The Lure of the Frontier

The first pioneers crossed the Appalachian Mountains and moved into the Ohio River valley in the 1750s. These settlers found large stands of oak, maple, and hickory and forests full of wild game such as turkey and deer. The soil was rich, and they began to clear land for farming. Despite the promising conditions, movement to the region was slow, and settlements generally remained small and isolated. In the next decade, however, as the British victory in the French and Indian War reduced white people's concerns about Indian raids, settlers began crossing the Appalachians in greater numbers. Despite a proclamation in 1763 that banned further colonial settlement west of the Appalachians, settlers continued to come both to farm the land and trade in goods.

The Battle for the Frontier

By the late 1700s, enough Americans had settled in the region that today consists of...