The Donner Party: Survival or Principles?

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The Donner Party
The Donner Party encountered one of the most paramount hardships a set of travelers could possibly fathom. This historical catastrophe involves eighty-one inexperienced emigrants who traveled in hopes of reaching the land that’s come to be known as California. Forty-seven of said travelers have met series unfortunate events from many contributing factor (PBS). The most horrible and misleading factor of all was the human mind and its insistent need to discover and subjugate everything, whether within reach or not in the shortest and fastest way possible (A&E). The aspect of taking the shortest route that led to one’s inevitable downfall, and in some cases, to death, of the Donner Party. The amount of tragedies about travelers who’ve ran out of food, experienced bad weather, or even getting raided by Native American Indian were endless, but this is a story like no other. It's one of the greatest calamities of all time, however few of us know the unabridged story. Their determination to outlive the odds is ultimately greater than the social taboos that took place during this time period (Bell).
In April of 1846, lived eight families from Springfield, Illinois simply looking to find a new place to live that is set well beyond the Rocky Mountains. Totaling approximately forty-seven participants that extended in age from newborns to the elderly, the excursion set their wagons west on an expedition that would write them into the history books (Goldman).
James Reed, a businessman who hoped to prosper in California, organized the journey. He wanted to find a temperate climate that would alleviate his spouse's physical difficulties (PBS). ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬George Donner, a sixty-year-old farmer, was chosen, as the wagon t...

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...reservation even with the Fort Laramie Treaty, which swore for the reconciliation amongst Native Americans and white settlers. The Manifest Destiny, the resettlement of the West, conveyed an abundant adjustment in the antiquity of the United States of America (PBS).

Works Cited
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Bell, Rachel. "Historical Perspective." All about Cannibalism: The Ancient Taboo in Modern Times. Crime Library, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Goldman, Laurence R. "Cannibalism." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. 2003 ed. N.p.: Gale Group, 2002.Encyclopedia.com. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
The History Channel. "Donner Party." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

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