jjares reviewed America?s Westward Expansion Trails: The History and Legacy of the 19th Century?s Most Famous Routes to the West on + 3294 more book reviews
The westward movement in the 19th century was one of the most significant (and largest) migrations in history. At about the same time, gold was found in California (January 1848) and the Mexican-American War (1846-48) was coming to an end. This book outlines the exploration and the major trails that helped tame the Wild West, including the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the California Trail, the Chisholm Trail, and the Bozeman Trail.
The Louisiana Purchase is about 23% of the United States. This book mentions some new concerns Thomas Jefferson had about the new lands he bought. He was worried that the American settlers on the frontier might drift away from the Republic. He was such a forward-thinking leader that he got Lewis and Clark to create more than 150 maps, giving America an understanding of what lay west. This book is generously endowed with plenty of maps and art.
The Oregon Trail was actually a series of relatively well-known trails (created by Indians and trappers) that travelers had to connect into one trail to get them on their 5 month trip to the Oregon Territory. This tells the remarkable story of how settlers learned to do the nearly impossible. This gives a great explanation about how many difficulties the settlers had (using their own words); I didn't realize that travelers had such a hard time keeping themselves fed while crossing the US.
The Santa Fe Trail story spends some time telling about Moses and Stephen Austin and the "Old Three Hundred" American settlers they brought to Texas to settle at the invitation of the Mexican authorities. These settlers were quarrelsome and difficult. It was surprising to learn that the Santa Fe Trail's commercial use was for the transport of silver to the US in exchange for American-made goods. Once Mexico was free of Spain, they encouraged trade with the US and trade exploded. This trail became more important during the Mexican-American War, as the Americans moved vital supplies to the war sites.
This book then goes into an interesting survey of the Mormons and their movement across the US to the "State of Deseret." Military freighting became an important part of the Santa Fe Trail until the transcontinental railroad. Then the trails were forgotten.
The California Trail carried over 250,000 miners and farmers during the 1840s and 1850s. The gold rush had three results: it hastened the colonization of the West, eliminated indigenous tribes from the area, and expanded the agricultural frontier to feed the people who moved there. This section has the most interesting explanation of the various tribes in the area. Did you know that the Arapahos did not make war on other peoples (red or white) because it was against their religion?
Another interesting fact was about 118 million ounces of gold that were extracted by massive operations (not singleton miners). Debris (to the tune of 1.5 billion cubic yards of soil) poured down, permanently ruining the land. In 1884, the California Supreme Court finally forced them to stop the destruction. Thus, what really ended the Gold Rush -- the environmental devastation that ruined California farmland. The transcontinental train rang the death knell of the California Trail, like the other trails.
The Bozeman Trail stretched from Fort Laramie, Wyoming to Virginia City, Montana. Of all the trails, this one was useful for a short time, mostly between 1863-1868. Before this trail was organized, only Indians (particularly Crow) used it. It wasn't a legal path because it traversed over Indian lands. The Indians were unhappy with the travelers over their land and in 1865 the Trail was closed because of Sioux attacks along the path. When the US Army build Fort Phil Kearny along the Bozeman Trail, it was a grave insult to the Indian tribes.
The Chisholm Trail helped Texas cattlemen get their cattle to market. At the end of the Civil War, Jesse Chisholm, a trader (not a cattleman), blazed a trail for cattle to be driven from Texas to the train stations of Kansas, to feed the easterners. Before it was all over, just about any trail from Texas north to Kansas or Missouri was called Chisholm. This story gives very interesting facts about why longhorns were such good cattle to raise and transport.
Overall, I thought this was way too long. It seemed that any notable person who traversed over one of these trails was given a biography and his importance was explained.
The Louisiana Purchase is about 23% of the United States. This book mentions some new concerns Thomas Jefferson had about the new lands he bought. He was worried that the American settlers on the frontier might drift away from the Republic. He was such a forward-thinking leader that he got Lewis and Clark to create more than 150 maps, giving America an understanding of what lay west. This book is generously endowed with plenty of maps and art.
The Oregon Trail was actually a series of relatively well-known trails (created by Indians and trappers) that travelers had to connect into one trail to get them on their 5 month trip to the Oregon Territory. This tells the remarkable story of how settlers learned to do the nearly impossible. This gives a great explanation about how many difficulties the settlers had (using their own words); I didn't realize that travelers had such a hard time keeping themselves fed while crossing the US.
The Santa Fe Trail story spends some time telling about Moses and Stephen Austin and the "Old Three Hundred" American settlers they brought to Texas to settle at the invitation of the Mexican authorities. These settlers were quarrelsome and difficult. It was surprising to learn that the Santa Fe Trail's commercial use was for the transport of silver to the US in exchange for American-made goods. Once Mexico was free of Spain, they encouraged trade with the US and trade exploded. This trail became more important during the Mexican-American War, as the Americans moved vital supplies to the war sites.
This book then goes into an interesting survey of the Mormons and their movement across the US to the "State of Deseret." Military freighting became an important part of the Santa Fe Trail until the transcontinental railroad. Then the trails were forgotten.
The California Trail carried over 250,000 miners and farmers during the 1840s and 1850s. The gold rush had three results: it hastened the colonization of the West, eliminated indigenous tribes from the area, and expanded the agricultural frontier to feed the people who moved there. This section has the most interesting explanation of the various tribes in the area. Did you know that the Arapahos did not make war on other peoples (red or white) because it was against their religion?
Another interesting fact was about 118 million ounces of gold that were extracted by massive operations (not singleton miners). Debris (to the tune of 1.5 billion cubic yards of soil) poured down, permanently ruining the land. In 1884, the California Supreme Court finally forced them to stop the destruction. Thus, what really ended the Gold Rush -- the environmental devastation that ruined California farmland. The transcontinental train rang the death knell of the California Trail, like the other trails.
The Bozeman Trail stretched from Fort Laramie, Wyoming to Virginia City, Montana. Of all the trails, this one was useful for a short time, mostly between 1863-1868. Before this trail was organized, only Indians (particularly Crow) used it. It wasn't a legal path because it traversed over Indian lands. The Indians were unhappy with the travelers over their land and in 1865 the Trail was closed because of Sioux attacks along the path. When the US Army build Fort Phil Kearny along the Bozeman Trail, it was a grave insult to the Indian tribes.
The Chisholm Trail helped Texas cattlemen get their cattle to market. At the end of the Civil War, Jesse Chisholm, a trader (not a cattleman), blazed a trail for cattle to be driven from Texas to the train stations of Kansas, to feed the easterners. Before it was all over, just about any trail from Texas north to Kansas or Missouri was called Chisholm. This story gives very interesting facts about why longhorns were such good cattle to raise and transport.
Overall, I thought this was way too long. It seemed that any notable person who traversed over one of these trails was given a biography and his importance was explained.
