The Empty Chair, Part 2A: The Allure of Prosperity

 I'm putting up  this installment on my gr. gr. gr. grandfather Partrick Lewis' trip to Iowa (then Wisconsin Territory) in 1837 because it provides some additional perspective on what motivated people to move west. A primary source for this post will be A New Guide for Emigrants to the West (1836) by Rev. John Mason Peck. Peck originally published A Guide for Emigrants to the West in 1831 but published the expanded edition in 1836 to include the new Wisconsin Territory that was rapidly growing. At the time of publication Burlington had a population of seven hundred.

Peck describes the allure of the West in his preface:

...such are its admirable facilities for commerce by its numerous navigable rivers, and its lines of canals, some of which are finished, and many others commenced or projected,—such the richness of its soil, and the variety of its productions,—such the genial nature of its climate,—the enterprise of its population,—and the influence it must soon wield in directing the destinies of the whole United States, as to render the great West an object of the deepest interest to the American patriot. To the philanthropist and christian, the character and manners,—the institutions, literature and religion of so wide a portion of our country, whose mighty energies are soon to exert a controlling influence over the character of the whole nation, and in some measure, of the world, are not less matters of momentous concern. (p. v1)

In this long passage Peck outlines a number of reasons why he saw great potential for settlement in the West. This is a long excerpt but well worth the read. Bear in mind that Peck shared the commonly held view that the native peoples of the region were wild and uncivilized, and that the best thing that could be done for them was to relocate them in Western style communities, and teach them English and the Protestant faith. The implications of this laid the foundations for an attitude of genocide and the theft of territorial land on an industrial scale:

1. That the most perfect security is now enjoyed by all emigrants, both for their families and property.

By the wise and beneficent arrangement of government, the Indian tribes have nearly all removed to the Territory specially allotted for their occupancy west of Missouri and Arkansas. The grand error committed in past times in relation to the Indians, and which has been the source of incalculable evils to both races, has been the want of definite, fixed and permanent lines of demarcation betwixt them. It will be seen under the proper head, that a system of measures is now in operation that will not only preserve peace between the frontier settlements and the Indian tribes, but that to a great extent, they are becoming initiated into the habits of civilized life. There is now no more danger to the population of these states and territories from Indian depredations, than to the people of the Atlantic states.

2. The increased facilities of emigration, and the advantage of sure and certain markets [Pg 50]for every species of production, furnishes a second reason why population will increase in the western Valley beyond any former period.

Before the purchase of Louisiana, the western people had no outlet for their produce, and the chief mode of obtaining every description of merchandize,—even salt and iron,—was by the slow and expensive method of transportation by wagons and pack-horses, across almost impassible mountains and extremely difficult roads. Now, every convenience and luxury of life is carried with comparative ease, to every town and settlement throughout the Valley, and every species of produce is sent off in various directions, to every port on earth if necessary. And these facilities are multiplying and increasing every hour: Turnpike roads, rail roads, canals, and steamboat navigation have already provided such facilities for removing from the Atlantic to the Western States, that no family desirous of removing, need hesitate or make a single inquiry as to facilities of getting to this country.

The Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa

3. The facilities of trade and intercourse between the different sections of the Valley, are now superior to most countries on earth, and are increasing every year. And no country on earth admits of such indefinite improvement either by land or water. More than twenty thousand miles of actual steamboat navigation, with several hundred miles of canal navigation, constructed or commenced, attest the truth of this statement. The first [Pg 51]steamboat on the western waters was built at Pittsburg in 1811, and not more than seven or eight had been built, when the writer emigrated to this country in 1817. At this period, (January 1836,) there are several hundred boats on the western waters, and some of the largest size. In 1817, about twenty barges, averaging about one hundred tons each, performed the whole commercial business of transporting merchandize from New Orleans to Louisville and Cincinnati. Each performed one trip, going and returning within the year. About 150 keel boats performed the business on the Upper Ohio to Pittsburg. These averaged about 30 tons each, and were employed one month in making the voyage from Louisville to Pittsburg. Three days, or three days and a half is now the usual time occupied by the steam packets between the two places, and from seven to twelve days between Louisville and New Orleans. Four days is the time of passing from the former place to St. Louis.

4. A fourth reason why population will increase in future in a greater ratio than the past is derived from the increase of population in the Atlantic states, and the greater desire for removal to the west. At the close of the revolutionary war the population of the whole Union but little exceeded two millions. Vast tracts of wilderness then existed in the old states, which have since been subdued, and from whence thousands of enterprising citizens are pressing their way into the Great Valley. [Pg 52]Two thirds of the territory of New York, large portions of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, an extensive district in middle Pennsylvania, to say nothing of wide regions in the southern states, were comprised in this wilderness. These extensive regions have become populous, and are sending out vast numbers of emigrants to the west. Europe is in commotion, and the emigration to North America, in 1832, reached 200,000, a due proportion of which settle in the Western Valley.

5. A fifth reason will be founded upon the immense amount of land for the occupancy of an indefinite number of emigrants, much of which will not cost the purchaser over one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Without giving the extravagant estimates that have been made by many writers of the wide and uninhabitable desert between the Indian Territory west of Missouri and Arkansas, and the Rocky mountains, nor swampy and frozen regions at the heads of the Mississippi river, and around lake Superior, I will merely exhibit the amount of lands admitting of immediate settlement and cultivation, within the boundaries of the new States and organized Territories.  (pp. 49-52)

 The promise of flat, fertile land, deep topsoil, and no stony soil must have been impossible to resist. Peck's paean to the arable land sings:

Probably there is no portion of the globe, of equal extent, that contains as much of soil fit for cultivation, and which is capable of sustaining and supplying with all the necessaries and conveniences, and most of the luxuries of life, so dense a population as this great Valley. Deducting one third of its surface for water and desert, which is a very liberal allowance, and there remains 866,667 square miles, or 554,666,880 acres of arable land. (p. 15)

In addition to arable land Peck described the region's wealth in minerals such as iron, copper, lead, and coal, and huge stands of native woods. He predicted that tens of millions could eventually populate the region.

The prospect of inexpensive land ($1.25/acre, $40 in 2023) drew much interest. By the 1830's much of New England had been cultivated for two centuries. Generation after generation of families divided up estates to the point that it was sometimes difficult to operate a farm on a single uninterrupted tract of land. To have a farm of many acres of open land that was easy to cultivate would draw many, including my ancestor.