Migration
Reasons for braving the frontier:
Economics
*when land was first settled in places like New England a family might have 200 acres but the next generation divides it and the next ... so the grandson may only have 25 acres of lousy land that he can't make a living on.
*land was more expensive for new immigrants on the Eastern seaboard
Occupations
*On the frontier you carved out a farm but you also brought in money with a second income:
*The frontier had goods to sell. You could mine salt, timber, pelts.
*Certain kinds of skills were needed like wagon makers, horse dealers, blacksmiths, carpenters, tanners
Religious groups
*like minded family & friends
*persecution
*belief that Armageddon type future was ahead in the place they were in
*religious concerns such as leaving southern states because of slavery
Adventure & Opportunity
*with the growth of advertising, the frontier was promoted endlessly in
local newspapers as a promised land like this