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Hastings’ Shortcut Was A Land Grab
- Lansford Hastings sold a miraculous shortcut to entice emigrants to California for his own land schemes.
- His guidebook and promise of easy land shaped the Donner Party's fatal decision to try the Hastings Cutoff.
Lincoln Almost Joined The Party
- Abraham Lincoln nearly joined the Donner Party and considered it because of his friendship with James Reed.
- Mary Todd Lincoln refused, and Lincoln stayed behind, later jokingly lamented by Reed.
Leaving Late Sealed Their Fate
- Emigrants believed leaving Independence later than May 1 doomed them to snow-bound failure.
- The Donner Party left May 12, a critical delay that set subsequent troubles in motion.