Westward Expansion

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Westward Expansion
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Traveling Through Missouri

• Preparing for a long overland journey was a
  big job. Travelers needed basic food items such
  as flour, butter, sugar, salt, yeast, bacon, tea,
  and coffee. They needed enough supplies for a
  six-month journey.

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Traveling Through Missouri

• Settlers traveled in wagons drawn by four to
  six horses or oxen. They often joined with
  others to form a wagon train. These trains could
  include up to 100 wagons. They traveled together
  for safety.

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Traveling Through Missouri

• On a normal day, travelers would wake up at
  400 a.m. The wagon train would journey until
  400 p.m. Then the settlers made camp and cooked
  dinner. They also did chores, cared for their
  animals, and sang or played games until it was
  time to sleep.

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Hardships on the Trail

• The travelers faced many dangers and
  hardships. People brought along animals to stock
  their new farms or ranches. It was hard to
  control these herds. Many travelers suffered
  from injuries or disease. The weather could
  change suddenly. The travelers feared attacks by
  Native Americans.

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Jumping-Off Points

• Missouri soon became the jumping-off place
  for people going to the West. Our state was easy
  to reach because of its location on the Missouri
  and Mississippi Rivers. So many people stopped
  here that Missouri became known as the Gateway
  to the West. Easterners would take a steamboat
  on the Missouri River as far west as Franklin or
  Independence.

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Jumping-Off Points

• Pioneers would prepare for the overland part
  of the journey in a covered wagon. They bought
  their supplies in Franklin and Independence. In
  the trail towns, experienced wagon leaders made a
  living taking settlers west.

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Westward Trails

• The Santa Fe Trail was an 800-mile trail from
  Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, in what is
  now New Mexico. Traders had used this route
  since 1821 to trade with Mexico. Travelers on
  the Oregon Trail and some of the California Trail
  also set off from Independence.

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hardship

• A danger or difficulty people endure in the
  pursuit of a goal.
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