Compare And Contrast The Donner Party And Westward Expansion

Why did the Donner Party get stuck in the Sierra Nevada Mountains? In April of 1846 90 emigrants led by Jacob and George Donner left Springfield Illinois in hopes of using a quicker, shorter route to Oregon. The party took the regular trail up to Ft. Bridger, Wyoming. There they were supposed to meet a trail guide, Lansford Hastings, to take them but he was gone, leading another party along the mountains. There was a note for the Donner’s to follow a trail to Weber Canyon, Hasting claimed it was an easier route to Oregon.

The Donner Party “Starvation was so bad that cannibalism became stylish.” ~Lou Dunst Cannibalism was becoming very stylish for everyone that joined the Donner Party on their trip through the mountains to California, where they got stranded in the Sierra Nevadas when winter hit because they decided to take a shortcut. Just because it is a shortcut, does not mean it is shorter. The Donner Party was a group of 90 emigrants that decided to travel from Springfield, Illinois to California in April of 1846.

The Donner Party The Donner Party shows the next generation of Americans that cutting corners never leads to beneficial outcomes. The Donner Party wanted a shorter route to where they were going and thought it would be a lot easier, but it turned out many of them died and even had to end up eating each other's corps because they were lost, stuck and starving. If they would've took the the long way, those things would've never happened. A group of about 90 pioneers from Springfield Illinois, led by James F. Reed and George Donner wanted to find a better place to live.

On our trip to California, we (the Donner Party) were forced to face many unexpected hardships. At Alcove springs Grandmother Keyes died. Just past Fort Bridger we took the Hastings Cutoff, which we were informed saved 400 miles. The information was wrong. The shortcut added 100 miles to the journey.

During the harsh journey through the mountains, The Donner Party’s last resort for surviving the winter was cannibalism! In 1845, a group of people called The Donner Party decided to trek through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to expand U.S. territory. During their trek, The Donner Party got trapped in 6 feet of snow and were stuck in the mountains. The Donner Party had a positive impact on the 1800’s because it expanded countries boundaries and made a faster course from San Francisco to Reno. U.S. territory was greatly expanded because of this.

Introduction The Westward Expansion is about moving west to find better land. almost seven million Americans moved west to find better land to farm and to build a house and raise a family. Two topics about the westward is The Oregon Trail and The Gold Rush.

California in today’s world is a large, rich state where all the famous movie stars live. But back in 1848, only a few thousand people were living across the expanse of land. So how did John Sutter kick-start the biggest migration in United States history? The California gold rush accelerated the creation of California as a state because of the rapid influx of people following the discovery of gold, and the discovery of gold triggered a boost in the United States economy. At the time right before the gold rush, the United States was at war with Mexico.

To start with, from about 1811-1840 the Oregon Trail was laid down by both traders and fur trappers. It could only be gone through either walking on foot or taking a horse along with you. By the year 1836, the first of the migrant train of wagons was put together. It started in Independence, Missouri and traveled a cleared trail that reached to Fort Hall, Idaho. The Oregon Trail went through Missouri and what is known today Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and lastly to Oregon.

The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased.

A simple journey to the California coast in order to make a better living is what the Donner Party believed lie ahead of them. Ethan Rarick, the lead author of the marvelous and suspenseful book, Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West, describes in great detail what these families endured and encountered on their travels west. Heavy snowfall, little food, and lost time are just some of the interesting and intriguing items that Rarick talks about in his work of literature. Desperate Passage tells the story of the Donner Party, which was a group of American families who wanted to travel to the West Coast in order to live a more lavish and comfortable life.

Dillon Edwards Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West, Ethan Rarick, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2008. Desperate Passage is a good book that sheds light on a perilous journey taken by a group of strangers who come together to form a wagon train. It was written by Ethan Rarrick. In the book a group of strangers band together to form a wagon train to make the perilous journey west.

People came from all over the United States and the world to strike it rich in California. a. Some of the countries people came from were South America, Europe, Mexico, Hawaii, and China. b. People came from all of the other U.S. states as well. c. The people that traveled to California and left everything behind were called the 49ers.

If they were lost with no food they would have to ask strangers to take them where they needed to go. Thousands of pioneers had to move west. The Mormon pioneers ran into many difficulties on the trail, but they

What would one do if they were trapped in the mountains, barricaded in by snow with no food or water left. The Donner Party was a group of people traveling by wagon to the west. The Donner Party was a left Springfield, Illinois on a journey heading west in the spring of 1846. The Party was led by Jacob and George Donner decided to take the so called shortcut hastings passage. The poor decisions made throughout the journey westward contributed substantially to the failure of this journey westward.

Sand particles pelted my dry face; the sun beat down on us as we trekked across the desolate desert. Walking was becoming harder, and I asked myself, “How am I going to keep walking?” The answer seemed to burst through my doubtful thinking, “If the pioneers can do it so can you!” Martin’s Cove was one of the best experiences I have had. On a hot summer day in July we arrived at the Martin’s Cove trail head.