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Manifest Destiny
Religion - Manifest Destiny was the driving force behind the American push west. The belief that it was the American right, given by God to explore and conquer the lands, peoples and animals of the west. This concept represented many things for many people. For some it was a convienent excuse, for some it was religious zeal. Either way without the command of God the PNW may not have been settled the same. -
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The Corps of Discovery
Science/Technology - Though technically a failure in that a lucrative passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific remained elusive, the Corps of Discovery opened a wide new world to the American peoples. Rivers and mountains once unknown to the white man were now being traversed and mapped. Animals and plants unknown where being collected for study and peoples unknown were being spoken too and noted. The Corps of Discovery opened a new age of geographic, topographic and natural exploration. -
Reaching the Pacific
Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific on November 7, 1805 more than a year after they departed on their journey. Of the great Pacific Clark wrote, "Great joy in campwe are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we been so long anxious to see and the roaring noise made by the waves breaking on the rocky shores may be heard distinctly." -
Fort Henry for the Americans
Economics - Built on the Snake River in the winter of 1810 by the Missouri Fur Company Fort Henry was to be a refuge from Indians and weather. The soon abandoned fort was the first American fur post West of the Rocky Mountains and was representative of the American entrance into PNW trading. -
No Teepees Here...
Art/Architecture - Teepees are the dwellings most commonly associated with Native American peoples. Though used widely by plains tribes and some nomadic tribes in the PNW the teepee was not a common sight in the coastal regions favored by fur traders and trappers arriving in the PNW. Rather longhouses constructed of wooden planks were the preferred dwellings for coastal tribes. Thes tribes are also famous for their totem poles, used for stroy telling and recording tribal histories. -
Timber!
Environment - The PNW was once covered by roughly seventy million acres of forest. Naturally this abundance was exploited in full from the time of the regions first sawmill in 1827 until present day. Initially little thought was given to the sustainability of large scale logging and the regions environment suffered greatly prior to the advent of conservation efforts. Impacts include mud slides, soil erosion, animal habitat loss, clogged water ways and pollution from milling technologies. -
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The Oregon Trail
Environment - At its peak of popularity, between 1840 and 1860 the Oregon Trail was home to thousands of travelers yearly. The biggest danger on the trail was disease and most often disease brought on by the neglectful behaviors of those traveling. Along with travelers came their dead animals, dead individuals, and associated waste. The vast amounts of human waste left on the trail polluted the environment not only for future travelers but for the natives and animal populations along the trail. -
The Whitman Tragedy
Religion - In fall 1847 Cayuse Indians entered the Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu and killed missionary Marcus Whitman, his wife and 11 others. This event was helped to enflame religious fevers that drove more and more missionaries west to save the savages as well as the religious and cultural tensions between whites and Indians and Catholics and Protestants. -
Walla Walla Valley Council
Government - The American government never respected the landrights or cultures of the native peoples. This is obvious especially in the treaty making policies used in the 19th century to secure Native lands. Isaac Stevens met with the leaders of numerous Eastern and Central Oregon tribes in May and June 1855. During this council he convinced 6 Native Nations to sign treaties relegating them to reservations across the PNW. -
Rag Town Idaho
Art/Architecture - Like most early mining towns Lewiston Idaho was little more than tents. During the Gold Rushes of the PNW many rag towns popped up among the mountsides. Pole buildings made of brown muslin were a mainstay structure for miners and a common place architectural site during the early 1860's. -
There's Gold in Them There Hills
Economics - By the middle of 1861 what was once the little inhabited eastern edge of the Washington was turning into a quickly growing new territory of its own. Despite the damage that the mining did to the environment of what is now Idaho the boom was the birth of the future state. Economically the gold rush in Idaho brought people, stock, agriculture and money to the region like only gold can. -
Hapgood, Hume and Company
Technology - The first cannery on the Pacific Coast was established on the Sacramento River but in 1866 the operations were moved to the Columbia River where salmon runs were sufficient to support the demand. The technology of canning revolutionized fishing and fish consumption and created a boom for fishing, especially salmon in the PNW. -
Realization of the Transcontinental Dream
Economics - Even as migration west increased over the Oregon Trail the PNW remained an isolated region accessible only to those with the time, money and guts to make the journey. The completion of a transcontinental railway opened the west to commercial and private travel revolutionizing the population and more importantly the economy. Once isolated the ever expanding forestry, fishing, farming and agricultural industries in the PNW could now trade freely with the East. -
Hatching the Future - Fish Hatcheries in the PNW
Environment - One of the earliest attempts at conservation in the PNW was the creation of fish hatcheries on the Clackamas River near Portland. Fishing was an enormous economic boom for the PNW but it was an industry that was not sustainably managed in the beginning and natural populations of salmon especially suffered. Today the PNW is known for its many conservation efforts. -
Idaho Test Oath
Religion - Idaho teemed with anti-Mormon sentiments during the 19th century. This religious hatred became law in 1885 when the Test Oath Act came into law requiring persons to testify under oath whether or not they belonged to the Mormon Church and believed in their doctrines. Ploygamy was outlawed at the time and to testify as Mormon would render an individual ineligible for the vote. -
The General Allotment Act
Government - The General Allotment Act or Dawes Act was one of many in a long line of broken promises that the Amercan government made to the Native populations of the PNW. Early on reservations were used to try and confine Indians on "their own land" and essentially out of the way of white settlement. Soon whites needed more room however and the Dawes Act opened up once promised lands to the ever growing white population. Yet again displacing Indian tribes and further debasing the peoples. -
Fire Destroys Seattle
Architecture - In June of 1889 fires ripped through many PNW cities including Ellensburg, Spokane and Seattle. Like most cities of the day the majority of structures were wooden. When the city burned to the ground and the rebuild began the architectural face of the city turned largely to stone and brick. -
Uncle Sam's National Forest
Government - Though often unrealized today a major role government has played in the PNW has been consrvation and a major facet of this is National Forests lands. These public lands ownder by Uncle Sam are protected from private sale, or profit a way to ensure the beautiful natural resources of the area for posterity. At the time of inception National forests and conservation efforts were hotly debated as a a way to stunt provate wealth and stifely states rights. -
Kraft's Process
Technology - Much of the forests of the PNW had little commercial value until the advent of sulfate, Kraft's Process, used to turn less profitable lumber into newsprint. Though always a prevelant industry in the PNW, the ability to produce newsprint was a breathe of life into the regions lumber industry.
