The American East and American West became interconnected after Reconstruction, when settlers and migrants from Europe, already established Americans, freed slaves and white settlers who had been affected by the Civil War, among others, chose to expand towards the western territories that had seldom, if at all, been explored or settled. This was in part because of the rugged terrains, in part, because of how far away these lands were from anything that was considered civilized, and also because no one had dared to go into what was known as no-man´s-land. However, as said, with Reconstruction came a wave of political stability and economic progress that increased the availability of resources and the desire for more land and possessions. Also, the discovery of gold, and other minerals, in the west, drove hordes of people to seek new settlements in the West.
The differences between these two regions of the country, especially initially, were many. One, was landscape. While the East coast was filled with developed cities and tamed terrain, the West, especially once the Great Plains had been reached, were filled with hard-packed earth, really hot sun, desert-like conditions and a lot of wild Indian tribes that were hostile towards settlers. Another big difference was that the East coast received a lot of influence from the cultural customs and traditions of England, while the West, because of its inhospitable environment, turned people into what was perceived as less civilized. Politically, there were also differences. While in the East the federal and state governments had already been organized and established, the West was still being discovered and the territories were annexed little by little. So people who moved to the West were not inside the United States and thus were not protected by the authorities of the nation. Because of this, and as settlers moved further, the U.S Army became central as they were the ones encharged with expanding, annexing and protecting the newly established American territories. Finally, among many other differences, the West, although mostly inhabited by Indian tribes, had also been settled earlier by Spanish inhabitants and by people coming from Asia, so this meant that at first there was confrontation as different languages, customs and origins clashed and came together.
The similarities emerged later on, as settlement expanded. As the territories were annexed, their governments were organized to mimic that of the East. Also, as white Europeans moved, cultures and customs began to mix, but mostly, the traditions from the East coast were admired and adopted because they were seen as the most civilized. Men and women dressed much like their Eastern counterparts, even if the fabrics were different. Transportation and technological advances connected both regions of the country and little by little stabilization between them turned two into one. Religiously, both East and West shared similarities, with Christianity being the major system of belief. Finally, as the United States government, through the Army, and through financial means, gained new territories (examples: Texas, Utah and New Mexico, among others) and they gained control over Indian American tribes, socially, and militarily, the West began to be organized and turned into what it is today.
