The Oregon Trail on the North American continent was established by fur traders and explorers. It was the most extensive overland route used in the Westward Expansion of the United States. Settlers, ranchers and others followed the Trail through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon in a migration to the Pacific Northwest. They traveled the great distance in wagons, on horseback and on foot in order to establish new farms and businesses in the Oregon territory. At the time it was the only efficient way for settlers with their supplies and livestock to cross the Rocky Mountains.
The first mass travel on the Oregon Trail was undertaken by 900 immigrants during the Great Migration of 1843. This mass migration had many problems including shortages of food, water and wood. Furthermore, there were many deaths resulting from Indian attacks, disease and firearm accidents. By 1883 railroads crisscrossed the continent, replacing the Oregon Trail and making it obsolete.
-Alexa
No comments:
Post a Comment