The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825
made the westward journey easier and cheaper. The routes of
travel led to Lakes Ontario and Erie, thence to the Reserve in
northern Ohio, thence by natural stages into other portions of
northern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and eventually into
southern Michigan and Wisconsin. Not until after 1830 did the
stalwart homeseekers penetrate north of Detroit; the great
stretches of prairie between Lakes Erie and Michigan, and to the
south--left quite untouched by Southern pioneers--satisfied every
desire of these restless farmers from New England.
For a long time Southerners determined the course of history in
the Old Northwest. They occupied the field first, and they had
the great advantage of geographical proximity to their old homes.
Furthermore, they lived more compactly; the New Englanders were
not only spread over the broader prairie stretches of the north,
but scattered to some extent throughout the entire region between
the Lakes and the Ohio.* But by the middle of the century not
only had the score of northern counties been inundated by the
"Yankees" but the waves were pushing far into the interior, where
they met and mingled with the counter-current.
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