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Ordinary settlers did not flock to the West in the hopes of finding adventure. The typical migrant sought a greater measure of stability. Indeed, it was not until the spread of canals in the 1820s and 1830s, or railroads in the 1860s, that settlers would even venture from the shores of the major rivers of the West. To most Americans, "the West" still referred to the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Before 1840, few ventured into the Far West. Knowing that the average migrant wanted stability and security, newspaper reports and pamphlets aimed at describing the West to easterners usually stressed the bountiful resources of the region over its perils and sometimes harsh conditions. A legislator from the Missouri Territory wrote east in 1816 in efforts to encourage migration that in the territory of what is now the Midwest, "there neither is, nor, in the nature of things, can there ever be, any thing like poverty there. All is ease, tranquility and comfort." This description demonstrates the desire on the part of the federal government and the evolving western governments to encourage the settlement and development of the west, which they thought could serve as a great bounty to the nation as a whole.

The rivalry between East and West was a result of the sharp contrast between western and eastern life. Indeed, life in the west was rough, with only a sprinkling of elegance amid a vast sea of manual laborers and dirty towns with few modern amenities. The exchange of insults between East and West had a profound affect on western identity. Westerners prided themselves on their simple manners and were not only hostile to the decadent East but also intolerant of other westerners who demonstrated pretensions to gentility. Anyone who acted as if they were above the masses was ostracized, and even a politician who rode to a public meeting in a buggy instead of horseback lost votes.

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