original 13 states and the Northwest Territory was acquired. The open land,

additional benefits and other existing problems encouraged Americans to

expand westward. The American people began to realize that the future of

the country lay in the development of its own western resources. There were

many reasons that made the people face the grueling and dangerous movement

west, but the primary reason was economy.

"Like the Spanish conquistadors before them, the Americans looked beyond

the Mississippi, they saw an open beckoning. Despite the presence of

hundreds of Indian nations with rich and distinct cultures, who had populated

the land for thousands of years-from the desert of the Southwest and the

grassy prairies of the Great Plains to the high valleys of the Rocky

Mountains and the salty beaches of the Pacific Coast-Americans considered the

west to be an empty wilderness. And in less than fifty years, from the 1803

purchase of Louisiana Territory to the California gold rush of 1849, the

nation would expand and conquer the West" (Herb 3).

The ocean had always controlled New England's interests and connected it

demand for canals..."(Turner 32). The Erie and Champlain canals were the

became a declining interest. "By 1830 New England was importing corn and

"Westward Expansion and Regional Differences." An Outline of American

achieved supremacy in its production"(Turner 47).

Great Lakes on the other"(Turner 10). Compared to New England, this section

profit were primary factors. With three thousand miles of free and available

It was because of the sudden shift of labor from farms to towns that

west to start a bigger and better farm on more fertile soil.

What was the reason behind the movement west of the South? The expansion

was rapidly growing region. By 1830, New York had already equaled the total

Some common words found in the essay are:
Regional Differences, Erie Canal, Ohio Maine, Northwest Territory, City Philadelphia, Agriculture England, St Lawrence, Western Reserve, Western York, West Herb, middle region, expansion regional differences, invention cotton, cotton gin, expansion regional, regional differences, invention cotton gin, erie canal, movement west, westward expansion, fredrick jackson, turner fredrick, turner fredrick jackson, westward expansion regional, west middle region,
Approximate Word count = 2255
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)