Chapter 7

Section 2: Trails to the West

Crossing the Appalachians

•Several main roads west•From Northeast- Mohawk trail into west NY

•From Philadelphia- Forber’s Road to Pittsburgh & then voyage west on the Ohio River

•From Baltimore- went to Pittsburgh on Braddocks Road

•From Mid- Atlantic States- Cumberland Road or National Road

•From South- Great Valley Road or Richmond Road

Settling the Wilderness

•Daniel Boone–Employed to cut Wilderness Rd through the Cumberland Gap

–1792- 75,000 pioneers settled in Kentucky

–Became the 15th state

•1830’s–Ohio- 1,000,000–Indiana- 350,000–Illinois 150,000–98,000 slaves move west between 1790 & 1810

Forcing Native Americans West

•Government developed a plan to help settlers by pressing the eastern tribes to move farther west to the Louisiana Territory

•Land was unfit for farming

Expanding into Florida

•Spanish Occupation–1795 Pinckney’s Treaty–Southern boundary of the US was set at 31N latitude

–US citizens would be allowed free use of the Mississippi River

•Spain & the US agreed to control the Natives living within their borders & to prevent them from attacking each other’s territories

•US annexed west Florida by 1810

•Seminole led raids on settlements in Georgia

The Seminole Wars

•General Andrew Jackson was sent to put them down

•Burned villages, captured towns & within a few weeks claim possession of the entire west part of Florida

•Secretary of State John Quincy Adams accused Spain of breaking the treaty for not controlling the Seminoles

Adams-Onis Treaty

•Spain ceded Florida to the US

•Fixed the boundary between the LA purchase & Spanish territory in the west–Present day Texas

Bound for the Pacific

•Believed the US had a divine mission to spread liberty across the continent “manifest destiny”

•The Oregon Country–Northern California to Southern Alaska

•Magnificent mountains, endless forests, & fertile valleys

•4 different nations claimed rights to the Oregon country–US, GB, Russia, & Spain–1818- US & GB signed a treaty agreeing to it’s occupation

Convention of 1818

•Disregarded the wishes of native Americans who lived there

•1819- Adams- Onis Treaty•Spain gave up its claim to the

region•1825- Russia gave up its claim

Overland Travelers

•1842- organized wagon trains carried people west

•Met in Independence, Missouri

•Oregon Trail•Took 4-6 months & was expensive & exhausting

•Reasons to move west–Obtain land–Trade goods–Challenge & independence of life on the frontier

•Good relations between the pioneers & Natives

•Santa Fe Trail•Used to go to Mexican Territory•By 1845 more than 5,000

migrated to Oregon & demanded complete control of the area

•Treaty of 1846 US & GB agreed to divide the Oregon Country along the 49th parallel

Mormon Migrations

•Harassed by neighbors & condemned for their beliefs

•Moved to Ohio & then to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839

•Smith was killed by an angry mob because of polygamy

Brigham Young

•Becomes their new leader & moved outside the US border to the Great Salt Lake

•Mormon Trail•By 1850 more than 11,000 settled

•Prospered as farmers & traders by skillfully irrigating their desert region & by selling food & supplies to pioneers

Gold Rush

•January 1848- gold was discovered

•August- 4,000 gold crazed prospectors swarmed the land

•Population explored to 200,000 by 1852

•Mostly unmarried men•10% were Chinese•Impact on California

–Bad for Natives–Made them slaves in their mines

•Brought commercial prosperity to cities along the Pacific Coast

•Mining towns usually had short lives

•Ghost towns