Why Did The Great Leap Westward

The “Great Leap Westward” refers to the settlement of Tennessee, but it was more like the great journey over mountains, surviving Indian territory and an expedition down the river in hopes of building a new life. As the first settlers moved west from Virginia and North Carolina, they faced more struggles than just a leap westward. The men, women and children that survived definitely had a reason to make Tennessee the best place to live. Once they faced and overcame these obstacles the state of Tennessee was born.
It seemed that unfair taxation practices were the main motivation for people to start a new country and yet these kind of practices were a common thread in moving the country westward. In the 1760s, North Carolina citizens became disgruntled after the newly formed local government imposed new tax regulations. The Appalachian Mountains, consisting of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains, was the mountain range separating North Carolinians from a new life and land uninhabited by Europeans. The mountains were for the most part uncharted territory, full of wild animals, and savage Natives. The mountains weren’t the only obstacle that the new settlers had to overcome, rivers were also a
way for new settlers to make their way to French Lick, modern day Nashville.
In the summer of 1779, while James Robertson was leading a an exploration party through the Cumberland Gap, John Donelson was setting up an exploration of his own, this one would be a nautical exploration. He built a boat to house more than forty persons, and he agreed to take around two hundred men, women, children and slaves. His armada would have to navigate the river system of over a thousand miles. This exploration started in December, hoping to alleviate the chance of Indian attack. Due to a drop in water level, the boats only traveled three miles in the first two months. Disease, death, a shipwreck and Indian attack couldn’t hold Donelson back from reaching his destination.
Both explorations faced the complication of traveling through Indian territory. While Robertson’s journey wasn’t heavily documented, we do know that everyone survived, but Donelson’s journey wasn’t that lucky. Jonathan Jennings, was another boat in Donelson’s armada and it hit a large rock and became stuck in the current of the river. While throwing supplies off the boat to lighten the load, Indians opened fire on the shipwrecked settlers. Another boat, navigated by Thomas Stuart, was stricken with small pox and eventually captured by the Chickamaugans because they distanced themselves from the flotilla due to the smallpox.
In conclusion, the first settlers of Tennessee endured so many trials and tribulations in hopes of building a new life on the other side of the mountains, down the river and surviving Indian attacks than we could ever imagine.
This kind of strength and determination that the founding settlers had can still be seen in Tennessee residents today. I also believe the idea of progress and moving forward is relevant in Middle Tennessee due to men like Robertson, Henderson and Donelson.. Using the term, “leap westward” is truly minimizing the infant years of Tennessee’s statehood. Obviously, the growth was moving westward to unclaimed territories, but it definitely was not unproblematic. Due to these courageous men and women, the Southwest Territory became the great state of
Tennesee.