CLEP US History I

Answer: D - The Oregon Trail was created because there was a competition between the United States and Britain after the American Revolution for the land that is now British Columbia and the states of Oregon and Washington. Thus, both governments encouraged settlers to go west in order to claim the land for their respective countries, leading to the development of the Oregon Trail in the 1830s and 1840s. Ultimately, the British and Americans would split the land, establishing the northern border between the United States and Canada.