What was the Santa Fe Trail?
Q: What was the Santa Fe Trail?
A: The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th century transportation route through central North America that connected Independence, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Q: Who pioneered the Santa Fe Trail?
A: The Santa Fe Trail was pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell.
Q: When did the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe end its use as a commercial highway?
A: The introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880 ended its use as a commercial highway.
Q: What other trade route did it connect with?
A: The route skirted the northern edge and crossed the northwestern corner of Comancheria, and also connected with El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City.
Q: How did this affect Comanche power in the region?
A: Heavy trail traffic along the Arkansas River valley prevented bison herds from reaching important seasonal grazing land, contributing to their decline which in turn hastened the decline of Comanche power in the region.
Q: How was it used during Mexican–American War?
A: During Mexican–American War, it was used as an invasion route for U.S forces into New Mexico.
Q: How did this contribute to U.S expansion into new lands after war's end? A: After U.S took control of Southwest at end of Mexican–American War, it helped open up new settlement and contributed to expansion of U.S into lands taken during war's conclusion
