Geographic and economic factors that influenced westward movement.
Population growth in the eastern states.
Total population of the United States in 1800 – 5,236,631 - Density of 6.1
Total population of the United States in 1860- 31,443,321 – Density of 10.6
Availability of cheap, fertile land.
Economic opportunity
gold (California Gold Rush)
logging
farming
freedom (for runaway slave).
Cheaper and faster transportation
Rivers
Canals (Erie Canal),
How canals work
Steamboats
Knowledge of overland trails
Oregon Trail
Santa Fe trail
Belief in the right of “Manifest Destiny” – The idea that expansion was for the good of the country and was the right of the country.