Westward Bound Section Two

A) Headed West

Early U.S. Population Census In 1790, the first U.S. Census put the population at four million people mostly living east of the Appalachian Mountains and within a few hundred miles of the Atlantic Ocean. By 1820, the population was nearly 10 million and most were moving to western lands in huge wagon trains.

American Turnpikes Many turnpikes were built by private companies to get goods to and from these new western areas. There was a fee to use these “corduroy roads.”

Corduroy Roads

National Road The National Road was built to connect Ohio and Illinois to the coastal states. The use of rivers was also common, but you would have to rely on the direction of the river and most went North and South not East and West.

Robert Fulton In 1807, Robert Fulton invented a new steamboat engine strong enough to travel up the rivers. The Clermont made the 150 mile trip in 32 hours. It would have taken four days by wagon. This revolutionized river travel.

De Witt Clinton Steamboats helped with travel, but still relied on the direction of the river. They needed a new way to connect the cities. In 1825, De Witt Clinton authorized the 363 mile Erie Canal to provide a water route from New York City to Lake Erie using a lock system to change water levels.

Erie Canal/Locks

U.S. Canal System The new canals could not have steamboats in the locks so mules had to pull the barges through the locks. Eventually, steamboats were allowed. By 1850, the U.S. had over 1,500 miles of canals that helped unite the country.

b) The move west continues

Westward Settlement From 1790 to 1803, the first wave of settlers to the west occurred in Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. The second wave between 1816 to 1821 took settlers to Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama and Montana. While most settlers built along rivers so they could ship their crops and goods, many also built along the new canals. Settlers also created new communities based on where they came from and would socialize together.