Trails West
Between 1800 and 1870, nearly half a million Americans set out across the frontier on the many trails that led west from settled America. Whether they took the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon-California Trail, the Mormon Trail, or one of many others, these trappers, traders, farmers, and families set out on a journey of discovery. Lured by promises—of gold, of lucrative trade, or of fertile farmland—these pioneers endured weeks and even months of arduous travel across vast plains and arid deserts and over high mountain passes to reach their destination and build the communities that defined the American West. The trails they blazed helped pave the way for the civilizing of the West.
The First Expeditions
Until the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (see Chapter 1), the western boundary of the United States was the Mississippi River. Mere political boundaries had never stopped trappers and traders from traveling beyond the Mississippi, but before 1803 there were no organized settlements west of the great river. With the Louisiana Purchase, however, the vast lands to the west of the Mississippi were suddenly opened to organized exploration and settlement. The first of several expeditions to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory was led by Captains Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) and William Clark (1770–1838).
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