Gateway+to+the+West

__Gateway to the West__ At the beginning of the 19th century, the U.S. government and private American businesses had the desire to expand west. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson asked his adventurous friend Meriwether Lewis to find a passable route to the Pacific Ocean. Not only would this be a dangerous task because of the unsettled frontier land that the expedition would have to navigate, but it also meant that the pioneer would be entering British soil. President Jefferson sent Lewis the following directions: "The Object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by its course & communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across the continent, for the purposes of commerce." In May of 1804, Lewis and co-leader William Clark guided a group of a few dozen men west up the Missouri River in search of the Pacific Ocean. President Jefferson hoped that they would find a simple way west for emigrants and traders. He also wanted Lewis and Clark to gather scientific information about the region because no white man had previously documented the plants and animals of the West. William Clark confirmed that the team eventually reached the Pacific on December 5th, 1805: "We now discover that we have found the most practicable and navigable passage across the continent of North America." Actually Lewis and Clark's trail would prove to be practical only when on foot. Their journey did however blaze the trail for other pioneers including the Astorians, Pike and Long, the Fur Trading Companies, and explorer John Fremont. Fremont was hired by his father-in-law, Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, to make the west seem attractive to others who he hoped would settle the west. Fremont's reports, which were really written by his articulate wife, inspired many in the east to want to move westward. **Manifest Destiny** Senator Benton held the popular 19th century belief that the United States was destined by God to expand across the continent. Believers in the theory proposed that it was the "mission" of Americans to spread their "virtuous" institutions and to remake the world the image of the United States.

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There were various reasons why people decided to move west.Some emigrants wanted to colonize Oregon country on behalf of the United States.Others like the Mormons tried to avoid the religious persecution they faced in the east.Increasingly, many moved west following the discovery of gold in California in 1848.Whatever their reason was for heading west, the emigrants faced many hardships and uncertainties. According to estimates, 1 out of 10 died along the 2,000 mile trail. Some walked the entire trail by foot, while others took wagons. Among the difficulties the emigrants faced were cholera, poor sanitation, finding food, and dangerous wild animals. Between 1843-1868 approximately half a million people traveled west along the Oregon Trail.
 * Life on the Trail**

**Alternate Routes?**The creation of the Oregon Trail led to a huge expansion of usable U.S. territory. Prior to it's establishment the most effective way to get to the west coast was a costly and long lasting trip from an east coast port around the tip of South America. By sea the trip took about one year, in comparison to 4-6 months by wagon. Movement along the trail came to halt with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. media type="custom" key="14219578"

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Jefferson directions to Lewis:Federal Writers Project, //The Oregon trail: the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean// (1939), p.215  Manifest Destiny:   William Earl Weeks, //Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War// (1996), p.61   Manifest Destiny Painting:   John Gast, //American Progress// (1872)   Life on the Trail Painting:   Albert Bierstadt, //Oregon Trail (Campfire)// (1863)