Reasons why people moved West...

In the 1800's, people moved West for a variety of reasons. Some of them were gold, silver, land speculation, land grants and the growth of agribusiness.

Money is the main reason why people moved West. They were told that moving to West was a 'get rich and quick' way. That was a lie. They were promised land grants if they moved West. They would be given 100 acres for a charge of $10 for registration fee and all that land would be theirs to do whatever they desire. Homestead Act provided the owners of land more freedom which this act guaranteed the land someone buys is completely under the jurisdiction of its owner. Federal government cannot take that away for federal crimes or debts. People were led to believe the false scandal that moving to West is a quick way to get rich.

Gold is one of the main reasons people moved West, but only temporarily. There were several gold rushes in the West that prompted people from the East to basically migrate in large numbers to the West and search for wealth. There were California rush of 1849, Colorado rush of 1859, and Alaska rush of 1896. Back then, people would frantically search for gold and hope that their luck would strike and try to mine for gold in nearby rivers. But many found dissapointments and despair for they did not find much or valuable amount of gold. But silver was a major hit...especially for large corporate businesses. Originially, silver was found in Virginia City, Nevada. Large businesses profited handsomely from the mining and sale of silver in markets.

Since West normally had dry climate and low humidity, the land is dry and hot. Those lands could be irrigated which caught the attention of many farmers in the East. They needed large portion of farming land that could be irrigated. Large number of farmers started to move West for they forsaw a huge, profitable future ahead with excellent harvestings. There were also technological improvements in the farming industry. This lured some other farmers. But overall, the lack of agribusinesses was what lured the farmers into the West. They wanted to establish a good business there and it was a perfect place to start new. Land speculation is also one of the reasons why settlers moved West.

People moved West for many reasons: 1) money, 2) gold and silver, 3) agribusiness, and 5) land speculation. But sadly, West wasn't really the 'dream place' as they'd thought it would be. It was just a dissapointment for most.