Wagon train to the West SECTION Step-by-Step Instruction Objectives As you teach this section, keep students focused on the following objectives to help them answer the Section Focus Question and master core content. Trace the settlement and development of the Spanish borderlands. Explain the concept of Manifest Destiny. Describe the causes and challenges of Prepare to Read Background Knowledge Have students recall the efforts of the United States to expand westward early in the nation s history. Ask them to predict what forms expansion might be taking by the 1830s and what the effects on U.S. foreign relations might be. Set a Purpose WITNESS HISTORY Read the selection aloud, or play the audio. Witness History Audio CD, A Pioneer Woman Heads West Ask For what were the Knights looking? (water) How did the Indians help them? (They showed the Knights where to find water and sold them potatoes.) Focus Point out the Section Focus Question and write it on the board. Tell students to refer to this question as they read. (Answer appears with Section 1 Assessment answers.) Preview Have students preview the Section Objectives and the list of Terms and People. Reading Skill Have students use the Reading Strategy: Identify Main Ideas worksheet. Teaching Resources, p. 11 Using the Paragraph Shrinking strategy (TE, p. T20), have students read this section. As they read, have students identify main ideas about westward migration. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide SECTION Objectives Trace the settlement and development of the Spanish borderlands. Explain the concept of Manifest Destiny. Describe the causes and challenges of Terms and People Junípero Serra expansionist Manifest Destiny Santa Fe Trail WITNESS HISTORY Migrating to the West Mountain Men Oregon Trail Brigham Young Treaty of Fort Laramie Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas Outline the main ideas relating to I. Settling the Spanish Borderlands A. Spain Settles New Mexico 1. Colony is sparsely populated 2. B. II. AUDIO A Pioneer Woman Heads West On April 9, 1853, Amelia Stewart Knight left Iowa with her family to join a wagon train headed for Oregon. Her diary describes many of the hazards of the five-month trek, from extreme heat or cold to poisonous water. It also reports encounters some cordial and some tense with Native Americans. In one entry, Knight wrote: After looking in vain for water, we were about to give up as it was near night, when husband came across a company of friendly Cayuse Indians about to camp, who showed him where to find water, half mile down a steep mountain, and we have all camped together, with plenty of pine timber all around us... We bought a few potatoes from an Indian, which will be a treat for our supper. Diary of Mrs. Amelia Stewart Knight, 1853 Why It Matters Since colonial times, Americans seeking economic opportunity had looked westward. By the 1840s, migrants were crossing the Rocky Mountains to Oregon and California. In time, these and other western lands would become part of the United States, helping the nation grow in both wealth and power. Section Focus Question: What were the causes of westward migration? Settling the Spanish Borderlands In 1830, what is now the U.S. Southwest was the Mexican North. Like the former British colonies in the East, this region had a long colonial history, one that dated back to the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Spain Settles New Mexico Founded in 1598, New Mexico was the oldest colony along New Spain s northwestern frontier. Yet, by 1765, only about 9,600 Hispanics lived in New Mexico, half of them in the two major towns of El Paso and Santa Fe. The rest lived on farms and ranches scattered through the long Rio Grande valley. One factor discouraging further settlement was the threat of war with nomadic Native Americans in surrounding areas. Colonists depended for protection on an alliance with local Pueblo Indians. But disease steadily reduced the Pueblo population, from about 14,000 in 1700 to about 10,000 in 1765. Use the information below and the following resource to teach students the high-use words from this section. Teaching Resources, Vocabulary Builder, p. 10 High-Use Word manifest commence Definition and Sample Sentence adj. obvious; clear; plain The fact that slavery was morally wrong was made manifest in a variety of ways. v. to begin a project or enterprise After the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, the fighting commenced in earnest. 298 Manifest Destiny
