DBQ Essay: The Oregon Trail

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Have you ever been tasked with making a hard decision? Whether it was moving to the city for a job or dropping out of school, they all have pros and cons. Unfortunately, my family was asked a hard question that could alter our future. Should we stay at our Kentucky dairy farm or take the Oregon Trail to seek a better life? The Oregon Trail is a trail that American pioneers took to emigrate west for a better life. My family decided to stay put as we wanted to ensure our safety. Yes, we could become wealthy and go up in social class if we went on this journey. Yes, it may be our “destiny” to travel to California and live in a nice and beautiful area. But doesn’t that sound too good to be true? Taking this trail is very expensive, long, and has some horrible things that could/will happen to us. Worst of all, I risk losing my family just …show more content…
Upward mobility, according to Document A, “refers to people becoming more wealthy and moving from one social class to a higher class.” This means that people who decide to take part in this journey will have huge success in life. This would be very nice and all, but how true is this? Many people say this trip makes you face horrible living conditions and brings the death of loved ones; this is supported by Document F. In addition to this, Document A includes an image of people who seem very happy and enjoying their life in the West. There are also lots of houses built and it shows they have a surplus amount of food. This tells people that life in the West is fantastic and the people there are thieving. However, if the Oregon Trail was this easy, then there would be no question on whether or not people should stay or go. If the information being expressed in the picture was true I would definitely go but images can be very condescending and sometimes the author draws what people want to see. That is why staying put is the prime thing to
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