Viewpoints on the Oregon Trail and Westward Expansion
Second Source Find an outside source that describes life along the Oregon Trail Compare the information from your source to the information here How are they alike How are they different our wagon with everything we own and joined a big group of other folks headed in the same direction There’s safety in numbers says Pa though he didn’t say what kind of danger he expected to meet We set off from Independence Missouri in May with nearly 1,000 other folks We are in what is called a wagon train The train is not really a train It’s a line of wagons Ours has hundreds of wagons oxen and cattle all in a line as far as the eye can see Pa said we had to choose the time of our leaving carefully If we left too early in the spring there would be no grass yet for the livestock once we reached the plains If we left too late we might get caught in winter storms in the mountains Pa seems awful sure about this I’ve got no choice but to go along and trust him 6
Thousands of wagons making their way along the Oregon Trail wore ruts into the earth Many ruts are still visible today 7
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
If travelers did not reach Wyoming by July 4 it was unlikely that they would reach their final destination before winter a sentinel sounds his bugle and we’re off We stop at noontime to eat This gives the oxen a chance to graze and rest I’m too young to watch but Pa says sometimes officers even hold court and try a person for committing a crime like stealing or damaging someone else’s property No matter what 9
