Kylie+M


 * What is your //general// belief about who or what is most responsible for causing the conflict?**

I believe that it was both the Cayuse Indian's and the Whitman's fault for the Whitman massacre. Misunderstanding is mostly responsible for causing the conflict. It was the Cayuse's fault because they misunderstood the Whitman's and believed that he was purposely letting the Indians die, but not the whites. It was the Whitman's fault because Marcus brought back a huge wagon train of settlers.

**What is the relevant background information (i.e. who, what, when, where)?**

On November 29, 1847, two members of the Cayuse Indian tribe killed Marcus and Narcissa Whitman along with thirteen other whites. They were both killed in their homes at the Waiilatpu Mission. The mission was an important rest stop for people traveling the Oregon Trail. It was located on the Walla Walla River. The killing spree lasted for three days and most people died on the first day. One person was believed to have drowned after escaping the initial attack. Narcissa Whitman gave birth to their daughter, Alice Clarissa. She was the first white child to be born in the Pacific Northwest. Two years later, she drowned. The Whitmans were devestated and ended up adopting many children who came through the mission who had lost their parents.

**What were 3 factors that helped cause the conflict (politics, economics, geography, history)?**

One factor that helped cause the conflict was that the Whitman's were trying to change the Cayuse Indian's beliefs and culture and the Indians didn't want that to change. Another factor was a breakout of the measles. The measles were killing about half of the Indians and their children while almost all white children and adults recovered from the measles. The Indians didn't realize that the reason that they were dying was because they didn't have a natural immunity to the disease like whites did. Instead, they believed that Marcus was purposly curing the whites and letting the Indians die. The third factor is, Marcus Whitman bringing a wagon train with over 1,000 people back to settle in Oregon Teritory. This made the Cayuse very suspicious, which led to the Whitman Massacre.

**Explain why one factor is more important than the others.**

Marcus Whitman bringing back the wagon train of 1,000 pioneers is more important than the others because it caused the Cayuse to lose even more trust in the Whitmans than before. The wagon train also brought the measles and other diseases that the Indians weren't accostomed to. When the measles started killing Indians but not whites, the Cayuse became suspicious, thinking that Marcus was only helping the whites.

**How could the conflict have been avoided?**

The conflict could have been avoided if Marcus hadn't been the person to lead the wagon train. This is because that was the first major event that made the Cayuse start losing the little, if any trust that they already had in the Whitmans. Also, if the wagon train would have gone to a different place, the Cayuse wouldn't have gotten the measles and Indians wouldn't have died. Then, the Cayuse wouldn't have had a reason to kill the Whitmans and other people living in the mission.


 * What sources of information have you used? **

Lambert, Dale, Clark, Dustin. __Washington: A State of Contrasts.__ East Wenatchee: Directed Media, Inc, 2008 "Marcus Whitman, Narcissa Whitman." __[|www.pbs.org].__ 5/19/09 Wilma, David "Cayuse attack mission in what becomes known as Whitman massacre." 5/20/09