In the spring of 1846, the Donner Party began their trek from Missouri to California. Like other pioneer families from the East and Midwest who embraced the idea of Manifest Destiny and looked to economic opportunities in the West, the Donner Party was seeking a better life for anyone who committed to the journey. As we now know, history has recorded the Donner Party’s harrowing and tragic efforts to reach the promised land.
I bring this up because my husband and I recently took a road trip between Sacramento, Cailf., and Reno, Nev., driving over Donner Pass to our destination. It’s hard to believe that 175 years have passed since the infamous Donner Party event, and it’s even harder to imagine what these settlers endured during the winter of 1846-1847.
Tragic events from the Donner Party’s experiences, which do include cannibalism, are fascinating not only to school-age children learning about the tragic and gruesome details for the first time, but to adults who know the basic facts but perhaps not the entire history behind the Donner Party adventure and what really happened in the location we now call Donner Pass. We are attracted to stories of disaster and survival — let’s call that human nature — but I think it’s important to understand the how and why of such historic events.
I wish I could reach back in time and counsel those who delayed their departure to California because, of course, hindsight has perfect clarity. It’s impossible for me to alter the timeline, so the best I can do now is to learn from the Donner Party’s mistakes, of which there were many, and try to understand the desperation and humanity surrounding this pivotal moment in American history. Learning from our history is what makes us human, after all.
