Title: What motivated settlers to go to Oregon Country? - eNotes.com
Headings: What motivated settlers to go to Oregon Country?
Western Expansion, Manifest Destiny, and the Mexican-American War
What motivated settlers to go to Oregon Country?
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Why did Americans go to Oregon in the early 1800s?
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Why did settlers move to the Great Plains?

Content: Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. Roosevelt Paulsen
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Oregon Country, roughly composed of the present-day states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, was jointly occupied from 1818 by the United States and Britain. This settlement of the legal status of the region led to an influx of settlers into the area. Though settlers were motivated by different purposes, one principal aspect for migration was access to farmland. Fertile and free farmland in the Willamette Valley drew a large number of American settlers who had previously subsisted on marginal lands in Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana. Settlement by farmers was promoted, in part, by the U.S. government which hoped to legitimize its claims to the territory through the influx of a large number of American citizens, and by the 1840s, Americans outnumbered Britons in the Oregon Country. Other motivations for settlement were the rich fur trade and missionary evangelism. Approved by eNotes Editorial Team
Michael Koren
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There were several reasons why settlers went to the Oregon Country. One reason people went was for a spirit of adventure. Some people enjoyed exploring new lands and facing the challenges of settling in an area that was undeveloped.