Moving West! Chapter 12 / Section 2 / Page 392
LAND! People began moving west because they had dreams of new opportunities –Like owning inexpensive land with good soil Many people began moving west, including: –Cotton planters from the south –Cattle and sheep farmers from New England –Merchants and shopkeepers from the east
Conestoga Wagon: Carried everything the families owned on their journey west When they arrived in the west two tools were most important to their survival: –Long handled ax –Rifle
Pathways into the West: Daniel Boone- lead a group of 30 lumberers across the Cumberland Gap Boone’s party cleared the trail to central Kentucky This became known as the Wilderness Road
Transportation systems improve Page 394
A Need: People wanted new speedy, cheap transportation systems to help move raw materials and factory goods to market In New York and Pennsylvania they began building a turnpike (a roadway which you must pay to travel on) To travel on these roads you had to pay a toll, or a small fee which was used to build new roads and help keep up existing ones
Demand for better roads: Settlers moving west demanded better roads because they: –Wanted the region to grow more rapidly – Wanted places in the west to gain statehood –Wanted to increase population –Wanted transportation to be quicker and less costly
National Road: Government funded road that would aid in traveling west Construction was delayed because congress was not sure it was constitutional Once it was built is connected Cumberland MD to Wheeling WV This made it easier to travel in all kinds of weather
Depending on Waterways: During the 1800’s waterways were still the main form of transportation Water transportation improved with the invention of the Clermont- Robert Fulton’s steam boat
Canals Canals were more efficient then roads because it did not take as muck effort to transport goods A Canal is a channel dug out and filled with water to allow boats to cross a stretch of land
Erie Canal Designed by De Witt Clinton Also called Clinton’s Ditch