Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Burns And Ives Upstate New York Marcus - 1,200 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

The Whitman's played an integral role in the settling of the West and made a lasting impression in history. The story surrounding the Whitman couple is of tragedy. They set out to do good but because of cultural differences, they did not fulfill their mission. In the course of the Whitman's lives in the Oregon Country, they encouraged and helped the westward expansion of America. They are one of the major factors of the settlement of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Today, there are images across the country that remind us of what the Whitman's did out in the Oregon Country. Marcus Whitman was born in 1802 in Rushville, a small town located in upstate New York. He studied under a local doctor and became interested in the medical practice. Later on, Marcus left home and went to Fairfield, New York to attend a medical school there during the early 1830 s. He received his degree and practiced medicine up north in Canada (Burns and Ives). Marcus came back to New York after four years of practice in Canada and settled in the town of Wheeler.

He also practiced medicine there (Morris) and became an elder of a Presbyterian church (Burns and Ives). As an elder, Marcus organized temperance, or non-drinking meetings (Morris). In the year of 1835, Marcus made a journey to the Oregon Country to look for possible mission sites (Burns and Ives). Narcissa Prentiss was also born in upstate New York in a town called Prattsburg. She was born into a devout Presbyterian family and was very committed to her religion. At the age of sixteen, Narcissa pledged her life to missionary work (Burns and Ives).

She was very interested in saving the sinful and heathen souls, namely the Native Americans (Morris). After finishing her education, Narcissa taught at a primary school in Pittsburgh. She moved to Belmont, New York along with her family in 1834. At that time, Narcissa was still awaiting the opportunity to receive her pledge to become a full-time missionary (Burns and Ives). Prior to Marcus trip to the Oregon Country, Narcissa volunteered her services to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. This was a group that commissioned Protestant missionaries to different Native American tribes.

It was this group that was going to send Marcus westward. The Board didnt allow unmarried women, which Narcissa was, to become missionaries. Seeing as that Marcus was unmarried, the Board thought of arranging Narcissa and Marcus to be married. He visited the Prentiss family for a weekend to have the family's consent in the two being married. The family and the couple agreed to be married and did so in the year of 1836. It was then that the Board offered the two positions as being missionaries (Burns and Ives).

In the same year that they were married, Narcissa and Marcus made their way westward. The couple did not go alone though. An upcoming missionary by the name of William H. Gray joined the two and Narcissa convinced another missionary couple, Henry and Eliza Spalding, to come along with them. Their starting off point was St. Louis, Missouri and Oregon was their final stop (Burns and Ives).

The group of five was led by a group of fur traders for most of the way. They had taken their wagons farther West than any other American Expedition (Burns and Ives). On the way to the West, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding became the first white women to cross the continental divide, the Rocky Mountains (Morris). The missionary group reached the Walla Walla River on September 1, 1836 (Burns and Ives). This is where the group went their separate ways. The Spalding's went to go settle with a Nez Perce tribe and establish a mission at Lapwai, near what is today Lewiston, Idaho.

The Whitman's, along with William Gray went into the Walla Walla Valley and decided to build a mission to the Cayuse Indians at Waiilatpu (Morris). The Whitman's worked hard to make their a mission a success. Marcus led all the church services, put up a number of buildings (Burns and Ives), and served as a doctor to both the Cayuse and the whites in the area (Morris). Narcissa tended to the household affairs, helped Marcus with the services, and ran the mission school. The couple felt that the mission would succeed and that what they were doing was challenging and exciting.

This was clearly understood by Narcissa in a letter that she wrote home. We never had greater encouragement about the Indians than at the present time (Burns and Ives). This outlook on their work would soon come to end. Their two-year-old daughter drowned in 1839, Narcissa's eyesight gradually became poorer as the years went on, the couples isolation in the wilderness dragged on for years, and their efforts to convert the Cayuse proved unproductive (Burns and Ives). The Whitman's didnt have much luck in converting the Indians for several reasons.

Most of the Cayuse werent open to Marcus teachings because he favored white immigration to the West. The Indians believed that it was because of fast white settlement, that their land and their food supplies were being diminished (Morris). When the Whitman's came into the area, the Natives thought that Marcus teachings were very strange. Unlike other missionaries, the Whitman's were not open to the Cayuses way of life. It is a standard missionary practice that missionaries learn the ways of the people they are dealing with and adapt Christianity to it. The Whitman's did little to teach their religion in terms that the Cayuse could understand.

The couple was not even receptive to the Cayuse practices. A big part of the Cayuse social and political life was gift-giving but the two saw it as a form of blackmail. For the Cayuse, religion and domestic life is almost like one. Religion is a driving force in what they do each day. When an Indian proposed that a worship service was to be held in the Whitman household, Narcissa reacted negatively. A historian comments on her actions.

Her attitude toward those among whom she lived came to verge on outright repugnance (Burns and Ives). The Cayuse soon felt that the Whitman's message was a threatening one (Burns and Ives). The Whitman mission proved to be very unsuccessful. Few conversions were being made and the Cayuse became intolerant of the couples message. The American Missionary Board saw that the mission was not working so they decided to shut the mission down in 1842 due to its failure (Burns and Ives). In the year that the mission was closed up, the Whitman's traveled to the East Coast to try to convince the Board that the mission was needed.

Marcus reversed the Boards decision in 1843. The couple made their return journey that same year and led the first Great Migration to the western territories of the country. They guided a wagon train numbering about one thousand settlers, using the Oregon Trail. The Whitman's ended up spending more time helping the white pioneers than converting the Cayuse people. In 1844, the couple adopted eleven children from dead immigrants, including the seven Sager children (Burns and Ives). The contin...


Free research essays on topics related to: ives, mission, burns, upstate new york, marcus

Research essay sample on Burns And Ives Upstate New York Marcus

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com