Original photo by Glasshouse Images/ Alamy Stock Photo
In the spring of 1847, American newspapers printed horrifying reports about an ill-fated group of pioneers who had become trapped in the Sierra Nevada over the winter. With few provisions and facing unbearable cold, nearly half of the group’s 81 members perished before rescue parties could find them, four to five months later. Eventually, the Donner Party’s tragic tale became embedded in American history, but it could have had a much greater impact had a young Illinois lawyer chosen to join the group.
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It's a factBefore the Transcontinental Railroad, wagons were the only way for emigrants to journey west over land. From 1840 to 1880, hundreds of thousands traced their way across the prairies, and the evidence remains. Today, ruts from wagon traffic are still visible from Missouri to Oregon.
In the 1840s, emigrants were itching to go west in search of gold, new beginnings, and a glimpse of the West Coast’s famed beauty. So it wasn’t strange that Abraham Lincoln, then working as a lawyer, helped at least one traveler settle his affairs before beginning the journey. An Irish entrepreneur named James Reed had known Lincoln from their days serving together in the Black Hawk War in 1832. According to the historian Michael Wallis, Reed — a founder of the Donner Party — extended an invitation to the 37-year-old lawyer and his family to join the voyage. Lincoln was likely tempted: He reportedly had a lifelong interest in visiting California. But his wife, Mary Todd, was adamant they should remain in Illinois considering the difficulty of 2,000 miles of wagon travel with a young son and a baby on the way. The Donner Party departed Springfield, Illinois, without the Lincolns on April 15, 1846. Mary Todd was present as the wagons pulled away, waving farewell to an expedition that would go on to face extreme peril. Abraham Lincoln, however, traded his dream of westward travel for political ambitions that took him much further in history when he became the 16th President 15 years later.
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The Oregon Trail’s primary starting point was ______.
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The Oregon Trail’s primary starting point was Independence, Missouri.
Abraham Lincoln created the Secret Service.
In a strange twist of fate, one of President Abraham Lincoln’s final acts was the creation of the Secret Service. Signed into law on April 14, 1865 — the same day Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre — the Secret Service was established as a group of investigators with an entirely different mission than their purpose today. During the 1800s, one-third of all American currency was counterfeit, a problem so staggering that Lincoln created a commission to find a fix. The solution was an investigative squad that could bust the bogus banknote problem, giving way to the first iteration of the Secret Service. The Secret Service initially served under the Department of the Treasury, though officers would occasionally provide security for the President if other law enforcement was unavailable. It would take another President’s assassination — William McKinley’s in 1901 — for Congress to assign the Secret Service to permanent presidential detail, though the department is still responsible for investigating financial crimes and fraud today.
Nicole Garner Meeker is a writer and editor based in St. Louis. Her history, nature, and food stories have also appeared at Mental Floss and Better Report.
