Reformers and Crusaders
The reform efforts of the 1830s and 1840s are evidence of the belief held by many citizens that just as society is the creation of the people, so the improvement of society rests with the people.
Traveling on the Overland Trails, 1843-1860
In the 1830s and 1840s, Americans living east of the Mississippi River began to hear about the Oregon country from missionaries. Beginning in 1843, wagon trains set out for Oregon each summer from settlements along the Missouri River.