From: Lawrence Chen
Date: 3/16/00
Time: 8:06:34 AM
Remote Name: 152.163.195.179
Lawrence Chen Mr. Cutler History 67 3/16/00
How mobile were Americans (white, black, and red) in the early nineteenth century? Was migration voluntary or involuntary? Explain.
During the early nineteenth century Americans were quite mobile. Due to many new means of transportation and inventions Americans were able to move more mobile. Canals provided an economic way for the western farms to ship produce to the east. The goals of the canals were to link the Great Lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi to seaboard cities. Also the steamboat was invented. The steamboat helped make trading produce from the farmers’ possible because it let them travel upstream on the Mississippi. Roads were built connecting major cities that helped ease traffic going east and west. With all these new developments of transportation costs were cut in shipping products. Therefore products became cheaper to buy and sell. In the past a farmer would eat most of its own produce but with the advance in transportation he grew more produce to trade and sell. Migration for all Americans were voluntary except for slaves. Moving was actually quite common to most Americans. During this time farming was still a major occupation in America. When farmers would use up the land they would look for more fertile soil to plant their crops on. Slaves on the other hand still were in debt to their masters and had to migrate if their master were to move to a more fertile area.