Life in the West

• 3 million native Americans lived in the West before Europeans arrived

• they were diverse in language and culture

• West had natural wealth in timber, gold, silver, and other resources

• West changed the nation’s economy and politics

• Created a folklore of “rugged individuals”

The Explorers

Purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition:

• Find the “Northwest Passage”

• Make friendly contact with the native Indian groups

• Find out just what had been bought with the Louisiana Purchase

Up the Missouri River

• Expedition started in May, 1804 from St. Louis, Missouri

• Led by Lewis and Clark

• Accompanied by a Shoshone woman, Sacagawea

Lewis and Clark

To the Pacific and Back

• Progress of expedition was slowed by rapids and waterfalls

• To cross the Rocky Mts. they needed horses.

• Traded with the Shoshone

• Friendly Nez Perce in the Pacific

Northwest helped them

The Explorers’ Legacy

• Expedition returned in September 1806:

Had not found a Northwest Passage

Did map a route to the Pacific

Established good relations with the Indians

Brought back information about the West and its peoples

• Zebulon Pike explored the valley of the Arkansas River, the Spanish territory along the Rio Grande and Red River

• John C. Fremont mapped between the Mississippi river and the Pacific Ocean

Pike’s Peak

The Californios

The California Missions

• Junipero Serra started the missions in 1769

• Goal was to convert Indians to

Christianity

• Missions stretched from San Diego

to San Francisco

• Missions were deadly to Indians

• Indians treated harshly and died

from diseases

• Mexican government closed the

the missions in 1833

• Gave the land to soldiers and

settlers

San Juan Capistrano

Life on the Ranchos

• Californios produced almost everything they needed

• In 1830’s cattle ranching became California’s most important industry

• Cattle provided hides and tallow that were traded

vaquero

Californios’ Legacy

1. Place names such as San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

2. Crops such as grapes, olives, and citrus fruits

3. Opened California to the world

The Mountain Men

• Lewis and Clark expedition stirred new interest in the fur trade

• In 1807, 42 trappers went up the Missouri River

• For 30 years trappers crisscrossed the West in search of furs

The Trapper’s Life

• Lived hard and died young

• In spring and fall, set their traps

• In summer, they met at

rendezvous to swap furs for

supplies

• Trappers were attacked by

fur thieves, Indians,

wolves, and bears

Mountain Men

Freedom and Adventure

• Trappers braved the lifestyle for freedom and adventure

• In 1830’s, fur trade was in decline

• Many trappers became explorers, army scouts, and traders

Hatchet Jack

Skin a Grizz

Mountain Men’s Legacy

1. Mountain men explored most of the West

2. Routes they pioneered became the Oregon and California Trails

3. Trading posts became supply stations for the pioneers

4. Personal journals gave readers an insight into their lives

Possibles bag

Rendezvous

MISSIONARIES• Nez Perce asked people to come and teach about the “Black Book”

• Marcus and Narcissa Whiteman went

• Henry and Eliza Spalding also went

• Crossed using the Oregon Trail

A Difficult Start

Spaldings worked with the Nez Perce.

Whitman’s worked with the Cayuse.

Henry Spalding and Chief Joseph

Nez Perce

A Pioneer’s Paradise

• Marcus Whitman convinced people that Oregon was a pioneer’s paradise

• In 1842, Whitman went East

• He brought a large group of settlers back with him on the Oregon Trail

Missionaries’ Legacy

Opened the West to settlement.

The Pioneer Women

• Most women were wives and mothers

• Some were seeking husbands, homesteads, or other opportunities

On the Trail

• Journey lasted 4 to 6 months and covered 2,000 miles

• Generally traveled 15 to 20 miles a day

• Women cooked, washed clothes, and took care of children

I Love Lucy

Trail Hazards

• Died from disease, accidents, and drowned crossing rivers

Sweet Betsy from Pike

Pioneer Women’s Legacy

• Brought out strengths and weaknesses they didn’t know they had

• Started schools, churches, libraries, literary societies, and charitable groups

• Women in western states earned the right to vote 20 years before others and this was their greatest legacy

Women’s Suffrage

The Mormons

• Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

• Founded in New York by Joseph Smith in 1830

• Persecuted for their religion

• When Smith was killed, Brigham Young took over leadership and moved community to Utah

Mormon’s Legacy

• First Americans to settle in Great Basin

• Pioneered farming methods for the dry regions (dams, canals, irrigation ditches)

• Salt Lake City became important stop for food and supplies

• Planted their Mormon faith in the Utah desert

The Forty-Niners

• In 1848 gold was discovered

• In 1849 thousands of gold seekers came from the East, Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, China

• Their routes took around the tip of South America, through the jungles of Panama, across the Pacific Ocean, or overland across America

Life in the Mining Camps

• Camps were rough places with no police

• Digging for gold was hard and tedious work

Forty- Niners’ Legacy

• Indian population was reduced in size from warfare and disease

• Many Californios lost their land

• By 1850, California became first state in the West

California gold country

The Chinese

• By 1852 more than 20,000 Chinese had come to California

• At first the Chinese were welcome

• As gold mining became more difficult the attitude towards the Chinese changed

• Miners asked the American government to drive the foreigners out of the goldfields

• In 1852, the Chinese had to pay a monthly fee for a license to mine

The Chinese Stay

• Americans bullied the Chinese

• Hacked off their braids (queues)

• Burned their shacks

• Beat them

• Some Chinese immigrants left the mines and opened restaurants, laundries, and stores

• Some became farmers in California’s Central Valley

Legacy of the Chinese Immigrants

• Most came in search of gold and return to China rich, a few did

• Their hard work, energy, and skills benefited California

• Brought with them the arts, tastes, scents, and sounds of an old and rich culture

Pottery

Koi pond

New Year’s celebration