Final answer:
Internal migration in the US has been influenced by economic opportunities, availability of resources, and transportation developments, leading to a major rural-to-urban shift and regional demographic changes. The American Dream, alongside various waves of immigration, has contributed to the US's economic growth and cultural diversity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The causes of internal migration and patterns of settlement in what would become the United States are varied and multifaceted. During the westward expansion, economic opportunities, access to and availability of resources, and the development of new forms of transportation played critical roles in shaping migration patterns. For instance, the American Dream motivated many to move in search of better living standards. Settlement patterns were greatly influenced by urbanization, where populations moved towards urban centers due to industrial growth.
The massive rural-to-urban shift and the regional intermigration have both played a role in the demographic changes seen across the United States. Waves of immigration, such as the influx from western and northern Europe in the early 19th century, and later from southern and Eastern Europe, have contributed to the complex multicultural fabric of American society. Additionally, the three main colonial regions—New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South—moved westward and set specific migration patterns that contribute to the diversity we see today.
Migration has affected American life in numerous ways, including economic growth leading to the United States becoming the world's largest economy, changes in social and cultural structures within communities, and variances in religious and ethnic distribution across the country. The Great Migration, for example, significantly altered the spatial pattern of the African American population, primarily from the rural Southeast to urban centers in the North and West, impacting both the origins and the destinations of this movement.