Settling Oregon Country

Settling Oregon Country

Chapter 6.5

Learning Objectives

• Explain the appeal of Oregon and the Far West.

• Summarize how mountain men helped explore the Far West.

• Describe the role missionaries played in Oregon

• Identify the hardships faced on wagon trains to the West.

In Search of New Territory

By the 1820s, white settlers had purchased and occupied much of the land between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. Families in search of good farmland kept moving farther west. Many settlers, however, were not attracted to the Great Plains between the Mississippi and the Rockies. The plains were considered too dry to support farming. Instead, many of these settlers headed to lands in the Far West.

Multiple Choice

What were settlers looking for when they travelled west?

• farmland

• gold

• peace

• furs

Multiple Choice

Why weren't settlers interested in the great plains

• They were to dry

• to many indians

• to wet

• to boring

In search of new territory

• The Oregon Country was a huge region west of the rocky mountains

• It includes parts of Modern Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and western Canada

Multiple Choice

Oregon Country was ___________ of the Rocky Mountains

• North

• East

• South

• West

Multiple Select

Oregon Country includes which modern regions. Check all that apply

• Washington

• Idaho

• Western Canada

• Utah

• California

Wild Country

• The Geography of Oregon Country was quite varied

• On the Pacific coast soil was fertile, temperatures were mild year round and rainfall was plentiful. Fine farmland was found in this area

• Dense Forests covered the Costal Ranges and Cascade Mountains and they were filled with beavers and other fur bearing Animals that road from there to the Rocky Mountains in the east. This became great territory for trappers.

• Not everything was perfect land. Between the Cascades and the Rockies was a dry plateau that attracted no settlers

Explorers found Oregon Country to be a wild region of tall mountains, rolling hills, lush forests, and fertile valleys.

Multiple Choice

Which Region had fertile soil, mild temperatures, and plentiful rainfall?

• Pacific Coast

• Costal Ranges

• Dry Plateau

• Cascade Ranges

Multiple Choice

Which Region had dense forests filled with beavers and other fur bearing animals

• Pacific Coast

• Costal Ranges

• Dry Plateau

• Cascade Ranges

Multiple Choice

Which Region attracted no settlers?

• Pacific Coast

• Costal Ranges

• Dry Plateau

• Cascade Ranges

Nations Compete

• 4 Nations claimed Oregon Country: United States, Great Britain, Spain, & Russia

• Native Americans already lived there but other nations did not care

• 1818: The U.S. and Britain agree to jointly occupy Oregon Country and that citizens would have equal rights there.

• Due to a lack of settlers Spain and Russia were forced to withdraw their claim.

Multiple Choice

Which nation did not claim Oregon Country?

• U.S.

• Spain

• Russia

• Mexico

Open Ended

Considering the distance of states and organized territories from Oregon Country, why might it have been difficult for the United States to control that region?

The Far West Fur Trade

At first, only a handful of Europeans or Americans traveled to Oregon Country. Most were fur traders. Since furs could be sold for huge profits in China, merchants from New England stopped along the Oregon coast before crossing the Pacific.

Multiple Choice

Most early Settlers were what?

• Fur Traders

• Fishermen

• Poachers

• Missionaries

The Far West Fur Trade

• Only a few hardy fur trappers actually settled in Oregon Conthry

• These Men hiked throughout the regions forests, trapped animals, and lived off the land

• These men, known as mountain men, were admired as Rugged Individuals

• They are the poster child of frontier men. Wearing animal hides clothes, fur hats and toting guns, knives and tomahawks

Multiple Choice

Who were hardy men that hiked the mountains of Oregon Country, lived off the land and trapped for furs?

• Mountain Men

• Rangers

• Searchers

• Missionaries

A hard life

• Mountain men could make a fine profit selling furs but their life was far from easy

• The long cold winters demanded special survival skills and they also had to contend with dangerous wildlife like bear and wildcats.

• In the winter food could be so scarce that one mountain man once said "I have held my hands in an anthill until they were covered with ants then greedily licked them off."

• If they could, trappers would often spend winter with Native American villages and while they were their they would learn trapping and hunting skills from the Indians

The Fur Trade

• During the Fall and Spring Mountain Men would tend to their traps

• In July they would leave the mountains to meet with Fur Trades at site chosen the year before called Rendezvous

• The first day of the Rendezvous was a time for entertainment and relaxation but afterwards settled down to buisness

• As long as beaver hats remained in fashion the trappers got a good price.

• By the late 1830s the fur trade was dying. Trappers had caught to many beavers and the animal was becoming harder to find and beaver had had fallen out of style.

• Mountain Men soon changed professions from trapper to guide

Multiple Choice

When did mountain men tend to their traps?

• Fall and Spring

• Spring and Summer

• Winter

• Year Round

Multiple Choice

What was the chosen point that mountain men would go to meet fur traders at in july?

• Rendezvous

• Summer Camp

• Meet-up

• Trade meet

Multiple Choice

What was the main source of income for mountain men?

• Beaver Pelts

• Deer Skins

• Bear Hides

• Bobcat pelts

Guides to the west

• In search of Furs Mountain Men explored most of the west and knew the best rails through the mountains. They took these skills and used them to guide settlers heading west

• Jedediah Smith Led setters through the South Pass of the Rockies in Modern Wyoming

• Manuel Lisa, A Latino Fur Trader, led a trip up the Missouri and in 1807 founded fort Manuel, the first outpost on the upper Missouri

• James Beckworth was a Freedman who worked as a fur trader, lived among the Crow Indians, of whom he later became chief, became a guide and discovered the mountain pass in the sierra-Nevada that became the major route to California

Multiple Choice

What did Mountain Men become when the fur trade failed

• Guides

• Rangers

• Soldiers

• Missionaries

Multiple Choice

Who led settlers through the south pass?

• Jedediah Smith

• Manuel Lisa

• James Beckworth

• John Smith

Multiple Choice

Who founded the first outpost on the upper Missouri river?

• Jedediah Smith

• Manuel Lisa

• James Beckworth

• John Smith

Multiple Choice

Who was a freedman who became a fur trader, chief of the Crows, and discovered the major route to California?

• Jedediah Smith

• Manuel Lisa

• James Beckworth

• John Smith