the Oregon Trail blog
| Why did people want to go on the Oregon Trail in the old days?There were several starting points in Nebraska Territory, Iowa and Missouri. These met along the lower part of Plate River Valley which was locate |
What are three things that people needed to take with them on the Oregon Trail? they needed 120-200 pounds of flour in canvas sacks
30 pounds of hardtack or crackers
25-75 pounds of bacon
15 pounds ground corn
½ bushel cornmeal
10-50 pounds of rice
2 pounds of saleratus (an early form of baking soda)
10 pounds of salt
25 pounds of sugar
5-15 pounds of coffee
2 pounds of tea
1-2 bushels of dried fruit (often apples)
½ – 2 bushels of dried beans
Vinegar, butter preserved in tin canisters, salt, pepper, spices, lemon extract
Whiskey or brandy for medicinal purposeshttps://www.jobcarrmuseum.org/blog/oregon-trail-foods-preparing-for-the-journey
What were some hard things that people had to deal with on the Oregon Trail?
This dangerous journey was about 2,170 miles (3,500 km) long and usually took four to six months.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trail#/media/File:Wpdms_nasa_topo_oregon_trail.jpg
People traveled in groups called wagon trains. Why was it a good idea to travel with others on the Oregon Trail? There were many reasons for the westward movement to Oregon and California. Economic problems upset farmers and businessmen. Free land in Oregon and the possibility of finding gold in California lured them westward. At the same time, eastern churches wanted to teach American Indians of the Oregon Country their European ideas of “civilization.” Many simply hoped for a chance to start a new life. But it was not until 1841 that the first group with serious plans to emigrate to the Oregon area left the banks of the Missouri River and headed west. In 1843 nearly 1,000 completed the trip with many more to follow.
https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1800-1849/routes-west/the-oregon-trail
What are two different kinds of places people saw while traveling on the Oregon Trail?Oregon Trail, in U.S. history, an overland trail between Independence, Missouri, and Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon, in the Willamette River valley. It was one of the two main emigrant routes to the American West in the 19th century, the other being the southerly Santa Fe Trail from Independence to Santa Fe (now in New Mexico). In addition, branches from each main trail provided connections to destinations in California, and a spur of the northerly Oregon route, part of the Oregon Trail, led to the Great Salt Lake region of what is now northern Utah.
