The Oregon Trail
Amanda Woodward
US History I Online
Dr. Clark
Project Final Draft
November 10th, 2003
 

Introduction
 

Site #1
 
    This site is maintained by Idaho State University.  It seems to be reasonably reliable.  Most of the searches I performed on different search engines pulled this site up first.  There is a large amount of information, interviews with historians and information and links to other websites.
     The site takes a logical look at the events that led to the formation of the Oregon Trail and the events that occurred while on the trail.  The interpretation follows all accounts that I have been aware of in my past experience with history classes.

Site #2  

     This site is maintained by a middle school in Portland, Oregon.  I doubt the complete accuracy of this site because of the fact that twelve and thirteen year olds put it together.  It doesn’t seem to be updated on a regular basis.  There isn’t a great deal of information included in the site either.
     From my investigation into the site, I found accurate information but not information that was complete and in depth.  There are a few sentences about each topic and then there is nothing else.  I wouldn’t recommend using this site for academic research.

Site #3
 
     This site is maintained by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.  I trust the accuracy of this site because it is run by a foundation dedicated to the history of the Oregon Trail.  It has a great deal of information for teachers and other interested individuals.
     The information is accurate and follows the same interpretation as our text book and other information that I have learned in the past.

Site #4
 
     The University of Kansas KANZA Chapter of the Oregon California Trails Association maintains this site.  The University of Kansas is a reliable resource in my opinion.  I believe that this website provided information that not many others do.  It is specific to our region and provides a great deal of information.
     As far as I can tell the information is accurate and informational.  The textbook doesn’t get nearly as in depth as this site does as far as regional information but it is all accurate.

Site #5

     This site seems to have less information about the maintenance, which would lead me to be more skeptical about it’s accuracy.  The information is put together very professionally and divided into categories but it looks as if someone with a hobby just threw the page together.
     The information is accurate as far as our textbook is concerned.  As in many cases, the information is more detailed then the textbook but in all, it is basically the same.

Site #6

     This site is owned by the National Oregon/California Trail Center in Idaho.  I would consider this a reliable source for information.  If the center is nationally endorsed it must have something substantial backing it up.
     This site has a great deal of information that would be helpful in completing any project about the Oregon Trail.  The information is accurate according to the information I have and is very well organized.

Site #7

     This is another site maintained by school children.  It was designed by Greenway Elementry School in Beavton, Oregon.  The classes completed assignments from their own research about the Oregon Trail and the teacher compiled it into a web site.
     I would not trust the accuracy of this site much at all.  It was designed by children and the information is mainly directed at a non-collegiate level of thinking.  The children wrote about things that they were interested in and left it at that.  There was not any in-depth research conducted to produce this site.

Site #8
 
     The Idaho State Genealogical Society maintains this site.  I would assume that they are a pretty reliable source since many people call upon genealogical societies to help them with family tree information.
     The information included in this site is both accurate and concise.  There is not a great deal of information included but what is there is accurate.

Site #9

 This is a site designed for children to explore the Oregon Trail and other historical information.  The reliability of EduScapes is not something that I’m familiar with but I would trust it because it was designed for children.
 I don’t know how helpful the information on this site would be to a collegiate-level student but for children in primary school it would be wonderful.  The information is basic and accurate.  It is easy to understand and has a lot of additional resources attached.

Site #10

     This is a site run by the National Park Service.  It is definitely a reliable source for information about the Oregon Trail.  The National Park Service is a government agency.
     The accuracy of this site is reliable.  Though the information is minimal, it is well maintained and easy to navigate.  I wouldn’t recommend using this site for extensive research because there just isn’t very much information provided.
 

Conclusion
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