This week, we’re joined once again by our good friend Jesse to discuss two absolutely wild historical tales of Manifest Destiny despair: the Donner Party and the Mormon Handcart Tragedy! The Ric Burns documentary about the Donner Party begins with this quote from Alexis de Tocqueville: “It is odd to watch with what feverish ardor the Americans pursue prosperity and how they are ever tormented by the shadowy suspicion that they may not have chosen the shortest route to get it. Americans cleave to the things of this world as if assured that they will never die, and yet are in such a rush to snatch any that come within their reach, as if expecting to stop living before they have relished them. They clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose their grip as they hurry after some new delight.”