At the same time, the nomads of the Great Plains, known to the Spanish as Apaches, were becoming more powerful. The Apaches lived by hunting vast herds of buffalo. These hunts became easier after 1680 when the Apaches acquired horses from the Spanish. On horseback, men could see farther, travel faster, and kill their prey more quickly and in greater safety. At the same time, the nomads began to acquire firearms from French traders. The Indians continued to hunt with bows and arrows, but they used guns to wage war. Teach Settling the Spanish Borderlands Warfare Threatens the Colony In 1800, a trader on the Great Plains remarked, This is a delightful country and, were it not for perpetual wars, the natives might be the happiest people on earth. The conflict stemmed largely from competition for the buffalo herds. Well-armed groups, such as the Comanches of the Rocky Mountains and the Lakotas of the Mississippi Valley, spread at the expense of Apaches and other long-time residents of the Great Plains. The defeated Apaches fled west into New Mexico, where they raided Pueblo and Spanish settlements, taking horses, sheep, cattle, and captives. Some Apaches found a haven in the canyons of northwest New Mexico, where they became known as Navajos. The Pueblos taught their Navajo neighbors how to weave, make pottery, grow corn, and herd sheep. But most Apaches remained nomadic hunters. Raids on Spanish settlements became more frequent and destructive, for the Apaches were now armed, mounted, and desperate. The Comanches began to attack New Mexico as well. In 1777, a governor sadly reported that Indian raids had reduced his colony to the most deplorable state and greatest poverty. Spanish officials rescued New Mexico by building stronger frontier defenses and using more flexible diplomacy with the nomads. By providing gifts and weapons, the new officials found it cheaper to form bonds with some nomads than to fight them all. In general, Spain paid Comanche and Navajo allies to attack the Apaches. For the most part, the strategy worked. Although most Apache groups remained defiant, some accepted peace on Spain s terms. And the alliance program did reduce raids on New Mexico. As the colony became safer, its population grew and its economy developed. By 1821, the Hispanic population had grown to about 40,000. Texas Attracts Few Settlers New Mexico s growth and improved security did not extend to Texas, its sister colony to the east along the Gulf of Mexico. In Texas, the nomads were more formidable and the colony remained weaker. The Spanish had founded Texas as a buffer zone to protect the valuable towns and mines of Mexico to the south. Like New Mexico, Texas was a mixture of ranches, missions, and military presidios. But Texas stagnated because few settlers felt attracted to such a distant and poor region subject to nomadic raiders. In 1760, only about 1,200 colonists lived in Texas, primarily in and around San Antonio. Ranchers drove longhorn cattle southward for sale in Mexico. Missions Thrive in California In the 1760s, the Spanish extended their northern buffer zone to the west by colonizing the California coast. They were A Spanish Colonial Mission Many of the oldest buildings in the Southwest are Spanish missions, like this one in Texas. Native Americans were forced to live and work on the mission grounds, where Spanish priests taught them about Christianity. Instruct Introduce: Key Term Write the name Junípero Serra on the board. Tell students that Serra was a Spanish priest who helped settle the Spanish colony of California. Ask students to predict the role that religion might play in this settlement. Teach Discuss with students some of the conflicts and issues of the West at this time. Ask What innovations brought by the Spanish enabled Native Americans to hunt and wage war more effectively? (horses and guns) How did the Spanish slow the constant warfare in New Mexico? (They used diplomacy and gifts and paid several Native American groups to attack the warring Apaches.) Why was the California colony successful for the Spanish when Texas was not? (In California, the Spanish converted many Native Americans to Christianity and this, along with the Native Americans lack of guns and horses, made the area more peaceful, attracting more settlers. Few people were attracted to Texas because it was distant and poor and subject to Native American raids.) Analyzing the Visuals Refer students to the photograph on this page. Ask What role did religion play in Spanish settlement? (Sample response: The Spanish converted the Native Americans to Christianity, which gave them something in common with the Spanish and made them less apt to attack or rebel.) The Navajo Today Once a single people, the Navajo and Apache migrated from present-day Canada to the present-day American Southwest between 800 and 1,100 years ago. There they developed into separate groups, although they retained a similar language. Today, the Navajo Nation is the largest Native American group, with a population of more than 250,000. The Nation s epicenter is the 27,000-squaremile Diné Bikéyah, or Navajoland the Navajo reservation located in parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. In 1923, after the discovery of oil on Navajo land and the subsequent pressure from oil companies to sell it, the Navajo people, who call themselves the Diné, established a formal system of government, which took its current form in 1991. The modern government consists of a three-branch system similar to the U.S. federal government. The legislature, called the Navajo National Council, is made up of 88 delegates who represent 110 communities and meets to discuss important issues and pass legislation in the Navajo language. Chapter 9 Section 1 299
