Close

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wagontra.html" title="Facts and informations about wagon train">wagon train</a>

wagon train

wagon train in U.S. history, a group of covered wagons used to convey people and supplies to the West before the coming of the railroad. The wagon replaced the pack, or horse, train in land commerce as soon as proper roads had been built. The first frontier region in which wagoning became highly developed was across the Allegheny barrier in the late 18th cent. There were few routes through the mountains, and in the days of the westward movement they were well-traveled by the migrants' wagons and by the wagon trains of professional wagoners carrying goods between the Ohio settlements and the cities on the coast. Used in this trade was the Conestoga wagon , the most efficient freight carrier of the age. On the prairies of the Middle West and on the Great Plains, wagons could be used without the necessity of making roads, and there the covered wagon, or prairie schooner , of the migrant predominated. It was in crossing the Great Plains that the typical wagon train was developed. The vast distances through unsettled country and the danger from Native Americans made it necessary to travel in large parties. Such a train was organized with an almost military discipline for defense. A contract, or constitutional paper, was drawn up, setting forth the objects of the migration, the terms of joining, the rules to be followed, and the officers to be elected. All joining signed this paper and then participated in the election of officers. Sometimes both a military captain and a president with civil powers were chosen. More often the offices were combined in one individual. Aides or lieutenants were elected, and a guide was usually hired for the more difficult parts of the route. The order of wagons both on the trail and in camp was strictly regulated. At night the wagons were drawn into a circular corral, and a strict guard was kept to prevent a surprise attack by hostile Native Americans. Freighters who supplied the early army posts and mining camps also usually traveled in parties for the same reason as the migrants. The wagon trains disappeared in the East in the 1840s and 50s, and the Western trails lost importance in the later 19th cent.

Bibliography: See H. P. Walker, The Wagonmasters (1966).

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	A people in peril.(Native Americans face unemployment and poverty) Magazine article from: Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication; 2/24/1997; 700+ words ; ...more than 1 million other Native Americans living on reservations, have...almost one-third--of all Native Americans earn incomes below the poverty...Lost Wars, Lost Land How did Native Americans--with proud histories and... Read more
	American Demographics magazine.(income of Native Americans)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: The Chicago Reporter; 9/1/2001; 128 words ; Native Americans are the nation's second-wealthiest...1999 the average median income of Native Americans was $30,784, compared to $48,614...of full-blooded and multiracial Native Americans at 4.1 million and the 1997 Economic... Read more
	Environmental genocide: native Americans and toxic waste. Magazine article from: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology; 1/1/1998; ; 700+ words ; Genocide against Native Americans continues in modern times with...human health. Yet, because Native Americans live at the lowest socioeconomic...will discuss the genocide of Native Americans through environmental spoliation... Read more
	Native Americans today.(SOCIAL STUDIES)(Poem)(Photograph) Magazine article from: Weekly Reader, Edition 1 (including Science Spin); 11/1/2007; 566 words ; Meet Today's Native Americans [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Children play...Before Reading Explain that many Native Americans today work in different jobs. Ask: What are some jobs Native Americans today might do? Background Information... Read more
	The Stereotyping of Native Americans. Magazine article from: The Humanist; 9/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...images, and mascots that symbolize native Americans are used extensively in the United...Why focus on issues of stereotyping native Americans and not on the more life-threatening...attention to the violence that confronts native Americans instead of worrying about `a little... Read more
	"Native Americans".(some Jewish museum donors class themselves as Native Americans)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: Change; 1/1/2000; ; 56 words ; In a recent mail survey of museum donors, 3 percent of 800 respondents said they were Native Americans. Half of these Native Americans were Jewish. (Washington Post, Aug. 22, 1999) Harold Orlans has conducted many studies of higher... Read more
	Invisible Indians; Native Americans in Pennsylvania.(Brief article)(Book review) Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 8/1/2008; 175 words ; 9781604975116 Invisible Indians; Native Americans in Pennsylvania. Minderhout, David...fact that many European settlers met Native Americans for the first time there, but in fact...out those who considered themselves Native Americans in Pennsylvania, despite their being... Read more
	Anthills and cranberries.(facts about foods that Native Americans cooked and ate) Magazine article from: Children's Digest; 6/1/1995; ; 598 words ; Long ago, Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains...gardens, and fished. Groups of Native Americans that lived on the northwestern...saguaro that grew wild in the area. Native Americans in the coastal forests of the... Read more
	Roger Williams and Native Americans.(Editorial) Magazine article from: Baptist History and Heritage; 3/22/2008; ; 690 words ; ...fascinated by Williams's attitude toward Native Americans, with whom he had established friendships...Williams traded with and preached to Native Americans and studied several of their languages...rapport with and understanding off the Native Americans, Williams became a keen and ... Read more
	Fighting Words: The School Mascot Debate.(Native Americans find school symbol demeaning) Magazine article from: Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication; 3/19/1999; 392 words ; ...the Squaw, are symbols that demean Native Americans. They want the school to do away with...They say the mascots are a tribute to Native Americans. Mascots Are a Tribute Currently...supported. Degrading to Native Americas Native Americans activists say that they do not see... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	Wagon Trains Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ...South Pass; in July 1832 his twenty-wagon train reached the Green River by that...River on 10 October, the first wagon train to reach Oregon Country. By some...Missouri merchant, took the first wagon train, of three wagons, to Santa Fe... Read more
	Covered Wagon Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History COVERED WAGON COVERED WAGON, the means of transcontinental transportation used for two centuries of American history. The covered wagon was fundamentally a wagon box with a framework of hoop-shaped slats... Read more
	Conestoga Wagon Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History CONESTOGA WAGON CONESTOGA WAGON is one of the most distinctively American vehicles. Originating among...the Alleghenies just after the American Revolution. The Conestoga wagon was huge and heavily built, with broad wheels suited to dirt roads... Read more
	Conestoga wagon Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ...produce. The transportation of goods by wagon train developed into a major business employing...loads up to eight tons. The bottom of the wagon box was curved, rising at both ends, so...schooner was a modification of the Conestoga wagon. Bibliography: See study by G. Shumway... Read more
	Wagon Trails to New Mexico Book article from: American Eras Wagon Trails to New Mexico A Remote Economy . With comparatively few desirable commodities, and lacking precious metals, the New...outsiders. In 1821 William Becknell, a Missouri merchant, reached Santa Fe with American goods. By the end of the year two other wagon trains owned by American merchants entered the ... Read more

See all related entries