American Dream: Why Do People Live Where They Live?

1120 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The American Dream

Why People Live Where They Live To what extent would one go for their American Dream? The American Dream, according to google dictionary, is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The early pioneers migrated to Michigan in hopes to obtain the idea known as the American Dream. Many factors are dealt with in order to achieve this, however, six factors stood out among the rest; hardships, family size and origin, land purchases, methods of migration, michigan fever, and daily life. First of the six is hardships. It was risky coming to Michigan because it was almost an all or nothing trip. They would pack everything they had, and what …show more content…

There were three common routes to Michigan; through Canada, through Ohio(before the canal), and the Erie Canal. Many people migrated over land through walking and/or horseback. The difficulty with this method was that it was a long and very tiring journey and they had to worry for thieves. There were many thieves on the trails, if there even were trails, along with that they had to deal with wild animals on the land. In My Husband is Seized with the Mania provided an understanding by saying, “... they took the Ohio route, and were nearly a month getting through” (Ellet pg:1). This shows how long and miserable the journey was. Another way of travel was through steamboat on the canal, the problem with this method was thieves as well, and many other people on the boat and disease. Many people got sick on the boat and did not have the medical attention they seeking resulting in many fatalities. Michigan fever is known as an orchestrated land rush making it a factor. Since Michigan was a new land, and had a lot of land for that matter, many people wanted to see what was in store. It was a huge land rush, and an opportunity for a fresh start for many. Michigan’s First Family Farms talked about Michigan fever vividly with evidence, “They were one of thousands of families who settled in Michigan during that time…” (pg: 8). Many people traveled to Michigan at the same time because of the new land and a fresh start, hence the phrase, Michigan

Show More
Related

  • Article Analysis of Gregory Wigmore's Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gregory Wigmore’s article Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland covers the main theme of local history during the 19th century in Detroit and Windsor. In particular, Wigmore looks at how the Detroit River served as an escape route between the transnational borders for slaves living on both sides of the river. Wigmore explores how the border was the godsend for the slaves because a simple cross across the river would allow them their freedom. Wigmore’s main focus is the many factors and laws that happened between the 1810’s and the 1820’s that played an important role in this freedom.

    Read More

  • How the Soo Line Railroad Put Oklee on the Map

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    It always amazes me how our forebears managed to find their way to Oklee, Minnesota. There were no roads, no cars, and no railroads. People from France, Norway, Sweden, and other European countries landed on the east coast, as they flocked to our country. When it became crowded, they moved west using the waterways and rivers for transportation. Much of the land was still wilderness. Many traveled up the Mississippi River and along the Red River, settling in the Red River Valley.

    Read More

  • The Journey Of Christopher Columbus And Daniel Boone

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many Americans know the journey of Christopher Columbus and Daniel Boone, but a smaller percentage of the population knows about other journeys their fellow Americans have taken. Our job at PBS is to “create content that educates, informs, and inspires (PBS mission statement).” By including different or lesser known journeys for our new series, we can inform and ignite a curiosity for American history that is not often talked about. Two journeys that should be included in this project is the plight of the Native Americans during the 19th century. These forced migrations are not frequently talked about for various different reasons, such as the history behind them or their controversy, but it is our job to present these without biases to inform our viewers.

    Read More

  • Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Jacksonian Era, in America, there were many changes happening, one of which was western expansion. During this time, Louis and Clark had already explored the west, but people were dying to be able to trade, and live there. With the grueling journey that would effect anyone trying to reach the west, came a new notion, of a canal that reached from Lake Erie on towards the east. This canal could transport people, as well as goods back and forth from the newly explored territory. Eventually this dream successfully became a reality.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of the Great Migration

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    migrants moved North to escape from Jim Crow and the disgrace in economic opportunities in the South, going North was seen to bring about a better living for individuals and families....

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion: The Emigrants Of The Oregon Trail

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    Disease was always something on the emigrants mind when traveling the Oregon trail, because they never knew when a friend or themselves would succumb to it. According to the Frontier trails, an estimated 50,000 people died from disease (Underwood). The emigrants of the oregon trail had to live through the fact knowing disease could strike at any time and claim another victim. It was hard for the colonists to deal with disease, they had a hard time telling which one it was and often required loads of work to help heal them. According to the National Parks Service, the most common disease were cholera, dysentery, mountain fever, measles, food poisoning, smallpox, and pneumonia (Death and Danger along the Trails). As one can see, the colonists had a hard time figuring out what beast they were fighting, and how to fight it, which is why they ost so many lives. As one can see, the colonists had a hard time figuring out what beast they were fighting, and how to fight it, which is why they lost so many

    Read More

  • Migration Out of Appalachia

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    One reason for the migration was the economic problem many people in Appalachia were facing (Brown 70). It seemed many of them had no choice but to leave their poverty stricken lives in search of a better economic way of life (Brown 61). Industrialized towns became very appealing to them (Brown 61). Opportunities were much greater in the larger cities (Brown 61). They knew that industry meant jobs and money, and Appalachia wanted to be a part of it (Brown 73).