s Independent Practice Have students create Venn diagrams to compare and contrast the Spanish colonies in Texas and California. Ask students to use their Venn diagrams to write brief paragraphs about Spanish settlement in North America. Have students begin to fill in the Note Taking outline for the section by recording main ideas related to Monitor Progress As students fill in their outlines, circulate to make sure that they are including only main ideas, and not details. For a completed version of the outline, see Note Taking Transparencies, B-47. S N E 30 N 120 W North America in 1820 Santa Barbara San Francisco San Jose Monterey Oregon Country (Occupied jointly by U.S. and Great Britain) San Antonio de Padua Los Angeles Pacific Ocean San Luis Obispo San Diego San Gabriel Great Salt Lake San Juan Capistrano Tucson Tubac R o c k British North America (Canada) y M o u Colorado R. n t a i n Spanish Territory Janos Carrizal Rio Grande Taos Santa Fe Albuquerque El Paso Conic Projection 0 200 400 mi 0 200 400 km Missouri R. Unorganized Territory MississippiR. Arkansas Territory Laredo Nacogdoches San Antonio Michigan Territory LA Gulf of Mexico Mississippi R. IL MS IN TN AL KY OH GA VA NC SC FL United States Mission Presidio Town Mission and presidio Presidio and town PA NY For: Interactive map Web Code: ncp-0902 ME Map Skills In 1820, most of the land that is now the American Southwest belonged to Spain. Mexico won independence the following year. 1. Locate: (a) Santa Fe, (b) San Antonio, (c) San Francisco, (d) Oregon 2. Movement What geographic and political obstacles did Americans moving westward face in the 1820s? 3. Identify Alternatives What methods might the United States have used to gain greater access to the Pacific coast? This 1832 painting depicts a Native American buffalo hunt on the Great Plains. Nomadic hunters depended for survival on free movement across northern Mexico and the western U.S. territories. afraid of losing the region to Russian traders probing south from Alaska. As in Texas, Spain had trouble attracting settlers to California. Potential settlers were daunted by California s isolation from Mexico. The distance to market discouraged the export of California s livestock and grains. The limited economy depended on royal money sent to supply and pay the soldiers. Lacking colonists, the Spanish leaders sought to convert Indians to Christianity. Led by Father Junípero Serra, Franciscan priests set up a string of missions. The missions were more successful in California than in Texas or New Mexico. Because the local Indians lacked guns and horses, California missions suffered few raids. By the time of Father Serra s death in 1784, California had two agricultural towns (San Jose and Los Angeles), four presidios, and nine missions. In 1821, when Spanish rule ended, the system had grown to 20 missions housing more than 18,000 Native American converts. The Native Americans constructed buildings, dug irrigation ditches, erected fences, herded cattle, and cultivated grain. But large numbers died of diseases, and the Spanish had to round up more Indians to replace them. How did conflict develop between Spanish settlers and Native Americans in the Southwest? Answers Map Skills 1. Review locations with students. 2. geographic: rivers, mountains, deserts; political: Native Americans, Mexican troops 3. Possible responses: more shipping lines that went to California; the government might have purchased land in a huge strip across the Great Plains. The Spanish brought horses and firearms, which exacerbated conflict between Native Americans such as Apaches and the Great Plains Indians. This conflict broadened to include bloody encounters between Native Americans and Spanish colonists and missionaries. 300 Manifest Destiny L1 Special Needs Students L2 Less Proficient Readers L2 English Language Learners To help students learn more about the Spanish holdings in North America during this period, have them examine the map on this page. Explain that although Spain claimed much of North America, the Spanish had only a small population of settlers. The Spanish built missions and presidios to help turn the indigenous people into loyal, hard-working, Christian subjects of Spain. This, it was hoped, would bring success to the northern colonies. Tell students to Americans Look Westward In 1821, a revolution toppled Spanish rule and established Mexico as an independent republic. The U.S. government officially recognized its fellow republic to the south. But American expansionists, people who favored territorial point out each major territory on the map and study the map key. Then, ask Where are the most missions and presidios located on the map? (California) Why might the area located near Apache lands have only presidios? (Students may suggest that because the Apaches were well armed and attacked settlers, military forts were the only safe outposts in those areas.)
