Life+in+the+West

= Life in the West = During the early to mid-1800s, thousands of Americans moved to the West in order to start new lives, find religious freedom, or seek their fortunes in the gold and silver mines. The following websites will help you find more information about these groups.

Also, you can find more information about this time period on our California Gold Rush page and Native Americans page.
=[|Chapter 16- Life in the West (textbook reading)]= If you need to review any of the textbook information about the various groups living in the west, click on the link above. It will provide you with the information in full color.

=[|Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California]= This website from the California Department of Parks and Recreation is a text-based site detailing the role of Mexican Americans, Chinese Americans, American Indians, Black Americans, and Japanese Americans in the settlement and growth of California.

=[|Whitman Mission National Historic Site]= This expanded web site from the National Park Service provides a wealth of information about the missionaries' fateful journey to the West. You will gain in-depth information from the historic resources on the site, including biographies, primary and secondary accounts of the massacre, and photos of the site.

=[|Pioneer and Emigrant Women]= Hosted by Rootsweb.com, an online community for genealogists, this page is part of the section “Notable Women Ancestors.” After migrating from England and New England to Utah, Oregon, South Dakota and other western regions, these women had incredible stories to tell. Their biographies, usually written by descendants or relatives, offer unique insights into the experiences of pioneer women.

=[|American Mountain Men]= Produced by members of the American Mountain Men organization, as well as volunteers, this site is devoted to the legacy of the western fur trading industry and the mountain men. Primary sources abound in the Library and Archive sections. Therefore, you can get a feel for the men through the journals, images, and museum pieces.

=[|Mormon Trail Interactive]= This site was produced by UtahLINK as part of the 150th anniversary commemoration of the Mormon Trail. The site is a mix of old and new, as primary sources from the 19th century are interspersed with re-enactors' accounts of their journey in 1997. Click on the K-12 education project link, a complete table of contents will provide further information.

=[|Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation]= In order to learn more about the Trail of Tears and its associated tribes that are still active communities today, the Internet offers a variety of resources, many of which you can find on this page.