Westward Vision: The Story of the Oregon Trail

by David Lavender

“In one very real sense,” David Lavender writes, “the story of the Oregon Trail begins with Columbus.” This opening suggests the panoramic sweep of his history of that famous trail. In chiseled, colorful prose, Lavender illustrates the “westward vision” that impelled the early explorers of the American interior looking for a northwest passage and send fur trappers into the region charted by Lewis and Clark. For the emigrants following the trappers’ routes, that vision gradually grew into a sense of a manifest American destiny. Lavender describes the efforts of emigration societies, of missionaries like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, and of early pioneer settlers like Hall Jackson Kelley, Jason Lee, and Thomas Jefferson Farnham, as well as the routes they took to the “Promised Land.” He concludes by recounting the first large-scale emigrations of 1843–45, which steeled the U. S. government for war with Mexico and agreements with Britain over the Oregon boundary. 

Genres: History

425 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

David Sievert Lavender was a well-known historian of the Western United States, nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize, who is best remembered by many for his River Runners of the Grand Canyon.

Lavender spent most of his life in Ojai, California. An articulate and deeply knowledgeable speaker on the political and social history of the American West, he often spoke at the annual Telluride Film Festival.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in all of David Lavender's books, he demonstrates that he really knows his subject. As I have said in other reviews, he is my favorite author of books on the old west. As with all of this books, this one is a delight to read. The book follows all of the exploration in the general area that would encompass the final version of the trail. We follow voyageurs, fur trappers, missionaries, cranks, British company men and finally American settlers from the earliest days of the exploration of the west until the trail takes its final form. This is definitely worth reading if you are interested in the opening of the American West.

[Cheryl Licata · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author begins his book by stating that Columbus actually began the story of the Oregon Trail. He was looking for a short cut to the Pacific Ocean. This overland journey would be referred to as the Oregon Trail later in history. Many groups of people wanted this route and the land surrounding it. So, battles were fought with Indians, fur trappers, hunters, missionaries and pioneer settlers. Many brave people lost their lives. The book culminates with 1848 when gold was discovered and the human stampede on the Oregon Trail to find riches. The stories about the creation of the Oregon Trail make interesting reading.

[Michael McCue · Rating 3 out of 5]

well done research like all of David Lavender's books, good use of quotes from travelers journals. The background was maybe too much, began with the beginning of the fur trade in New France rather than the beginning of the overland trails. On the other hand he was right that the Westward Movement began with fur trade and the fur trade began with the French.

One very interesting point was the many times that South Pass was discovered and forgotten again before it became the main way over the Rockies.

[Giudetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for school in my last semester of college before I moved to Idaho and Oregon. It read like an adventure novel -- I'm sure I had dust in my mouth!

[Adam Gott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read detailing the early history of the Oregon trail.