Amanda Wildt HI 251-002 Writing Assignment The late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century were booming with settlers migrating westward in search of new resources and opportunity. After the end of the Revolutionary war, Americans were determined to build their own successful economy and government. Concepts of manufacturing were being developed and explored through Alexander Hamilton’s ideas. In fact the only way for Americans to improve their economic independence was to explore what was rightfully theirs by expanding westward. Westward expansion is one the main sources of American development and provided an additional source of freedom for settlers in the United States. Westward expansion provided Americans with hopes of finding new resources, land, and ultimately ‘freedom’. During Mary Dewees’s journey from Philadelphia to Lexington, Kentucky, she records her experiences in her journal. She does this to document her life as she traveled through her hardships as a settler and most importantly as an “independent” woman. She describes having to deal with harsh weather conditions with little rain and minimal shelter. With all this distress, she manages to keep a positive and confident attitude about her life of independence awaiting her in Kentucky. Dewees goes on to hint that her life in the north was not what she had enjoyed, and her new life in Kentucky held much promise for the future. The northern states, including Philadelphia, were focusing on building a stronger, central government. The settlers migrating westward and their journeys along the way allowed for a gain of independence. In order to even survive their journeys, they were forced to build their own shelter or if it was provided for them, they were in close contact with each other. They encountered Indians and were vulnerable to many attacks by those