The need to link up

1. READ/play the text
2. CLICK the picture (and video)
3. TRY this:
Q1: What stopped the West Coast from growing?

[Answer]

The Oregon Trail was fine when no other alternative was available. It helped many hundreds of thousands find a new life in the west.

But the people in the west were isolated from the rest of the nation, and there was always a danger they might want to break away.

Trade was also impossible, so farmers in the west had to grow only what they needed for themselves.