All men who deemed that they could swim in troubled waters were drawn
towards the new country. The more turbulent and ambitious spirits saw
roads to distinction in frontier warfare, politics, and diplomacy.
Merchants dreamed of many fortunate ventures, in connection with the
river trade or the overland commerce by packtrain. Lawyers not only
expected to make their living by their proper calling, but also to rise
to the first places in the commonwealths, for in these new communities,
as in the older States, the law was then the most honored of the
professions, and that which most surely led to high social and political
standing. But the one great attraction for all classes was the chance of
procuring large quantities of fertile land at low prices.
Value of the Land.
To the average settler the land was the prime source of livelihood. A
man of hardihood, thrift, perseverance, and bodily strength could surely
make a comfortable living for himself and his family, if only he could
settle on a good tract of rich soil; and this he could do if he went to
the new country. As a matter of course, therefore, vigorous young
frontiersmen swarmed into the region so recently won.
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