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Jeremy Gombos

Mrs. Bommarito

8th US History

16 November 2020

The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail was about 2000 miles (about twice the distance from Florida to New

York City) in length. It went all the way from Independence, Missouri to Oregon city, Oregon. It

started in Missouri and then went to modern day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and

finally, Oregon. The trail was used my American pioneers in the mid 1800s. There was not a

serious expedition until 1841. From there, a lot more people went as well. The main points of the

Oregon Trail were that people used it for spreading the gospel, immigrating, finding gold, and

the legacy it left.

The first missionary group on the trail took foot in 1834. The leader of the group had

them join another bigger group led by Nathaniel Wyeth. For a while, they followed the Platte

River. One of their stops was at the Snake River where Nathanial Wyeth built a post. Later down

the road the post would be bought by the Hudson's Bay company. This outpost became a big

supplier for later emigrants. This group was successfully the first group to make it the whole way

to the Oregon area.

Marcus Whitman, alongside his fellow missionary Henry Harmon Spalding, established

many missions once they reached Oregon. Marcus wanted to go on the trail to prove that it was

not as dangerous as everyone was saying. At the time there were many thieves that would steal

from and trash caravans. Henry had missions with the Nez Perce, and Marcus had missions with

the Cayuse Indians. The Cayuse were located near-modern day Walla Walla, Washington, and

the Nez Perce were located near modern-day Lewiston, Idaho. Marcus’s wife, Narcissa, and
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Henry’s wife, Eliza, were with them on this expedition, making them the first women to cross

the Continental Divide and the South Pass. Later, the board of ministry stopped his missions and

sent him back home.

The Manifest Destiny riled up the Americans to get out and explore the lands far west.

The phrase Manifest Destiny said that the United States was meant by God to expand, colonize,

and spread government and democracy. Plenty of people wanted to go because there was a lot of

free land and they wanted to start a fresh new life. Others went because they were getting

challenged economically, like farmers and businesspeople. With all that land people could claim

as much as they wanted and do whatever they wanted with it. Complete settlement in the west

would have taken a lot longer to happen if it wasn’t for the Oregon Trail.

A man named James Wilson Marshall was working at a sawmill owned by John Sutter.

He was working by the river when he saw tiny flakes of gold John and Wilson tried to keep

things quiet while toe took as much gold as they could get. But news spread like wildfire that

California had a lot of gold, this period of time was called the California gold rush. Hundreds of

thousands of people came as fast as they could. Around 4000 men stopped what they were doing

and went to the gold mines. They all wanted a share of the gold. approximately 2 billion dollars’

worth of pure metals was extracted from California during the Gold rush.

As time went on, more settlements and bigger ones started popping up all over the

country. Then in 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was completed. The Oregon trail was

coming to an end. Over the years the trail’s nature began to change. More advanced forms of

transportation began to parole different places. The railroad slowly began to takeover and more

and more people began to use that over the trail. There were also steamboats now that were used

more frequently. People still used the trail though because the railroad did not reach the Oregon

area till the 80s. then the railroads replaced most of the wagon travel and it was now the main
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way of transportation.

The Oregon trail set the standard for US transportation. It may have not been the safest or

most functional way of transportation, but it worked. Now Americans are spread all throughout

the country. Even to this day, highways still resemble the trail. It had a great impact on America

in many ways. It helped spread Christianity, it helped spread people all around the country, and.

it helped people get the great California gold rush, and it gave the US a legacy to stand by.

Because of it, almost the entire country knows the gospel. The Us would not be the way it is

today if it wasn’t for the trail. There is no whole part of the trail today, but there are still bits and

pieces that are left of it. Would transportation be the same today If it wasn’t for the trail?
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Work Cited

Morris, Gilbert. The Reluctant Bridegroom. Bethany House Publishers, 2005.

History.com Editors. “Oregon Trail.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6 Dec. 2017,

www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/oregon-trail.

Hill, Willieam E. “Wagons.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oregon-Trail

History.com Editors. “Manifest Destiny.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 Apr. 2010,

www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/manifest-destiny.

The Oregon Trail, 0AD, nebraskastudies.org/en/1800-1849/routes-west/the-oregon-trail/.

History.com Editors, None. “California Gold Rush.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6

Apr. 2010, www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/gold-rush-of-1849.