growth, soon began to covet New Mexico, Texas, and California. Thinly settled but rich in resources, the three provinces seemed ripe for American plucking. Expansionists Seek Manifest Destiny Expansionists justified their views by pointing to the weakness of the Mexican government and economy. They argued that the Mexicans, whom many Americans regarded as inferior, did not deserve to keep lands so badly needed for American settlement. In 1845, journalist John L. O Sullivan wrote an influential editorial in favor of expansion. He wrote: The American claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and... selfgovernment entrusted to us. John L. O Sullivan, New York Morning News, December 27, 1845 Expansionists were soon using the term Manifest Destiny to refer to the belief that God wanted the United States to own all of North America. But O Sullivan envisioned liberty primarily for white men. Expansion would come at the expense of Indians and Mexicans. And southern expansionists hoped to add more slave states to strengthen their political position in Congress. Americans Trade With Mexico Mexican independence spurred American trade with northern Mexico. The Spanish had discouraged such contacts, but Mexican officials welcomed them. Indeed, trade and migration promoted economic growth in the border provinces. Still, as the Spanish had feared, American traders and settlers would come to threaten the security of Mexico s border. Merchants from Missouri saw Mexican independence as an opportunity to open trade across the Great Plains with Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. Welcomed by the Mexican officials, the traders launched a growing commerce along what became known as the Santa Fe Trail. In exchange for American manufactured goods, the New Mexicans offered horses, mules, furs, and silver. In the 1820s, mariners from the Northeast launched a more ambitious route. Sailing around South America to the California coast, they traded manufactured goods for tallow and hides from California ranches. Like New Mexico, California became economically dependent on commerce with the Americans. Mountain Men Cross the Rockies Other traders ventured up the Missouri River and into the Rockies, seeking valuable furs from the abundant beaver of the mountain streams. The daring young American trappers who hunted for beaver pelts in the Rockies were called Mountain Men. Most worked for two large fur companies, which provided their supplies. Restless in pursuit of furs, the Mountain Men thoroughly probed the Rockies, making important discoveries. They blazed the best route through the mountains, via South Pass in what is now Wyoming. Some Mountain Men then pressed westward to the Great Salt Lake in the arid Great Basin of Utah. In 1826, Jedediah Smith crossed the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada to reach California. In addition to trapping, he traded with the Mexican residents. Smith s trade and migration route became the California Trail, linking the United States with the Pacific coast. L4 Advanced Readers L4 Gifted and Talented Students Have students locate the complete text of John L. O Sullivan s New York Morning News editorial about Manifest Destiny in the library or on the Internet. Then, have them take the role of a Whig or pacifist newspaper editor and write their own editorial as a rebuttal to O Sullivan s. Students editorials should Vocabulary Builder manifest (MAN uh fehst) adj. obvious; clear; plain Mountain Men As this painting shows, Mountain Men lived a solitary, rugged existence as they hunted beaver in the Rocky Mountains. In time, they undermined their own way of life, killing beaver faster than the beaver could reproduce. What dangers would Mountain Men face? Why do you think they were willing to face them? be written in a persuasive style and present a strong point of view supported by logical reasoning and facts. As an alternative, students might take the role of a citizen of the time and write a letter to the editor of the New York Morning News, challenging the ideas in O Sullivan s editorial. Americans Look Westward Instruct Introduce: Key Term Write the key term Manifest Destiny on the board, and have students locate the term (in bold) in the text and discuss its definition. Ask a volunteer to read aloud the Primary Source excerpt. Then, ask students to read to find out how some Americans worked to fulfill the nation s Manifest Destiny. Teach Display Color Transparency: Traveling West. Using the Think- Write-Pair-Share technique (TE, p. T23), discuss the expansionist drive for westward expansion. Ask What was Manifest Destiny, and how did it encourage people to settle the West? (It was the idea that the United States had a Godgiven right to control most or all of North America. It helped motivate settlers to go west and justified U.S. expansion.) How could trade with the United States and American migrants threaten Mexico s security? (Mexicans in New Mexico and California were already becoming economically dependent