Early Republic

Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass

winter of 1812–13, arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813
Wyoming
Date
winter of 1812–13, arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813
Location
Wyoming
Type
expedition

What happened

Pacific Fur Company partner Robert Stuart led a small group eastward and discovered South Pass, a wide and easy crossing of the Continental Divide, which would later become a key section of the Oregon Trail.

People involved

When this happened

Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass occurred in winter of 1812–13, arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813, during the early republic period of American history. The event spanned from 1812 to 1813.

Where this happened

Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass took place in Wyoming. Explore the full history of Wyoming and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: Pacific Fur Company.

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Native Heritage
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About Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass

What was Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass?
Pacific Fur Company partner Robert Stuart led a small group eastward and discovered South Pass, a wide and easy crossing of the Continental Divide, which would later become a key section of the Oregon Trail.
When did Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass happen?
Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass occurred in winter of 1812–13, arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813.
Where did Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass take place?
Robert Stuart Discovers South Pass took place in Wyoming.

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