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Reasons for Westward Expansion
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Reasons for Westward Expansion
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The desire for land1 was one of the main reasons people migrated west into new territories. As more and more immigrants1 arrived from Europe, the population of the eastern states grew rapidly. The new immigrants wanted land to farm, but most of the farmable land east of the Appalachian1 Mountains was already taken. Many New England farmers joined the western movement as well. Barely able to grow enough food to feed their families on the poor, rocky1 New England soil, farmers were drawn west by the promise of cheap fertile1 land.
Land was not the only economic1 motive pulling people west. The discovery of gold1 in California in 1848 encouraged thousands of prospectors to head for west coast in what became known as the California Gold Rush. Midwestern forests attracted loggers1 into the western movement, and runaway slaves1 joined the movement not only for economic opportuntity but for a chance to live as free men.
Most pioneers traveled west in horse or ox-drawn wagons, traveling in large groups for protection against Indians, robbers and wild animals. For those crossing the Rocky Mountains, weather1 was the greatest danger. They stuck closely to established routes like the Oregon Trail1 and the Sante Fe trail, so as not to get lost and caught in the mountains when the winter weather set in. Since most U.S. rivers flow from the north to south1, the rivers were not much help to the early western pioneers. The Ohio River1 might have been of use in the early part of the journey though, Because it is one of the only U.S. rivers that flows from east to west, the Ohio River is often referred to as the "Gateway to the West"1.
Though western pioneers could not often take advantage of river travel, east of the Mississippi river travel was becoming faster and easier. Robert Fulton's invention of the steamboat1 meant that people and goods could travel upriver1 against the current. This new ability led to a surge in canal building. One of these man-made waterways, the Erie Canal1, allowed people and goods to travel from the Atlantic Ocean up the Hudson River to Albany, New York.
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