Study Guide

The Promise Study Guide

Vocabulary

Slavery: the institution of forced labor where one person is the legal property another.
Abolitionist: a person who favors ending slavery.
Expansionism: the policy of increasing a country’s size by expanding its territory.
Collaboration: act of working jointly on a project.
Adaptation: changing a written work to present it in another medium.

History

The Oregon Trail was the route west taken by 350,000 to 500,000 men, women and children from the 1840s to the 1860s.
The trail began at Independence, Missouri, and ended at Fort Vancouver, (now in Washington State.)
While making the trip almost 10% of the people died from diseases spread by poor sanitation.
Travelers packed wagons as light as possible, only taking easily preserved staple foods.
Most meals consisted of bacon, beans, coffee, biscuits and bread.
Although some people tried to carry along furniture, books, and treasured belongings, as the journey progressed, many pioneers had to throw away extra baggage to avoid overworking the oxen.
The 2,000 mile journey took five months by ox-drawn wagon.
Today, you could take the same trip 2,000 mile trip on the Oregon Trail by car in 4 days or on a airplane in 4 hours.

The Promise