on trade with Americans, and migrants might push into Mexican territory.) How did the Mountain Men contribute to westward expansion? (They forged routes across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains that settlers would later follow.) Color Transparencies A-33 Independent Practice Refer students to the map North America in 1820, and have them access Web Code ncp-0902 to use the Geography Interactive map. Then, ask them to answer the map skills questions in the text. Monitor Progress As students complete the map skills questions, circulate to make sure that they are interpreting the map correctly. Answer Caption Sample: accidents, hunger, thirst, animal mauling, fire, drowning, Indian attacks; because Mountain Men wanted to make money, and perhaps they liked the solitude, independence, and adventure Chapter 9 Section 1 301
The Journey Westward Instruct Introduce: Vocabulary Builder Have students locate the vocabulary term commence in the margin on the next page and read the definition. Ask students to offer uses of this word with which they are familiar. Have students discuss why a long journey, sometimes on horseback or in an open wagon, might commence when the weather turned warm. Teach Discuss with students aspects of the westward journey. Ask Why did emigrants travel in wagon trains? (for mutual aid and security) What hardships did emigrants face on the journey? (hunger, exposure, disease, poison, Native American attacks) Display Color Transparency: Brigham Young and the Mormons. Ask Why did Brigham Young lead the Mormons west to found New Zion? (People were hostile to them in Illinois, and Young wanted to settle where Mormons could live in their own way.) Then, have students predict what conflicts Native Americans and western settlers might face. Color Transparencies A-34 Analyzing the Visuals Have students study the Focus on Geography feature that begins on this page. Have them trace the routes of the California and Oregon trails. Ask students to explain why the overland trails ran either north or south instead of directly west. Then, have students answer the Geography and History questions. Trails to the West During the 1840s alone, nearly 20,000 Americans migrated to California, Oregon, and Utah along the major overland trails. The trails also became trade routes, carrying merchants and goods in both directions. Oregon Trail Most emigrants on the Oregon Trail were farmers, and their final destination was the fertile land of the Willamette Valley. They packed their family and everything they could carry from cast-iron stoves to the family Bible onto covered wagons. Missionaries Reach Oregon A variant of this trail turned northwest at South Pass to reach Oregon Country. In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman followed this route, which became known as the Oregon Trail, to found an Indian mission at Walla Walla. The Whitman compound served as a magnet and way station for farm families bound farther west to the fertile Willamette Valley. In 1847, the Whitmans were killed by Native Americans who blamed them for a deadly measles epidemic. But by then, the tide of migration to Oregon was unstoppable. What role did the Mountain Men play in westward expansion? The Journey Westward In 1842, an official government expedition led by John C. Frémont set off across the western country, following trails blazed by the Mountain Men and the Whitmans. Although Frémont found little that was new, his vivid and romantic reports gave wider publicity to the fertility of the Far West. In the years that followed, the overland trails drew thousands of settlers west to California and Oregon. Answer They explored the West and established major trails, which settlers followed. In addition, stories of their exploits drew people West. 302 Manifest Destiny Jedediah Strong Smith Although Jedediah Smith s life was short, his colorful adventures as a Mountain Man made him a legend. Born in 1799, in present-day Bainbridge, New York, Smith learned to read, which was unusual for that time, and spent his boyhood hunting and trapping in the forests of the region. However, inspired by Lewis and Clark, Smith yearned to explore the wilderness of the West and in 1822, he got his chance when he was hired as a hunter by an expedition to the Rocky Mountains. On this trip, Smith met Indians, hunted for furs, explored what is now Montana and Wyoming, and worked his way up to be one of the expedition leaders. Soon, he and some partners established their own trading business. Smith led many trading and trapping expeditions throughout the Rockies. In 1826, he became the first American to enter California from the east and in the following year, he became the first American to come out of California overland. After many adventures and one deadly encounter with the Mohave Indians, in which nearly all his men were killed, Smith switched from the Rockies trade to the Santa Fe trade. In 1831, while leading a group down the Santa Fe Trail, Smith was killed by Comanche Indians.
