HEADIN’ WEST
Published March 25, 1987
In the early 1800s people in the eastern part of our country began to turn their eyes westward... for many reasons. In 1837 we had our first real national depression, and it scared people. Farm produce flooded the eastern markets. At the same time of the financial troubles, an epidemic of cholera started in Asia, spread to Europe, then crossed the Atlantic with passengers on sailing ships. In the year 1850, some 30,000 Americans died of the disease.
One other big reason for the westward push was slavery. Abolitionists hated the whole business, but farmers in the east and south who owned slaves could produce more and cheaper goods. Small family farms were surely doomed.
For these and other reasons people began to push west. The fact that the most desirable locations out there were under the dominion of foreign countries made no difference. California was controlled by Mexico, and the Oregon Territory was under the thumb of England.
