America's New Heartland

The Midwest (then simply known as the 'West') is the center of growth. Cincinnati, St Louis and New Orleans are the big ports on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

The new Great Lakes ports of Chicago and Detroit are also growing dramatically. Meanwhile, life on the edge of the frontier is just getting started.


	Detroit, 1850 Detroit is the manufacturing center of the new state of Michigan, with water connections via Lake Erie, and the Erie Canal. Shipping has replaced the fur trade as the leading industry.



	Chicago, 1850 With its central position at the bottom of the Great Lakes, Chicago is perfectly positioned to become the New York of the Midwest.


	Wisconsin and Ohio, 1850 The upper Midwest and Ohio Valley both benefit from important water connections, which are already forming the foundations for rapid industrial development.


	Mississippi and Missouri rivers, 1850 The west bank of the Mississippi is the jumping-off point for settlers heading directly west by land, while the Missouri is the gateway to the Northern Plains.


	Minnesota Territory St Paul is on the edge of Indian country in Minnesota Territory, which will be organized as a new state within 10 years.


	Dakota Territory Fort Pierre is an army outpost on the Missouri River in the heart of the Dakota Territory, homeland of the mighty Sioux Indians.



→ The new 'West' (known today as the Midwest) is developing its own distinctive flavor, while the Mississippi River continues to block migration further west