Viewpoints on the Oregon Trail and Westward Expansion

Viewpoints on the Oregon Trail and Westward Expansion — page 5
Here is a typical day on the wagon train Sentinels wake the camp with rifle fire at 4 o’clock in the morning The early morning hours are the busiest Between 5 and 7 o’clock our camp is bustling with families cooking eating and cleaning up after breakfast They yoke their grazing animals and vie for a good spot in line Sometimes fights break out over which family belongs where in the train By 7 o’clock Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was the term politicians and leaders used to explain why the United States was meant to spread across the entire North American continent It meant the country was destined to expand to the West John O’Sullivan first used the phrase in July 1845 in an article published in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review 8