Chapter 1 1835 - 1862

• 2 push factor of staying in the east


  economic crisis 1837

  • banks collapsed
  • wages cut by 40%
  • unemployment reached 25%

  Farming crisis 1837

  • Corn price fell
  • Farmers lost money
  • Farmlands over crowded
• Pull factors for migrating west


  Gold rush 1849

  • 100,000 people travelled west
  • Tried to find gold in the west (money)

  The Oregon trail

  • made the route easier (rocky mountains)
  • 1836

  Farmland in Oregon

  • Free and good quality
  • Fresh start in the west after farmland crisis in east
• consequences of gold has 1849


  1848 gold was discovered

  300,000 moved to california

  made an offical state in 1850

  helped the us economy recover after economic crisis
• Name of people who came looking for gold

  Prospectors
• what was manifest destiny 


  the belief that it was settlers God given right to populate America. believed its what god wanted to happen

  encouraged people to settle in the west
• consequences of manifest destiny 


  encouraged settlers to move west

  Could only happen if natives gave up their land
• how long was the Oregon trail


  3200km
• Donner party 


  started in may 1846 (too late)

  300 migrants

  reached the Rocky Mountains and spilt to a “short cut” that had never been tested before, was described as having plenty of grass and water.

  problems

  • hard to follow
  • land was rugged and rocky
  • stretches of desert with little water and grass
  • mid October - snow storms trapped the party
  • only half survived (by eating those who had died)
• Great Plains

  hard to farm

  Called “the great American desert“

  natives had developed ways to survive the tough conditions
• why did they live a nomadic lifestyle

  As buffalo herd were always on the move
• uses of the buffalo 


  tail - whips

  bones - knives

  stomach - buckets, cups and dishes
• Social structure 


  Natives lived in groups called tribes

  Larges ones were called nations

  Most famous ones - Sioux, which was divided into dakota, nakota, lakota
• chiefs and councils

  chiefs - leaders

  tribes could have serval - didn’t necessarily follow the same chief

  chosen for skill and wisdom

  council - declared war and signed treatys
• beliefs about war 


  Survival on plains was rough - many used to raid each other for food, horses , weapons, and people ( only go if likely to survive)

  To minimise death - counting coup - type of “fighting“ where warriors would try touch the enemy during battle rather than kill them - showed skill and bravery
• Beliefs about land 


  Land was sacred - for example Black Hills in South Dakota for the Sioux

  Didn’t believe in owning land - was a gift from spirits

  Survived by hunting , fishing and gathering plants

  Believed farming and mining were disrespectful to the land
• nature and animals

  believed in Waka Tanka - great spirit - who created the world and all life

  treated animals and plants with respect as believed everything in nature had a spi
• What did the americans think of the natives 


  uncivilised savages who didnt make use of their land

  Believed it was their duty to civilse them
• indian removal act - 1830


  Forced natives who still lived in the east to move west of the mississippi river

  president andrew jackson promised the land would be theirs forever
• indian trade and intercourse act 1834 


  The west was officially indigenous territory

  Created a boarder called the permanent indian frontier to seperate it from the eastern states

  Guarded by us army forts
• Indian appropriation act 1851 


  proviced the government funding to move natives into reseravtions - small areas of land for each tribe to live on

  • prevented their nomadic lifestyle
  • meant they were out of the way of settlers
• what changed in the 1840s ?

  america gained new land to the west of the natives territory meaning they were now surrounded by us territory

  settlers would break the treaty and pass through natives land

  president ignored promises if the land being only for natives
• Economic crisis in the east


  Banks collapsed

  1837-1840

  people lost their jobs

  many people looked for a new life in the west
• Oregon trail


  Draw to oregon - excellent farming land

  Trail ran from east Missouri to west Oregon

  Route published by jeddah smith in 1825

  Important because people realised travelling through wilderness was possible

  Eventually used by 400000 people
• Challenges travelling west

  Time

  • Serval months
  • If left before april - wouldnt be enough grass for animals to feed on
  • If left too late ( didnt reach oregon before winter) might freeze to death
  • Oxen pulled wagon - strong but slow

  Geography

  • travel through desert or mountains
  • dangerous
  • at least 20000 to have died along the trail

  disease

  • most frequent disease - cholera
  • because rivers along the way were used for drinking water and toilets
• Donner party

  In 1846 - 300 migrants

  Set off may 1846

  Reached Rocky Mountains in july

  Where around 80 wanted to spilt off into a shortcut - published by lansford hastings

  Hastings had never tried the short cut - he just assumed it would

  In reality the track was rocky and steep

  november - group was caught in a snowstorm in sierra nevada

  Animals died , food ran out and began to starve

  Recused in February

  Only half survived by eating the dead body of other migrants
• Mormon party - background

  Christian stemmed religious gorup by joesph smith in the 1830s

  Views were very unpopular. For example polygamy

  Forced to move from state to state by angry locals who disagreed with their views

  In 1844, mormons fled Illinois after angry mod killed joesph smith

  New leader - Brigham young - decided to move mormons west so they wouldnt be disturbed
• Mormon party - migration


  april 1847 - Brigham young led an advanced party of about 150 mormons

  July 1847 - arrived at salt lake valley - although desert land required a lot of work for it to be suitable for settlers

  Youngs declared “ this is the place “
• Why was the mormon party successful


  journey well planned

  Young researched the route and spoke to explorers and trail guides
• Over population 


  80,000 to 300,000 within 9 years

  Gold prospectors gathered camps where gold was found. Called mining towns
• tensions between settlers and natives

  natives way of life was threatened by sttlers

  settlers used valuable resources like grass

  claimed land - contradicting natives beliefs

  scaring/ killings buffalo only for food - less buffalo for natives
• law and order 


  gambling, alcohol and fights over women

  racism against chinese

  road agents - waited outside mining towns to rob people

  sheriffs not legally trained

  lynching suspects - hanging without trial
• fort laramie treaty 1851

  natives agreed to stop fighting each other, stick to their fixed areas - contradicting their nomadic lifestyle

  let settlers travel safely through and ifnot they have to pay commison if broken

  Government promised the land was theirs and promised to pay 50,000 yearly for years. Could be inform of resourses or food
• Indian trade and intercourse act 1834

  The west was natives territry and boarder was called permeant indian frontier, guarded by us army
• problem settling on the plains - tough soil

  bc land was dry- soil was dry - hard to grow crops as soil was tough
• low rainfall. - problems settling on the plains

  hard to grow crops
• lack of trees

  no wood for housing, fencing, cooking and heating

  early settlers lived in mud houses
• extreme climate 


  grass hard to plough - thick roots

  very hot summers very cold winters - fry land - hard to farm