I read that the Appalachian settlers (1700s+) often had a hard way of life trying to live off the mountains.
Why didn't they just push on a bit further and get to the midwest where it would potentially be better agriculture for them?
As I write this post in the comfort of Air Conditioning and eating oreos, I realize "just pushing on" is easier said than done at that time. I don't mean to sound dismissive of the ordeal of setting out and finding somewhere to live.
I’m not really a historian but am interested in it and do my time researching a lot. I’ll link websites later but most of the time it had to do with how it was back home. I am of Scots-Irish Ancestry and they settled in Appalachia as it reminded them of home same reason Scandinavians went to Minnesota. So really it’s just that. Most Scots-Irish already knew how to live in the mountains.