The Nez Perce men had traveled over 1,900 miles to ask Clark a question: Was it true that the white man had a book that explained the right way to worship the Great Spirit? Did the book tell what was pleasing to the Great Spirit? The book the Nez Perce were asking about was the Bible.
That story, most likely exaggerated, appeared on the front page of New York City’s Christian Advocate newspaper in 1833. Soon Protestant preachers and missionary societies were calling for volunteers to go out to Oregon Country to spread Christianity.
Not much was known about Oregon Country in the 1830s. Only a few explorers, trappers, and traders had reached the huge territory. But two volunteers came forward. One was a 27-year-old teacher named Narcissa Prentiss. The other was a 33-year-old doctor named Marcus Whitman. Both lived in western New York state. Narcissa was a single woman, so she was not seriously considered by the missionary board. No known white women had ever made the journey. Marcus’s application was accepted. Marcus knew the Prentiss family and heard of Narcissa’s interest in becoming a missionary. He called on the Prentiss family and proposed marriage to Narcissa. She accepted.
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) wanted Marcus to make a preliminary trip before he and Narcissa moved to Oregon Country. In 1835, Marcus went with the Reverend Samuel Parker to test the idea of establishing missions among the Indigenous peoples. Marcus learned many skills on that trip. He learned how to load a pack animal. He learned how to ford swollen streams. He learned how to live off the land and to ride long hours through all kinds of weather.
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the October 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.