MANIFEST DESTINY 1806 1855
THE OREGON TRAIL WESTWARD MIGRATION TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Starvation
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Disease
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Native American attacks
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Tornadoes
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Fire
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Detailed explanation-1: -Disease. Emigrants feared death from a variety of causes along the trail: lack of food or water; Indian attacks; accidents, or rattlesnake bites were a few. However, the number one killer, by a wide margin, was disease. The most dangerous diseases were those spread by poor sanitary conditions and personal contact.
Detailed explanation-2: -Dysentery, smallpox, measles, mumps, and influenza were among the diseases named in diaries and journals, but cholera, mountain fever, and scurvy were probably the biggest killers.
Detailed explanation-3: -Combined with accidents, drowning at dangerous river crossings, and other illnesses, at least 20, 000 people died along the Oregon Trail. Most trailside graves are unknown, as burials were quick and the wagon trains moved on.
Detailed explanation-4: -It is estimated that as many as 1 in 10 emigrants died on the trail-between 20, 000 and 30, 000 people. The majority of deaths occurred because of diseases caused by poor sanitation. Cholera and typhoid fever were the biggest killers on the trail.