Go West: American Migration 1783-1900



Go West: American Migration 1783-1900Ann G. Lawthers, Genealogist, ann.lawthers@ Push-Pull of Migration – 1783 to 1840The decision to migrate depends on factors pushing your ancestor out of the current location and pulling them to a new location What pushed your ancestors out? Many factors pushed your ancestor out of his or her current location. Factors such overpopulation, lack of opportunities, especially for younger sons, the environment (natural, social, political) and warWhat pulled your ancestors to a new location? The major factors for migration in this time period included the availability of land and the increasing ease of getting there. In the mid-century gold was a powerful incentive to migration. Financial panics (a push factor) meant many people migrated looking for employment (a pull factor). And finally newspaper account drew countless settlers.Barriers to migrationBefore the Revolutionary War, topography and lack of roads was a major barrier to migration as was the presence of native tribes.After the Revolutionary War, new modes of transportation and new federal policies overcame many of the former barriers.LandBounty LandLand speculation grew dramatically post Revolutionary War. For New York State, one of the important land companies was the Holland Land Company.Ohio – mix of federal and state bounty land and private companiesAlthough the Louisiana purchase was completed in 1803, development of the area west of the Mississippi depended on advances in transportation.Ease of Getting ThereRoadsNumerous roads sprang up after the Revolutionary War financed by the new federal government as well as by private enterprises. Some of the new roads were started on federal land (Zanes Trace), while others took land from Native tribes (Georgia and Nathchez). The National Road was the first road constructed by the Federal Government. It was begun in 1811 at Cumberland Maryland and completed in 1837 in Vandalia Illinois.CanalsCanals such as the Erie Canal (1817 to 1825 – 363 miles) opened new markets for farm and manufactured products. Other important canals included:Ohio and Erie Canal linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River (1828-1832). 258 miles. Wabash and Erie Canal linking Lake Erie with the Ohio River in Indiana (1837-1853). 450 miles.Miami and Erie Canal linking Lake Erie with the Ohio River at Cincinnati (1825-1845). 274 miles.These improvements in transportation reduced what was four week journey in 1800 to a two week journey by 1830.RailroadsThe first public railway in the US was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad which opened in 1830 with only 23 miles of track. The locomotive that ran on the track was known as the Tom Thumb and was built by Peter Cooper for the B & O. By 1840 there were numerous short railroads along the Eastern Seaboard. Each of these railroads used different gauge (width) tracks so that the lines could not interconnect.By 1850, every state east of the Mississippi had a railroad and cities were beginning to be connected. Railroads were faster and cheaper to construct than canals and could run year around (canals froze in the winter). Discussions about a transcontinental railroad were begun in 1830. Congress chartered the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad Companies to construct the line in 1862. The railroad was completed May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, UtahFederal Policies and Other StimulantsPolicies Affecting Native Tribes. The Georgia Compact removing Cherokee people from Georgia lands, the Louisiana Purchase supplying land to move Native nations west and the Indian Removal Act of 1830 forcing Native nations off their land in southeastern states, over the period 1831-1838.California Gold RushFederal promotion of homesteading. First the Preemption Act of 1841, followed by Homestead Act of 1862.Financial Panics as push factors in migration. The later panics fueled by speculation in railroads. Suggested Resources19th Century U.S. Canals: An Index of Internet Resource. Billington, Ray and Martin Ridge, Westward Expansion (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2001).Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office. Dollarhide, William. Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735-1815 (Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1997).Eldridge, Carrie. An Atlas of Appalachian Trials to the Ohio River (Chesapeake, Ohio: Carrie Eldridge, 1998)Eldridge, Carrie. An Atlas of Northern Trails Westward from New England (Chesapeake, OH : C. Eldridge, 2000).Eldridge, Carrie. An Atlas of Southern Trails to the Mississippi (Chesapeake, Ohio: C. Eldridge, 1999)Eldridge, Carrie. An Atlas of Trails West of the Mississippi River (Chesapeake, OH : C. Eldridge, 2001). Eldridge, Carrie. Atlas of Settlement Between the Appalachian Mountains the Mississippi-Missouri Valleys (Chesapeake, Ohio: C. Eldridge, 2006)Family Search, Monticello, , George W. The Official Ohio Lands Book (Columbus, Ohio: Auditor of State, 2002). Available at auditor.state.oh.us.Paullin, Charles Oscar. Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States. Washington, D.C., New York: Pub. jointly by Carnegie institution of Washington and the American geographical society of New York, 1932. ................
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