of former soldiers, as well as numerous Irish immigrants; a large Mormon contingent helped with the tracks in Utah. The workers were able to lay tracks quickly through Nebraska and Wyoming, encountering little difficulty over the flat terrain. However, they met with resistance from several Native American peoples, including the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Angered that the railroad was being built through their lands, Native Americans raided the railroad camps and destroyed the tracks and equipment. Those actions often led to violent skirmishes with the railroad workers.

Meanwhile, Crocker was in charge of hiring for the Central Pacific. He had difficulty finding men willing to do the strenuous work, and in 1865 he began hiring Chinese laborers. Within a few years most of his workforce was made up of Chinese, to whom he paid lower wages than white workers. The track-laying advancement was slow as the workers battled the snow and cold of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In addition, they faced the danger of using nitroglycerin and other explosives to blast tunnels through the granite; some workers were killed in the explosions. Once past the mountains, the Central Pacific workers picked up speed. They had crossed Nevada by 1868.

By early 1869 the two railroads came close to meeting up with each other. In April officials designated Promontory Summit in northern Utah as the connection spot. On May 10 the two railroads met, with Stanford and Durant driving in the last ceremonial gold-plated spikes to join the tracks. Telegraph messages were sent out to all parts of the country announcing the feat. In total, the Central Pacific laid about 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) of track, while the Union Pacific finished some 1,100 miles (1,775 kilometers). The completed transcontinental railroad was variously called the Pacific Railroad or the Overland Route.

Effects of the Railroad
The transcontinental railroad reduced the travel time between the East and West Coasts from as long as six months to under two weeks. It not only allowed more ease of movement for people but also for freight. As goods were distributed more quickly, demand increased and the U.S. economy expanded. However, the transcontinental railroad helped to bring about the end of the traditional way of life for many Native Americans. The railroad divided Indian lands and brought settlers, who encroached on the lands even further. It also carried hunters, who decimated the immense herds of bison, on which Native Americans relied for food and clothing. The unrest caused fighting between the Native Americans and the U.S. military. Within a few decades of the completion of the railroad, most Native American camps were destroyed and the survivors moved to reservations.

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Introduction The United States began building a transcontinental railroad in 1863 to connect the East Coast with the West Coast. Work began from both sides of the country, meeting at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. During those six years workers laid some 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) of track from Nebraska to California.

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First Transcontinental Railroad
History >>Westward Expansion

The First Transcontinental Railroad stretched from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. No longer would people travel in long wagon trains that took months to reachCalifornia. They could now travel faster, safer, and cheaper by train. In addition to people, things like mail, supplies, and trade goods could now be shipped across the country in just a few days. The railroad was built between 1863 and 1869.

Background

The first talk of a transcontinental railroad started around 1830. One of the first promoters of the railroad was a merchant named Asa Whitney. Asa tried hard for many years to get Congress to pass an act to build the railroad, but failed. However, in the 1860s Theodore Judah began to lobby for a railroad. He surveyed the Sierra Nevada Mountains and found a pass where the railroad could be built.

The Route

There were two main routes along which people wanted the first railroad to be built.

One route was called the "central route". It followed much the same route as the Oregon Trail. It would begin in Omaha, Nebraska and end up in Sacramento, California.

The other route was the "southern route". This route would stretch across Texas, New Mexico, and end up in Los Angeles, California.

The central route was eventually chosen by Congress.

Route of the First Transcontinental Railroad by Unknown

Pacific Railroad Act

In 1862President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law. The act said that there were two main railroad lines. The Central Pacific Railroad would come from California and the Union Pacific Railroad would come from the Midwest. The two railroads would meet somewhere in the middle.

The act gave the railroad companies land where they could build the railroad. It also paid them for each mile that they built. They were paid more money for miles of track built in themountains versus miles of track built on the flat plains.

Building the Railroad

Across the Continent
by Joseph Becker

Building the railroad was tough, hard work. Weather conditions were especially tough in the mountains during the winter. A lot of times the only way to travel over the mountains was to go through the mountains by blasting a tunnel. The Central Pacific Railroad had to blast a number of tunnels through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The longest tunnel built was 1659 feet long. It took a long time to build the tunnels. They were able to blast around one foot per day on average.

While the Central Pacific Railroad had to deal with mountains and snow, the Union Pacific Railroad was challenged byNative Americans raids. As the Native Americans came to realize the threat to their way of life that the "Iron Horse" was going to bring, they began to raid the railroad work sites. Also, a lot of the land that was "granted" to the railroad by the government was actually Native American land.

The Workers

The majority of the workers on the Union Pacific Railroad were Irish laborers, many who had served in both the Union and the Confederate armies. In Utah, a lot of the track was built by Mormon workers. Most of the Central Pacific Railroad was built by Chinese immigrants.

The Golden Spike

The two railroads finally met at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869. Leland Stanford, governor of California and president of the Central Pacific Railroad, drove in the last spike. This final spike was called the "Golden Spike" or "The Final Spike". You can see it today at Stanford University in California.

Driving the Golden Spike on 10th May, 1869
by American School

Interesting Facts about the First Transcontinental Railroad

The Pony Express traveled a similar route to the central route and helped to prove that the route was passable in winter.

The transcontinental railroad was also called the Pacific Railroad and the Overland Route.

The total length of the First Transcontinental Railroad was 1,776 miles.

The Central Pacific Railroad was controlled by four men called the "Big Four". They were Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker.

It was later, in November of 1869, when the Central Pacific connected San Francisco to Sacramento.

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Works Cited

History >>Westward Expansion

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Kids learn about the First Transcontinental Railroad. Fun facts about the route, the Union Pacific, and the Pacific Railroad Act.

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Transcontinental Railroad Facts for Kids

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The Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad built across the United States of America. The building of it started when Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 into law. Much of it was built by the Central Pacific Railroad, building east from Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific Railroad building West from Omaha, Nebraska.

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Did You Know: Manifest Destiny | Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Westward Expansion: Crash Course US History #24