Prairie Life
By Claire Holt
Table of Contents Section Title
Page Number
Chapter 1:All about Westward expansion Louisiana purchase Lewis and Clark Moving west
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Chapter 2:All about Prairie life Homes Chores/food school/fun
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Chapter 3:The impact of pioneers
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Glossary
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Bibliography
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Chapter 1 :All About Westward Expansion Louisiana Purchase Get those wagon wheels rolling.Westward Expansion was a huge deal to the United States.After The Louisiana purchase was signed the country changed forever.Everybody loved Thomas Jefferson after this.It was signed on April 30 1803. In 1803 the U.S.A’s 3 president Thomas Jefferson decided to purchase more land that would double the country's size .Jefferson had bought the land from France.He bought what is known as the Louisiana Territory,That is why it was called the Louisiana purchase.The land cost $15.Million it was a small amount for so much land.The Louisiana territory was 828,806 square miles and was unexplored. It was west to the Mississippi River to the rocky mountains. If only someone would explore it.
Lewis and Clark A little bit after the Louisiana purchase was signed ,Jefferson sent explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and 40 other men to explore the land.The Lewis and Clark expedition began on May 14 1804.They traveled by boat up the Missouri and Mississippi River most of the time.Lewis and Clark wrote down information about the land.They did this in journals, they wrote about plants,animals,and Native Americans. A Native American named Sacagawea was a very important member.She was a interpreter for the men,many people think the men would have failed without her.On November 7 1805 Lewis and Clark reached the pacific ocean [their goal]. The group returned to St.Louis in 1806.They had covered close to 7’000 square miles. It made some people think about moving west.
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Westward Expansion After the expedition people decided to move out west they were called pioneers.”They turned their faces toward the land of golden promise that lay beyond the rocky mountains.”-Laviana Honeyman Porter. Pioneers traveled for many different reasons Gold, homestead, land, religion. There were many different trails for Oregon trail,California,Sante Fe, and Moreman.They traveled in big Covered wagons. There were 44 states to move to.Many people called Missouri the gateway to the west.It all bagan in 1840 and ended in 1860.It was a long hard trip for everyone,many people didnt survive.The pioneers were very important.
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Chapter 2:All about prairie life Laura Ingalls Wilder had a life on the road,it seemed like they were always moving.She had 2 sisters on her first move to a prairie There names were Carrie and Mary.Laura's whole family had chores to do on the prairie.Mary became blind after a sickness.Laura had many sad times in her life,but she stayed strong after all she was a pioneer.Sadly,Laura died in 1975 she was 90 but she accomplished many things in her life. She lived on a prairie she wrote the little house books.Living on the praire was very difficult. After a few people moved out west many felt it was their destiny to go.People traveled for many different reasons for example homestead ,gold,religion or just for a change.Most people took the oregon trail but some people took others.Many people were excited others were frightened.Everyone knew it would change their life for the better .Pioneers always said it was their Manifest destiny.People even came up with catchphrases for the west.Everywhere you looked there was a wagon moving.
If you lived in the 1800’s and traveled west you would need to bring a lot of supplies.Such as Rifles,gunpowder,bullets,pots, pans,other kitchen essentials,and lots of clothes.Log cabins were built with few tools and no nails.If you lived in a woodwind you would most likely build a log cabin,If you lived on a prairie you would probably build a sodee .Settlers in the desert built their houses out of bricks.Most homes were small probably about 15 feet wide and 25 feet long.Children swam and went to baseball games for fun.They also competed in horse shows.Pioneers did not use metal for anything.They went to school in one room school houses . The teachers taught arithmetic writing and reading. The children had to get wood milk cows and a lot more.Westward expansion was a very tough time.
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Chapter 3:The impact of pioneers The pioneers were very important.Without them nobody would have moved out west and saw the united states.They had to have a lot of courage to do that.Luckily they were full of courage and bravery.Pioneers made a huge impact on the United States.They risked their life to show others the west.They were very important to us and the u.s. Thier impact was huge.It was very difficult to ride out to unknown land and live there ecspiccally in the 1800’s. The pioneers were very courageous after all you have to have courage to continue.The people who didn't have courage stayed put.Pioneers were very important.Many people spent life on the prairie and built houses.But to do that they had to have courage.Many people courage but the pioneers had the most.Some people didn’t know where they were going and found themselves on a prairie like Laura Ingalls Wilder.Whatever reason they moved out west for they had courage.
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Glossary Covered wagons/wagon trains-What pioneers traveled by, like cars Destiny-Something that someone wants to have or do Homestead -farming and animals Sodee-a home made of loose sticks and full of bugs and snakes Arithmetic-what pioneers called math
Bibliography Anderson,William.The Story Of Laura Ingalls Wilder.1998. Harper Collins publishers.china. Ducksters.Westward Expansion.2016.online.1/8/16.www.Ducksters .com Domanaur,Teresa.Life in the west.online.New York:sholastic,Childrens press.
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