Supplies for Travelers Forts along the overland trails provided more than protection. They were also homes to trading posts, where wagon trains could replenish their supplies. Wagon Trains Journey West Commencing in springtime at the western edge of Missouri, the demanding journey covered nearly 2,000 miles and took about five months to complete. Oxen pulled the emigrants wooden wagons covered with canvas. For security and mutual help, most emigrants traveled in trains of from 10 to 100 wagons and from 50 to 1,000 people. Eager to get to the fertile and humid Pacific, the emigrants bypassed the Great Plains, which they considered little better than a desert, and the Great Basin, which truly was a desert. They were also in a hurry to get across two cold and lofty mountain chains, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. Most of the emigrants were farm people from the Midwest. Men relished the journey as an adventure, while many women more keenly felt the hardships and anxieties. What had possessed my husband, anyway, that he should have thought of bringing us away out through this God-forsaken country? wrote one woman in her diary. Indeed, the journey was a gamble that cost many their property and some their lives. Emigrants faced hunger, exposure, disease, poisoned streams or worse. In 1846, the Donner Party got lost on the way to California. Trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada, the starving survivors resorted to cannibalism. Mormon Trail The final destination for Mormon emigrants was the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah. Through extensive irrigation and farming, Mormon settlers permanently altered their desert environment. Westward Migration, 1840s Western Trail Number of Settlers Where To California Trail Mormon Trail Oregon Trail 2,700 4,600 11,500 California Utah Oregon SOURCE: CIA World Factbook Online When 1842 1848 1847 1848 1842 1848 Donner Pass For emigrants, mountain passes could be a gateway to their final destination or a snowy tomb. The Donner Pass was named for a party who got trapped in the Sierra Nevadas in the winter of 1846 1847. Nearly half died of starvation, and the survivors resorted to eating their dead. Geography and History How did the goals of travelers on the Oregon and Mormon trails differ? How were they similar? Do deserts and mountain passes still present a hazard to travelers today? Why or why not? Vocabulary Builder commence (kuh MEHNS) v. to begin a project or an enterprise Independent Practice Have students read and complete Geography and History: Life on the Westward Trail. Teaching Resources, p. 15 Have students review the HISTORY MAKERS feature about Brigham Young, as well the other information on the Mormons in the surrounding text, to make a flowchart that sequences some of the main events in Young s life. Have students use the two maps in this section and a blank outline map of the United States to chart a journey that they may have wanted to take as migrants to the West. Encourage students to label the trail or trails they will take, communities from which they will set out, areas through which they will travel, and their ultimate destination. Remind students to indicate any major landforms along the way, and tell them to include a map key to explain any symbols. Monitor Progress As students complete their maps, circulate to make sure that they select trails that would accurately connect them to their destination. L1 Special Needs Students L2 English Language Learners L2 Less Proficient Readers To support comprehension of the information in the Focus on Geography feature Trails to the West, read aloud the introductory paragraph. Help students locate the Oregon Trail on the map and have them follow it along with you as you trace the route with your finger. Have students use the key to find one town and one fort. As a class, discuss each image individually and have students offer their own ideas about what that image shows and why it might have been included in the feature. Then, ask questions about the information in the chart on westward migration, such as Which trail was traveled most? Which was traveled least? If necessary, provide students with the meanings of challenging words, such as replenish and extensive. Finally, have students complete Geography and History: The California Trail. Teaching Resources, p. 14 Answers Geography and History Most people on the Oregon Trail were going west to farm; the Mormons were going west to be free from persecution. All went west to find new lives. Yes; people can still die in deserts, such as Death Valley, be caught in snowstorms in the Rocky Mountains, or be stopped on their journey if mountain passes are blocked by snow. Chapter 9 Section 1 303
