How did wealth opportunities drive
Westward Expansion?

Land, mining, and improved transportation by rail brought settlers to the American West during the Gilded Age. New agricultural machinery allowed farmers to increase crop yields with less labor, but falling prices and rising expenses left them in debt. They believed the transcontinental railroad would benefit the entire nation. Railroads made moving goods and people much faster. Why did cattle ranchers develop the Long Drives? They took advantage of the rising value of beef and got the cattle cow towns along railroad lines that could ship the beef back East. Once they embarked, settlers faced numerous challenges: oxen dying of thirst, overloaded wagons, and dysentery, among others. Trails were poorly marked and hard to follow, and travelers often lost their way. Guidebooks attempted to advise travelers, but they were often unreliable. Agricultural prices, which had sparked the boom, dropped off sharply, bringing the value of land down. Farmers could not afford to pay their debts, and since speculators could not collect payment for lands they had sold, the value of land plummeted even further.

Explanation: