Student Question
Between 1790 and 1860, why did the West favor the North over the South?
Quick answer:
Between 1790 and 1860, the West initially consisted of settlers from the South seeking economic opportunities. However, as infrastructure like the Erie Canal and railroads developed, the West became economically connected to the North. These transportation links allowed Western goods to access Northern markets, fostering economic ties and aligning the West more closely with the North over time, rather than the South.
It is not completely correct to say that the West sided with the North for this entire period. The first settlers in the West were Southerners. They were poor whites who came west because they could not really make it in the plantation economy of the South. This did not, however, mean that they disliked the South, just that they wanted to go somewhere where they could have more economic opportunity.
As time went by, however, the West did come to be tied economically to the North. This came about with the creation of the Erie Canal and other canals that allowed the West to have access to Northern markets via the Great Lakes. Railroads, as they came to exist, went to the North as well. These things meant that the West had economic connections to the North and therefore "liked" the North more than the South.
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