Starting in the 1800s, hundreds of thousands of Americans decided to move away from the original 13 colonies and move west. States like Oregon and California didn't exist yet, in fact, no one had even drawn a complete map of the area. Explorers like Lewis and Clarke were the first to brave nature and hostile Native Americans to explore the land, and settlers soon followed. Not like today where there are airplanes and roads, the trek to the West was hard. Even once the pioneers arrived in their new homes, life in the wild west was difficult.