Lecture Structure: Mini lecture, play Oregon Trail video game, watch Ask a Mortician video about the Donner Party, answer questions, and complete an assignment with quizzes and paragraph responses.
Focus Questions:
Why did people risk death on the Oregon Trail?
Why were they going west?
What was manifest destiny?
Narcissa and Narcissa Whitman
Married on February 18, 1836; headed west the next day as Methodist missionaries to Washington State.
Route: Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri, through the Willamette Valley in Oregon (about 2,000 miles).
Trail Details:
Followed the Platte River (source of drinking water and disease).
Narcissa: The first woman to attempt the trip; first group with wagons.
Skepticism: Doubts about women and wagons navigating the steep south pass through the Rockies.
Impact:
Success led to more travelers; by 1843, over a thousand people had made the trek.
Migration aimed primarily at the far west (Washington, Oregon, California).
Native American Impact
Land not empty: Home to many Native American nations.
1847 Measles Epidemic:
Brought by new settlers to Whitman's town.
Resulted in the death of half of the Cayuse Indians, including nearly all children.
Cayuse response: Blamed whites, killed Narcissa, Narcissa Whitman, and 12 other settlers.
Leader's justification: Referenced missionary teachings about Christ’s sacrifice.
Westward Migration by 1860
Despite increasing violence, over 300,000 Americans had made the trip west.
Evidence: Wagon ruts still visible in the landscape.