The Oregon Country and Fort Ross

Imagine traveling across the majority of our country by foot and water.  That’s what Lewis and Clark did after they set out in 1804.  They not only mapped the Louisiana Territory that Jefferson had just purchased, they cross the Oregon Country all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

I was amazed to learn that the Oregon Country was being claimed by the U.S., Spain, England, and Russia.  I had not known that Russia had claim in North America.  Fort Ross, in particular, interested me.  The Russians had established this for as a fur-gathering spot.  They hunted otters for their skins and sold them to Europe and China, almost decimating the population.

During this time period, Spain built forts to stop Russian expansion, and eventually the Russians pulled out of North America because of things happening in their home country.  According to ‘A History of US,’ volume 4, Fort Ross was a wonderful little town with beautiful homes, stores, vineyards, and a chapel.  The Russians resided with the Aleuts and Indians at Fort Ross – a town of about 400 people (A History of US, pages 160/1) (DOK.1)

As my students and I read a book this year that eventually takes place in Alaska (which I always point out on the map), I’d like to digress a little to talk about the Oregon Country and its settlers.  I’d also like to talk with them about Fort Ross.  I’d like them to infer how the inhabitants of the Oregon Country saw each other (the different countries settlements) (DOK 2).  They probably wanted the whole area for themselves and didn’t want to share with other countries!  I want the students to debate as if they are from a particular country and tell the other ‘countries’ why they should have the land (DOK 3).  Using the previous lesson on the Monroe Doctrine, I’d like my students to critique the Monroe Doctrine and analyze how the other countries probably felt about it (DOK 4).

126D Make inferences, draw conclusions, based on various sources….

166A Listen critically and respond to others….

Domains –1 a-e, 2 a-e, 3 a-e, 4 a,