Assess and Reteach Assess Progress Have students complete the Section Assessment. Administer the Section Quiz. Teaching Resources, p. 18 To further assess student understanding, use Progress Monitoring Transparencies, 55. Reteach If students need more instruction, have them read the section summary. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide Adapted Reading and Note Taking Study Guide Spanish Reading and Note Taking Study Guide L1 L2 L2 Extend L4 To extend the section content, assign students the Enrichment worksheet, Create a Board Game: The Oregon Trail. Teaching Resources, pp. 12 13 Answer difficulties: hunger, thirst, exposure, Native American attack, disease, poison; opportunities: land or more land than they had previously owned, freedom, wealth Brigham Young 1801 1877 This is the place! Brigham Young declared when he first spied the Great Salt Lake in July 1847. It was the end of a long journey that had begun 17 months earlier, when he led a Mormon party out of Illinois in the middle of a snowy, bitterly cold winter. During his next 30 years as president of the Mormon Church, Young provided the colony with tough, inspiring leadership. He also served eight years as the first governor of the Utah Territory. SECTION 1 Assessment Comprehension 1. Terms and People Write a sentence explaining how each of the following was connected with Manifest Destiny Santa Fe Trail Mountain Men Oregon Trail Brigham Young Treaty of Fort Laramie Despite the dangers, the rewards of the journey could be great. Most of those who persevered gained bigger and better farms in Oregon or California than they had owned in the East or Midwest. Between 1840 and 1860, about 260,000 Americans crossed the continent to settle on the west coast. Mormons Seek a Refuge One group of people preferred to settle along the way. These were the Mormons. As you read in the last chapter, Mormon founder Joseph Smith was killed in 1844 by a mob in Illinois. Leadership passed to Brigham Young, a brilliant organizer with a powerful will. Convinced that the Mormons could not survive among hostile neighbors, Young organized an exodus. In 1847, he led Mormons across the Great Plains and the Rockies to establish the colony of New Zion on the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. Through hard work and cooperation, the Mormons made the arid land bloom by diverting water from mountain streams. By 1860, some 40,000 Mormons lived in the West. Despite their achievements and their isolation, other Americans continued to distrust the Mormons. During the 1850s, after the territory had passed from Mexico to the United States, the government forced the Mormons to accept federal authority. New Zion became the federal territory of Utah. Indians Face Restrictions So long as wagons kept moving west, Native Americans usually left them alone. Still, the federal government sought to protect migrants by restricting the Plains Indians. The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie bound the Indians to territories away from the major trails. But the Indians clung to their mobile way of life, pursuing buffalo across all artificial boundaries. As migration continued, the stage was set for future conflict. the West? What difficulties and opportunities awaited migrants to Progress Monitoring Online For: Self-test with vocabulary practice Web Code: nca-0903 2. Reading Skill: Identify Main Idea Use your outline to answer the Section Focus Question: What were the causes of westward migration? Writing About History 3. Quick Write: Identify an Issue In the news media, an editorial is a statement supporting one view of a current issue. Choose a topic from this section as the subject for an editorial. Write a sentence explaining why people of the time might have held differing views on that issue. Critical Thinking 4. Recognize Effects What long-term effects did the introduction of horses and firearms have on Native Americans in the West? 5. Recognize Viewpoints Who might have agreed with the idea of Manifest Destiny? Who might have disagreed? 6. Make Decisions If you were a poor farmer in 1850, would you have chosen to join a wagon train to the West? Why or why not? Section 1 Assessment 1. Sentences should reflect an understanding of how each term or person is connected to 2. Sample responses: competition with Spain, the idea of Manifest Destiny, people s need or desire for land, trade, a wish to Christianize Native Americans, the desire for freedom from persecution 3. Sample topic: Manifest Destiny; Sample Sentence: Although many Americans probably agreed that God wanted the United States to conquer North America, 304 Manifest Destiny most Native Americans probably thought that they should keep their lands. 4. Native Americans could hunt better and travel further; however, it led to conflict over the buffalo. In conflicts with the Spanish and Americans, these acquisitions put Native Americans on a more equal footing than they had been previously. 5. Expansionists and other American nationalists would have agreed, as would migrants and immigrants. Native Americans and Spain and Britain would not have supported the policy. 6. Sample response: Yes; despite the risks, going west offered opportunities to gain land and improve the quality of life. For additional assessment, have students access Progress Monitoring Online at Web Code nca-0903.