INTRODUCTION The election of William Henry Harrison to the presidency in 1840 was but one milestone in a progressive westward tilt in the nation's political and cultural focus. As transportation systems extended the American frontier, and as industrialization generated new capital, adventurous speculators chose to invest in the newly opened West. Americans looking for economic opportunities, places to transplant particular religious or political beliefs, or sim ply adventure quickly followed those entrepreneurs. They expected to find a wide open land of opportunity.