The Trails West
by: Haley Karr
And the journey begins...
Their are two men that started it all. Jedediah Smith and Jim Beckwourth tried to meet demand. Settlers followed trails through the West to gain land and to make a fortune. Which those two men were doing. They trapped animals in the far west and sell the fur for profit. Sedediah Smith discovered the South Path through the Rockies to make their route to the West much easier to navigate.Very smart of him.
The Mormon Trail
Now this trail was used for different reasons. They would come for religious freedom. Founded by Joesph Smith, the Mormons were seen as immoral to eastern Christians, but that got changed. Smith was killed, then Brigham came. He moved the merchants to Utah to find peace for them. They would all work together to make the desert land of Utah fertile and liveable. They finally got what they wanted, peace and freedom.
The West.
The whole point the settlers moved west was to make money and have new lands. The exploration gave them information leading the pioneers West along the trails. As the land was getting sold, and people moved west, Merchants moved West to sell goods to the new settlers that just arrived. This was also dangerous on the way.
Santa Fe Trail
After Mexico gained independence from Spain, the Santa Fe trail led traders from Missouri to New Mexico. They did that to make a profit. The traders had to go through the desert to get there. The trail was pretty brutal. hundreds of more people decided to use the Oregon Trail.
The Oregon Trail
During this brutal journey, settlers were dying. They would fear sickness, or death on the road West, but for them, traveling to Oregon was worth it. Hundreds of settlers traveled to New Mexico, but even more traveled on the Oregon Trail to settle there. Settlers going to Oregon hoped to become wealthy/ rich. Tons of settlers would just keep coming and move there each year.