Existing comment:
A Spirit of Emigration:
As news and stories of the rich and beautiful land west of the Appalachian Mountains filtered back to the East, colonial discontent with British rule was growing. Many people decided to journey west; their reasons for emigrating were as varied as the people who traveled.
The flood of emigrants included young and old, free men and women, slaves, and indentured servants. Traveling in small groups or in parties of several hundred, they represented diverse religions, ethnic backgrounds, and occupations.
The opportunity to own land in the country called Kentucke attracted many settlers. Rich soil, plentiful timber, and abundant game in a land of milk and honey was motivation enough.
Other people, suffering lack of food or crop failure, also felt a need to move. Some wished to escape the growing population and the emergence of organized government in the eastern seaboard colonies. In the relatively unsettled Kentucky, they found independence of thought and action. |