New ways to travel lesson

New ways to travel lesson

Europeans knew nothing about the land when they arrived in North America

• American Indians knew the land well so they showed the Europeans around

• The only form of travel during this time was their feet and boats

• Finally, explorers from Spain brought horses to North America

• Now they had their feet, boats, and horses

• Horses made traveling easier and faster

Exploring west of the Mississippi River

• Many people wanted to explore the west

• Meriwhether Lewis and William Clark were hired to explore the land west of the Mississippi River

• It took two years for Lewis and Clark to complete their trip

• Lewis and Clark started in St. Louis and ended in Oregon City

• Their stories made people want to move because of the huge open spaces and chance to get land to farm

Rivers and Canals

• Rivers were an important way to carry heavy goods

• Sometimes rivers were too narrow or too fast for boats

• Canals were built to make it safer for boats to get through

• The Erie Canal helped connect the Great Lakes to New York City

• New York City became an important port for trading and receiving goods

• A port is a town or city that has a place for boats to land

Wagon Trains

• Another form of transportation was covered wagons pulled by horses

• Many people traveled to the west in wagon trains

• Wagon trains is a group of covered wagons that travels together for safety

• Congress built the National Road to make traveling easier, it started in Maryland and ended in Illinois

• When the National Road came to an end, people would hop on to the Oregon Trail, which started in Independence, Missouri and ended in Oregon

• This route took about 6 months to complete

  
  

• A faster and safer way to travel was still needed