The American West, c1835-c1895: Migration and Early Settlement
From the 1830s onwards, growing numbers of white Americans migrated west across the Great Plains in search of land, religious freedom and, later, gold. Most followed overland routes such as the Oregon Trail, a roughly 2,000-mile wagon trail from Missouri to Oregon that took several months and exposed migrants to disease, difficult river crossings and the risk of being caught by winter snow in the mountains, as happened fatally to the Donner Party in 1846-47. The Mormons, a persecuted religious group, migrated west under their leader Brigham Young from 1847, settling around the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah, where isolation and careful organisation helped their community survive and grow. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 then triggered the California Gold Rush of 1848-49, pulling tens of thousands of migrants, known as '49ers, west in search of sudden wealth and permanently increasing the pace of westward migration and settlement.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the main push and pull factors for migration: push factors included economic hardship and religious persecution in the east; pull factors included the promise of cheap or free land, gold, and religious freedom in the west.
- Learn the basic geography and hardships of the Oregon Trail: roughly 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon, travelled by wagon train, taking around five to six months, with dangers including disease (such as cholera), river crossings and shortages of food and water.
- Learn the Donner Party as a named case study of the dangers of migration: a group of migrants who set out for California in 1846, took a shortcut, were delayed, and became trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains over the winter of 1846-47, with many dying and survivors resorting to eating the dead.
- Learn the Mormon migration as a case study of organised, successful migration: fleeing persecution in the east, the Mormons, led by Brigham Young, migrated west from 1847 and settled around the Great Salt Lake, where careful planning, irrigation and strong community discipline let the settlement survive in a harsh, isolated environment.
- Learn the California Gold Rush: gold was discovered in California in 1848, and the rush of migrants seeking it in 1848-49 became known as the '49ers; the rush rapidly grew California's population and boosted trade and transport links across the whole overland route.
- For 'explain two consequences' questions on migration, keep effects on migrants (e.g. hardship, death, the Donner Party) separate from wider effects on the West (e.g. faster settlement, growth of trail towns, pressure on Plains Indian land and buffalo herds).
Worked example
Explain two consequences of the California Gold Rush of 1848-49 for the settlement of the American West.
- Identify two distinct consequences: (1) a rapid rise in the population of California and the West, and (2) faster development of trails, towns and trade along the migration routes.
- Develop consequence one with detail: news of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 drew tens of thousands of '49ers west in 1849 alone, turning California from a thinly populated territory into a fast-growing state within a few years.
- Add a further linked detail: this sudden population growth increased the demand for supplies, transport and law and order, encouraging the growth of boom towns and prompting calls for California to be admitted to the Union.
- Develop consequence two with detail: the huge numbers travelling west improved and popularised overland routes such as the California Trail, and increased traffic put growing pressure on the land, water and buffalo herds that Plains Indian bands depended on, adding to tension between migrants and Plains Indians.
Practice questions
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Q1Roughly how many miles long was the Oregon Trail?Show answer
Answer: Around 2,000 miles, from Missouri to Oregon.
Q2What eventually happened to the Donner Party in the winter of 1846-47?Show answer
Answer: They were trapped by heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains after taking a shortcut and being delayed; many died, and some survivors resorted to eating the bodies of the dead to survive.
Q3Who led the Mormon migration west from 1847?Show answer
Answer: Brigham Young.
Q4Where did the Mormons settle after their migration?Show answer
Answer: Around the Great Salt Lake, in what is now Utah.
Q5What triggered the California Gold Rush of 1848-49?Show answer
Answer: The discovery of gold in California in 1848 (at Sutter's Mill), which drew large numbers of migrants, known as '49ers, west in search of it.
Q6Give one danger, other than snow or river crossings, that migrants faced on the overland trails.Show answer
Answer: For example, disease such as cholera, spread by poor sanitation in crowded wagon trains.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two reasons why people migrated west across the Great Plains in the period c1835-1862.
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Write a narrative account analysing the dangers faced by migrants travelling west on the overland trails in the period c1835-1862. You may use the following in your answer: the Donner Party and the Oregon Trail. You must also use information of your own.
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