Question

In the 1800’s, what was the motivating factor that drove westward expansion?

Answer 1

to get away from crowded cities and the hope for gold on the west coast i hope i helped

Answer 2

America’s steady westward expansion throughout the 19th century was influenced by a number of factors, among them a need for land for a burgeoning population, governmental policies which encouraged migrants west, and a sense of “manifest destiny” – the idea that Americans were destined by God to populate their entire country to the Pacific shore and beyond.