If the wagons got stuck, then the people would be stranded in the cold Rockies, and eventually die.
The buffalo also roamed free on the Plains and sometimes stampeded, crushing people in the wagon.
Disease spread in the camps wiping out a large percentage of the people going west.
Getting water was very difficult because there were not many rivers near by, so if you were ill or d-hydrated you may die because you cant get any water to drink, and sometimes the water they did find was not clean.
If they ran out of food on their journey then they would either have to eat each other or starve.
I think the homesteaders and the Mormons did travel west for a few of the same reasons, because both of them wanted a better life to the one they were living at the moment, good farm land, water, trees etc… however they were leaving their homes for different reasons. The Mormons were escaping religious persecution, so wanted a place where they could be free to practice their religion and not be treated badly for it. Whereas the homesteaders wanted farm land and more money and a better future for their families, also their towns were to overcrowded and wanted more room.
The Mormons chose to travel to this particular place because it was deserted and so they could live in peace, similarly the homesteaders went west because they wanted a place with plenty of space and no one living there, so they could farm the land.
They both had heard about the great beautiful land, because of all the propaganda and letters home, so they both went because of what other people had told them.
The Mormons all went together in a group, same as the homesteaders they travelled west because everyone else was doing it.
Many of the people came from different countries all over the world, and some like the Mormons were trying to escape religious persecution and fled from their country to another. The Mormons also fled from America to Mexico.
The Mormons went west because they land was not owned by anybody , so would be free, cheap. So was the homesteaders land.
I think that both groups were quite successful, because they both started from scratch a new life. However, I think the Mormons were more successful, because they achieved much greater things after their move west.
Their journey across the Plains was very organised, unlike the homesteaders, and they had planned every little detail. Brigham Young played an important role in the organising, so the fact that they had an overall leader to help plan was good.
They organised fair farming land, giving everyone an equal share, whereas the homesteaders often argued over the land, and their properties.
The place where they were going was also better, so already they were at an advantage.
Many of the homesteaders were forced to go back home because they had failed, no Mormons had this problem. The Mormons achieved what they asset out to do. They wanted a place where they could be free, and that’s what they got. The homesteaders, wanted a better life, however many did not get this and were worse than before.
The biggest achievement of the Mormons was when Utah became a state. This lets them do whatever they want, and be totally free, and even have a Mormon leader who could help the Mormons to grow.
The Mormon religion spread rapidly, and they were very successful in it.
The Mormons even managed to keep practicing polygamy.
I think that the Mormons did extremely well considering the fact that originally they were persecuted, their leader killed, and having to flea their homes and start a new life many times. To get a great life, lots of money, and free Mormon society was a big accomplishment.
