What did people traveling along the Santa Fe Trail carry in their wagons? Follow in the footsteps of over 250,000 emigrants who traveled to the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s: the greatest mass migration in American history. The California Trail was important in the history of California, because the settlers who did come to California were able to assist John C. Frémont and his American forces to wrest control from Mexico in 1846 and 1847, which was confirmed by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The magnanimous aspect of the Mormon migration 8. Mormons did not employ professional guides 4. Pioneer: person who is among the irst to explore or settle a . ... Emigrants and pioneers looking for a new beginning traveled a long what trail? The California National Historic Trail is over 5,000 miles long and covers portions of 10 states. Oregon-California Trail. People who crossed over the California Trail are pioneers. About 25 people made up this party, which headed out along the familiar trading trail to Los Angeles (the old Santa Fe Trail). Why did emigrants choose the Santa Fe Trail? The Oregon Trail had to eventually cross the South Platte River to gain access to the North Platte River, which overlanders followed all the way to the area of present-day Casper, Wyoming. The migration of families 6. History of internal migration in the United States: Ever since the original 13 colonies, westward expansion has been a feature of American life. new area. The Oregon Trail began in the 1840s. They drove a flock of sheep ahead as a source of food. 1. Notable Members: •William Gordon National Oregon/California Trail Center 320 North 4th Street Montpelier, Idaho 83254 (866) 847-3800 This was done at California Crossing, named for the gold rushers of 1849. This so-called “Hastings Cutoff” directed emigrants to leave the main California Trail at Fort Bridger and travel southwest around the Great Salt Lake, saving 400 miles of journey. Though some American settlers had traveled to Oregon and California in the 1830s, West-bound wagon trains really started heading out … It was most heavily used in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. People who traveled on the California Trail were called emigrants. The Mormon Trail was a two-way road 7. The length of the wagon trail from the Missouri River to Sacramento, California was about 1,950 miles (3,138 km). The Oregon-California Trail ended in two different spots, what are the? Non-frontiersmen were quickly transformed into pioneers 5. About 10% of the pioneers died on the journey accounting for approximately 50,000 deaths, After crossing the Rocky Mountains and entering present-day Idaho, the emigrants in the early 1840’s considered themselves officially in Oregon Territory. 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