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Settling the Western Frontier, Page 7

Heading West (continued)

Pioneers  By the early 1800s, the frontier, which was once considered uncharted territory, was now called home by hundreds of thousands of settlers. Upon their arrival to the frontier, families found life to be vastly different from coastal living, somewhat reminiscent of the early Jamestown settlers. Essentially, they were starting from scratch.

Once a family settled on a piece of land, they had to clear the land and plant a crop in the hopes that the harvest would sustain the family through the following winter. Additionally, they had to build their own home, and the tools they used were all self-made.

Most homes were quickly assembled as makeshift shelters. Life was not easy for these settlers, but through their determination and hard work they were able to carve out a life for themselves as well as establish roots for generations to come.