Western Migration and the Trail

What factors encouraged Western Migration?

• They travelled by covered wagons pulled by horse and oxen.
• There was apparently fertile soil and gold in the West.
• The journey began by steamboat.
• Mormons escaped religious persecution by going West to Salt Lake City.
• There were many wagons in a wagon trail.
• They followed a specific journey/trail like the Oregon trail.
• The trail followed a water source, and was very exhausting for its users.
• The wagons could break, and you'd have to wait for days to fix it.
• Cholera and disease raged in the trails, causing mass deaths.
• Mountainous areas caused many to die of dehydration.
• Survivors of the Donner party ate their previous companions' dead bodies.

The trails

• People travelled across tricky terrain by covered wagon. This gave them shelter and rest. These were typically pulled by horses.
• The journey began with a steamboat crossing over the Mississippi river, then across the Plains, and thgrough the Rocky Mountains to Oregon City.
• Many died of famine, disease (in particular cholera) and dehydration, or from a fall when in the mountains. These risks made the journey tricky.
• It was best to travel when it is not too cold, or you…