Title: Reading Check 4: Overland Migration
Course: The American West: Power, Place, and Memory > Section: Week 6 · September 28–October 2, 2026: Overland Migration, Death, and Environment

Q: Why are trail diaries valuable but incomplete evidence?
- They reveal a situated, selective view
- They contain no chronological evidence
- They repeat one identical experience
- They cannot be checked against other records
A: They reveal a situated, selective view

Q: Which claim best avoids treating overland migration as inevitable?
- Movement followed a predetermined path
- Everyone migrated for one reason
- Environment had no effect on routes
- Movement depended on resources and choices
A: Movement depended on resources and choices

Q: What is a denominator problem in mortality evidence?
- A map without a descriptive title
- Deaths without a population at risk
- A diary containing too many pages
- Evidence presented in qualitative form
A: Deaths without a population at risk

Q: Name one piece of evidence from this unit and explain how its creator, audience, or collection context affects how a historian may use it.

Q: Make a one-sentence claim answering this unit question: How did migrants’ routes depend on Indigenous landscapes, family labor, and unequal exposure to risk? Then identify one limitation, uncertainty, or counterexample that keeps the claim from becoming too broad.