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Raymond Goodlow - Paper Turn in
Raymond Goodlow - Paper Turn in
English 1
The Spring of 1846 a group of 98 emigrants left from Springfield Illinois and headed west to
California to build a new life. It was led by 2 wealthy brothers Jacob and George Donner. The
Breen family, the Graves clan, and the Keseberg family were also other families included in the
Donner Party. There are multiple reasons the Donner Party failed; the primary reasons are
The weather had a huge effect during the Donner Party. It had a huge effect because it
caused the Donner Party to be trapped by exceptionally heavy snow in Sierra Nevada. The
snow was 15 to 20 feet high. It was very cold. The Mountains transformed into icy roadblocks.
They were trapped in Sierra Nevada. The Donner party was forced to retreat to a nearby
Truckee Lake and wait out for the winter in ramshackle tents and cabins.
The Donner Party’s bad planning also had a big effect. It had a big effect because it caused the
Donner Party to do cannibalism on their dead one’s. Cannibalism is the practice of eating the
flesh of one’s own species. They had to because it gave them the energy they needed. They did
cannibalism instead of eating the cattle and other animals because they were scared they
The Donner Party group was a reason they failed because of many reasons. Some
families were large, family wagons, young children, and adolescents. One of the biggest
reasons was because of the people who died. This was bad. This was bad because the people
who were trying to hunt could get any breaks because there was no one to relieve them. This
made it hard for the Donner Party to get rest, food and other resources they needed.
“When all is said and done I think the story tells us that hope is the hero's domain, not the fools.
Because we dare to hope, even when doing so might undo us. We leave the worlds we create
behind us, swirling in our wakes, eternal and effervescent with the beauty of our aspirations.”