5-2.1

It Is Essential For Students To Know:

• Mountain ranges, rivers and deserts formed obstacles to westward migration.
• Pioneers traveled to embarkation points such as St. Louis, which came to be called the “gateway to the West".
• From there they traveled by covered wagon across trails that had originally been used by Native Americans. Explorers and mountain men followed the Native American trails and wrote guidebooks that helped to show the way to those pioneers who came afterwards. The trails became increasingly marked as more and more migrants traveled along these paths.
• After the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad provided a way for those who had the means to travel to the West (5-2.3).
• Migrants first traveled to and settled the west coast, skipping over the Great Plains. Called the “Great American Desert", the agricultural potential of this dry, flat land was not at first realized.
• As technology developed, inventions such as the steel plow to till the hard packed earth, the windmill bringing scarce water to the surface, seeds such as Russian wheat to grow in the challenging climate, and mechanical reapers to harvest the wheat, the potential of the region was unleashed.
• Travelers to the West had to traverse not only the plains, but also major rivers and the Rocky Mountains. The major river systems of the West that were forded were the Mississippi, the Columbia, the Colorado and the Snake Rivers. Trails through the mountains followed passes that were often impassable during spring rains and winter snows. This made it imperative that travelers leave St. Louis in time to avoid these circumstances. Mishaps along the way that delayed the rate of travel could mean disaster.
• Students should use a map to interpret travel to the West.
• Students should locate the Rocky Mountains on a map.
• The climate of the West was a challenge to both travelers and settlers. Hot, dry summers brought drought, dust storms and swarms of insects. Winters brought snow and the resulting spring floods. Storms were often accompanied by tornadoes. Unpredictable weather such as early snows or late-spring hailstorms could ruin crops and imperil livelihoods.

It Is Not Essential For Students To Know:

• It is not essential that students be able to name the trails that crossed the West or to identify the most popular crossing points of the rivers.