USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Oregon Trail was a roughly 2, 000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, that was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west. The trail was arduous and snaked through Missouri and present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and finally into Oregon.

Detailed explanation-2: -Overwhelmingly, the journey was made by wagons drawn by teams of draft animals. Some people did not have wagons and rode horseback, while others went west with handcarts, animal carts, or even the occasional carriage.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Oregon Trail went from western Missouri across the Great Plains into the Rocky Mountains to Oregon City, Oregon. It was most heavily used in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. It was the longest historic overland migration trail in North America.

Detailed explanation-4: -Free land in Oregon and the possibility of finding gold in California lured them westward. At the same time, eastern churches wanted to teach American Indians of the Oregon Country their European ideas of “civilization.” Many simply hoped for a chance to start a new life.

Detailed explanation-5: -It took nearly one month for a wagon train to cross Nebraska and four months to make the approximately 2, 000-mile trip to either California or Oregon. Yet, nearly 400, 000 people traveled the rutted trails from the Missouri River to the Willamette River. The Oregon Trail was never a clearly defined route.