Manifest Destiny and Wagons West

I. Jedediah Smith and the Mountain Men

A. Jedediah Smith1. -

B. Mountain men spent most of their year alone trapping, hunting, and exploring the West

C. Rendezvous1. -

With your partners

• Come up with a list of 10 things you would want to bring with you out west in order to survive. (Must be items from 1840’s, no Cell phones)

Basic mountain man gear• Green River Knife(s)• Double axe • Bag of Possibles (razor, mirror, needles,

thread, flint and steel, etc…)• Two rifles and ammo• One or two pistols and ammo• Selection of beaver traps• Lead Mold (for balls)• Powder Horn (few pounds of black powder)• Cooking Pot(s)• Two horses possibly a mule• Saddle bags to hold supplies/food

Trails West

II. Lure to the West?

A. Land Speculators1. -

B. What was the lure?1. -2. -3. -4. -

The Oregon Trail

III. Oregon Trail

A. Stretches from Independence Missouri to Oregon Territory

B. Missionaries sent back reports that the land in Oregon was rich

1. Reports said: “wheat grew as tall as men, pigs ran about cooked and ready to eat, and the sun never fell”

C. Oregon fever broke as 3000 people made the 2000 mile journey west

IV. Hardships

A. Families headed west joined together and formed wagon trains

1. Knowing the hardships to come wagon train members agreed on rules and elected leaders for the journey

2. Everything from weather, natives, illness, and terrain threatened families headed west