The important thing about USA western migration is that it was a driving force in the development of America because migrants settled and made life in the West.
-because migrants were going to new land with family and friends already living there, the relatives welcomed the newcomers
-native indians were living in parts of the West
- native american indians despised the migrants and often disrupted the migration of the immigrants to the West
Attitudes Toward Immigrants
People realized that civilization would grow if settlements expanded
Other Information
The USA Western migration did include chain migration. Often times, relatives would move west first, and eventually other relatives would move west and live with them.
Immigrants did not have to be documented because they were migrating within the same country
USA Western migration was not orderly or quick. A Frontier historian, Ray Allen Billington, claimed that the "frontier" moved at a rate of 10 to 40 miles per year! Nowadays, we travel that much in less than an hour.
It was a voluntary act made by the migrants
This migration was internal interregional
-western lands were more fertile than the used and depleted soil in the East
-migrants took advantage by buying cheap government land in the West and selling it for much more
Environmental Pull Factors
Intervening Obstacles
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USA.htm
- http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1800-1860/Western-Immigration.aspx
Sources
- Great Plains
- Arkansas River
- Arizona desert land
- Appalachain Mountains
- Native American Indians
- Mississippi/Missouri Rivers
Economic Pull Factor
-hope for economic improvement
- West was referred to as "the land of abundance"
-people needed a less urbanized and industrialized place to properly raise their children
Cultural Push Factor
-unpleasant religious, social, and political atmosphere
-overcrowding
- with so many people living in the East, large families had small farms and a need for new and cheaper land
Gravity Model
-this migration relates to Rubenstein's Gravity Model:
- these migrants only relocated a short distance in the same country
- although the migrants remained in the same country, they went to fertile lands and areas with an abundance of nature
-poor economic success
- hand/skilled crafts were affected by increased mechanization
Economic Push Factor
-lack of nature and abundance
- the migrants wanted a place to grow wheat and explore new forms of nature
Environmental Push Factors
The important thing about the USA Western migration is that it was the driving force in the development of America because migrants settled and made life in the West.
People realized that civilizations would grow if settlements expanded.
Cultural Pull Factors
-friends and family
- friends and family had already migrated to the West
-more land to farm, work, and raise a family
IN THE 1800S