Wagons Ho: American Emigrant Trails, 1775-1880
From 1775 to 1880, America experienced one of the greatest mass migrations in history as settlers left the East to build new lives in the West. This presentation examines the network of routes that shaped the nation's identity, including Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap, the Oregon Trail's expansive prairies, the gold-seekers' California Trail, and the commercial Santa Fe Trail, which linked the U.S. and Mexico. The journey west was perilous, marked by disease, starvation, and unforgiving terrain. The program also recognizes the profound and often tragic impact of westward expansion on the Native American tribes who long inhabited these lands. This program is presented in collaboration with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at ASU.
