The item of interest in the above photo of a map is the Kentucky River which flows northwest through the state from the Appalachians.
This small Ohio tributary – small compared to the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers – was the main axis of settlement from the Cumberland Gap into the coveted Bluegrass area of what became America’s 15th state.
I think it’s also interesting that the path through that Gap and then along the river was how settlers made Kentucky the first state west of the Appalachians. Of all states within the fertile and coveted lands of the Ohio Basin, Kentucky became the first. It was the first of the West.
In 1775, the year Daniel Boone blazed a trail westward through the Cumberland Gap, there were a couple of hundred people living in what became Kentucky. By 1790 there were 75,000. By 1890 there were 200,000. That’s incredible growth!
Mountain passes, flowing rivers and fertile lands all played apart in attracting pioneers westward. Kentucky beacame the 15th state on June 1st, 1792. Tennessee was #16 June 1st, 1796. Ohio was #17 on March 1st, 1803 . Thereafter, well, you can look it the list of states achieving statehood HERE.
I just share this small historical tidbit because I find the details of American Westward Expansion to be ever more fascinating. To see the paths and the numbers growing along them gives all the more concrete understanding of how the United States of America came to be. All REAL Americans should find these tidbits interesting.
To understand American history, I believe, you also must understand the role American geography played – especially the rivers!!! The two should be taught hand in hand. And, frankly, economics should be included. Agriculture, industry, mining, shipping… it’s all a subject so rich and fascinating that 4th graders would love to learn it.
What did the people who settled Kentucky grow there to establish themselves? How much did they grow? What markets did they sell their produce to? How did they ship it? How wealthy did they become?
Yes, 4th graders could easily be taught this broad view of American history, geography, economy, so on and so forth. I think these subjects taught correctly could have made this country a far better place. Our prosperity could have endured. People would understand better why it came to pass. They would see why we became what we did, and why it’s now not.
But all that is for another post. I just think it’s cool to understand how important the Cumberland Gap was to that Manifest Destiny.
