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When God made man, The great movement into the West was truly one of the one of the most interesting periods of this nations history. The period of time between the 1840's to the 1890's represent one of the greatest movements of humanity we will ever see in this country and is part of an era we will never see again. The heartiness and stamina of the people involved are evidence of an American Spirit that is the touch stone of our nations conscience.
The Pioneers in Time Many events occurred that led to the opening of the west for settlement. 1800 1803 1804 - 1806 1805 - 1807 1811 1812 - 1814 1818 1828 1830 1836 1842 - 1845 1843 1845 1846 1847 1848 1854 1860 1861 - 1865 1862 1869 1874 1889 The Trails
Emigrants had a choice of trails to take to their new homes in the West. By 1850 most of the United States east of the the Missouri River had already met the Census Bureau's definition of settled land - 2 or more persons per square mile. For those people interested in farming and settling in expanses of land the eastern United States was overcrowded. The Great Plains, also known as the "Great American Desert" to some people, presented an opportunity to re-establish in new and boundless territory. The chief route west was the Oregon Trail, which began in Independence Missouri, and terminated in the Northwest. An offshoot, the California Trail, climbed the Sierra and ended in Sacramento. Another route, used by the Mormons, led to the Salt Lake Valley. The main artery to the Southwest was the Santa Fe Trail, which linked up with two routes to southern California, The Gila River Trail and the Old Spanish Trail. Traffic on the trails grew by leaps and bounds. Estimated numbers of pioneers using the various routes are as follows: 1841 69 Factors Contributing To Western Expansion Financial Woes In 1837 the nation suffered its first major financial collapse, the result of irresponsible money and banking policies and speculation in public lands during the Andrew Jackson administration. During May of the year 1837, the major New York Banks closed and in the ensuing panic banks all over the country also closed. The depression that followed caused agricultural prices to plummet, farm surpluses clogged the produce markets and farmers could not meet the mortgage payments on their land. These farmers headed for free land on the west coast. Epidemics Epidemics of sickness also drove people to the West. In the East, more people died of such diseases as typhoid, dysentery, tuberculosis, scarlet fever and malaria than from any other cause. Yellow fever so decimated the population of New Orleans and settlements along the Mississippi River to the north that the regional death rate exceeded its birth rate for nearly a century. and in the 1830s an epidemic of cholera, which had started in Asia, rampaged through Europe, and came across the Atlantic on passenger ships, struck the East Coast and spread inland. The disease raged for almost two decades, killing some 30,000 in 1850 alone. The Civil War The American Civil War would send another wave of pioneers to the West. In the aftermath of the war, thousands looked for an escape from their devastated homes. To all these people the West was a means to achieve health, wealth and happiness. To learn more visit:
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