    Read More

  • Diary of Mrs. Amelia Stewart Knight

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another great surprise for me was that most people walked and made the entire 2,000-mile journey on foot because most emigrants grossly overloaded their wagons and that is why only few could ride inside the wagons. Most of emigrants who could ride inside were children and women. To ride in a wagon sounds really better than walking all 2000 mile on foot, but another problem which they had to face was that the emigrant wagons didn't have any safety features. If someone fell under the massive wagon wheels, death was instant. Many lost their lives this way and as I mentioned above most often, the victims were children.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion Report

    2960 Words  | 6 Pages

    A number of people hoped that by traveling west, they would escape diseases such as malaria, dysentery, or cholera, however these were also found on the trails. Also, there was a depression in 1837 and 1842, which drove people westward to escape. A few people were hoping to escape the law or debt. Several wanted to practice their religion their own way, or were farmers who were feeling crowded and went west for more room. Others wanted improved weather and health.

    Read More

  • La Relacion Chapter Summary

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the first groups of people began migrating to America, they all had different ideas of the way their lives would be different in the New World. Each group came to America pursuing different things: religious freedom, new resources, a different life. Yet regardless of what they came for, they were all yearning for the same thing: a fresh start.

    Read More

  • American Manifest Destiny

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    The development of canal, steam boats and railroads provided a transportation network that linked different regions of the nation together. When farmers began migrating westward and acquiring land for crops, cheaper forms of transportation provided the means to transfer their goods to other regions for s...

    Read More

  • The State of Michigan

    2254 Words  | 5 Pages

    Michigan is the only state in the union composed to two separated peninsulas. At the closest point, the upper and lower peninsulas are a mere five miles apart. In the early twentieth century, the only way to make the trip across the five miles of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron was to take a boat ride from one side to the other. As businesses expanded and industry grew, the demand to cross the lakes for travel and commerce purposes grew. The only way to cross the lake was by means of a ferry service, which was unable to keep up with consumer demand. Michigan residents were unable to get convenient and frequent transport between the peninsulas. They needed a consistent, fast, and safe way to travel freely from the mainland to the upper-peninsula. In response, the construction of a five-mile-long suspension bridge to link the peninsulas was set into action. The construction of the Mackinac Bridge was greatly significant to the national economy, the field of engineering, the efficiency of travel, and the historic symbolism of the state of Michigan.

    Read More

  • The Erie Canal

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    Travel by land and water was both tedious and expensive. Transporting one ton of goods across states would cost around 100 dollars or 1,265 dollars in today’s money. In the 1790s, land routes connecting the east coast and the farther western regions of the United States were undeveloped. Along with this, when weather conditions were poor land routes could not support any sort of dependable shipping by wagon, or even travel by horseback. Natural waterways provided the most dependable method of transport west of Albany. Even travel by waterway in this time period was inconvenient because these water routes were unreliable due to shallow water and raging rapids.

    Read More

  • Industrialization and Social Changes in Early America

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    Farmers, who had moved out west looked for a way to send their produce back east. However, roads were far too expensive and inefficient for this. Thus, canals and steamboats were used to link the country commercially and allow for the transport of goods across the nation. The Erie Canal was one of the greatest technological achievements of its time. At 363 miles long it connects New York to the Great Lakes by water (Sheriff 251). The canal provided easy passage halfway across the country for people and goods and sparked a push for westward movement. To travel on these new canals steambo...

    Read More

  • The Harlem Renaissance

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beginning in the 1919 and lasting through about 1926 thousands of Blacks began to migrate from the southern United States to the North; an estimated 1 million people participated in what has come to be called the Great Migration.[1] The reasons for this mass movement are complicated and numerous, but they include search for better work, which was fueled by a new demand for labor in the North (particularly from the railroad industry) and the destruction of many cotton harvests by the infectious boll weevil ...

    Read More

More about American Dream: Why Do People Live Where They Live?

Open Document