What kind of government did the Oregon settlers live under?
The two countries agreed to “joint occupancy” of the land west of the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. In 1843, settlers established their own government, called the Provisional Government of Oregon. A legislative committee drafted a code of laws known as the Organic Law.
Why did the American government want people to move west on the Oregon Trail?
There were many reasons for the westward movement to Oregon and California. Economic problems upset farmers and businessmen. Free land in Oregon and the possibility of finding gold in California lured them westward.
What were two challenges of traveling on the Oregon Trail?
Obstacles included accidental discharge of firearms, falling off mules or horses, drowning in river crossings, and disease. After entering the mountains, the trail also became much more difficult, with steep ascents and descents over rocky terrain. The pioneers risked injury from overturned and runaway wagons.
Why were settlers attracted to the Oregon Country?
Why were trappers and settlers attracted to Oregon Country? Trappers were attracted because of the plentiful fur-bearing animals; settlers were attracted by the fertile land in certain areas such as the Willamette River valley.
What economic activities would motivate someone to move to the West during the second half of the nineteenth century?
Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada) The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act.
What was the government’s role in westward expansion?
The Federal government’s response included The Homestead Act and the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The goal was to encourage settlement, solidify Union control of the trans-Mississippi West, and further marginalize the physical and cultural presence of tribes native to the West.
What were some of the biggest threats along the Oregon Trail?
Major threats to pioneer life and limb came from accidents, exhaustion, and disease. Crossing rivers were probably the most dangerous thing pioneers did. Swollen rivers could tip over and drown both people and oxen. Such accidents could cause the loss of life and most or all of valuable supplies.
Why did families use the Oregon Trail?
Travelers were inspired by dreams of gold and rich farmlands, but they were also motivated by difficult economic times in the east and diseases like yellow fever and malaria that were decimating the Midwest around 1837.
What was the purpose of going on the Oregon Trail?
The Oregon Trail was a roughly 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, which was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west.
What impact did the Oregon Trail have on society?
Impact on American Society. The Oregon Trail was an important part of American History, especially today in modern day life. Back in the 1800s the impact it had on the people was a drastic one, it gave several people more oppertunity, and gave many of them who completed the journey land to live and work on.
Who led the cow column on the Oregon Trail?
Peter Burnett was chosen captain, and a so-called cow column for slower wagons and herds of livestock was formed with Jesse Applegate as its leader. Applegate would later provide descriptions of life on the Oregon Trail in his memoir, A Day with the Cow Column in 1843.
How many settlers came to Oregon in the 1860s?
By 1860, about fifty-three thousand had traveled overland to Oregon—ten thousand of them in 1852 alone. Gold strikes in Idaho and the beginnings of settlement in central and eastern Oregon kept the trail busy in the 1860s.