What type of history would the Oregon Trail be considered?

rascalgirl14: What type of history would the Oregon Trail be considered?
Would it be social history? I know it’s not diplomatic. Any historians out there? What are some other types of history?

Answers and Views:

Answer by justme
Americian

Answer by septembersong
American history of the Northwest. There is ancient history of course, which goes back thousands of years.

Answer by Kevin S
It relates to 18th century history, 18th century conflicts, manifest destiny, 18th century imperialism, American history, Native American history, probably social history in the hardships endured on the trail. You can lump it in a lot of categories

Answer by sk8trmom51
Well, I’m much more into the social aspect of history than that of the political or diplomatic, but all three must be considered.

There was a political dimension: the US was growing, and settling this area with US citizens was obviously more to our advantage than to allow it to be settled by others who might prove less than friendly toward our interests. There was a diplomatic one, as well–we nearly went to war with Britain over the Canadian border. Of course, the social portion is found in the reasons why people went there, and the interactions with the native peoples already in the area.

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the consequences for the Native Americans weren’t necessarily good–people of the nineteenth century were no less ethnocentric than those of the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, and by this time there had been so much conflict between the two groups that the average settler often had the attitude that “The only good Indian is a dead Indian” and acted accordingly.

It’s a pity, really, for the native cultures really had a good deal to offer the Europeans–after all, they had lived in the areas the Europeans were moving into and had developed ways to survive in the environment that could have been invaluable had the newcomers been more inclined to learn and less caught up in the idea of their own culture as superior.