The Major Means of Migrating to the American West in the 1800s
Mysteries behind the Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a 2,170 mile (3,490 km) route that served pioneers wanting to settle in the west side of the United States. It was one of the two ways to emigrate to the west in the mid-1800s, the other was the southerly Santa Fe Trail.
The Santa Fe Trail stretched from Independence through to New Mexico, although certain branches of the trail created new destinations along with Texas and The Great Salt Lake region.
The president of the United States in 1803, Thomas Jefferson (R-Virginia), saw the need to diversify the culture, economy, and lifestyle to create a better, freedom-oriented America. To achieve this, he began to expand towards the West after the Louisiana Purchase.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson issued the following instructions to Meriwether Lewis:
“The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by its course & communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other rivers may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce.”
