Stephen Long's Expedition

Stephen Long’s expedition laid the foundation for how a blossoming nation would see their new lands.

I’m sure you’ve heard how important it is to make a good first impression. This is true when it comes to meeting people, visiting new towns, going to a new restaurant, or seeing a future house. You just don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. If you go a restaurant and your hamburger is cold, the service is slow, and the mood is wrong, there is a good chance you won’t go back. In fact, you’ll probably go around and tell your friends how they shouldn’t go there either. Well, that sort of sums up Stephen Long’s expedition and the birth of the Great American Desert.

Nebraska Studies have put together a great website with information in the form of text, video, and maps describing Stephen Long’s Expedition. It really does a nice job explaining how the Great American Desert got its name and the role Stephen Long played in that.

If you take the time to visit the site hopefully you’ll have a better sense of the fear the pioneers felt in my book “Tyrant’s Road to Oregon.” You may also better understand how Long’s first impression of the Great Plains possibly stunted migration there for at least several decades.