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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None of them walked because it was too far.
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Pioneers were required to walk.
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There was only room for one or two people to ride in the wagon.
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They liked to walk.
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Detailed explanation-1: -People didn’t ride in the wagons often, because they didn’t want to wear out their animals. Instead they walked alongside them, getting just as dusty as the animals. The long journey was hard on both people and animals. It was even hard on the wagons, which usually had to be repaired several times during the trip.
Detailed explanation-2: -Prairie schooners were capable of carrying over a ton of cargo and passengers, but their small beds and lack of a suspension made for a notoriously bumpy ride. With this in mind, settlers typically preferred to ride horses or walk alongside their wagons on foot.
Detailed explanation-3: -To be on the safe side, the pioneers drew their wagons into a circle at night to create a makeshift stockade. If they feared Native Americans might raid their livestock-the Plains tribes valued the horses, though generally ignored the oxen-they would drive the animals into the enclosure.
Detailed explanation-4: -In addition, most people walked, both because it allowed their wagons to carry more weight and because riding in the wagons-which had no suspension-they would have endured constant jolting and lurching on the rough trails and roads. Ox teams were not controlled with reins, and drivers walked alongside the animals.
Detailed explanation-5: -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.