From the early 1800s to the 1890s, thousands of people in the United States moved west. How did they get there? They rode wagons and used the Oregon Trail.

In 1812, Robert Stuart was sent east from the west coast. He was sent by his boss. Some men went with Stuart to help him. Stuart used different Native American trails. He also found a way through the Rocky Mountains that wasn’t very difficult. Stuart and the other men traveled a little over 2,000 miles. Stuart’s route became the Oregon Trail.

In the 1830s, a small team of people moved west by using the Oregon Trail. The leaders were Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa. They were the first to travel on the trail by wagon. But they had to leave their wagons 200 miles before reaching Oregon.

In 1842, 100 people from the eastern United States moved to Oregon and California. They traveled to the west coast completely by wagon. They inspired thousands of people to move there too.

Thousands of people successfully traveled on the Oregon Trail. But it was still a difficult trip. Many people died on the trail too.