Where did Virginians move after the Revolutionary War?

Many Virginians moved west during and after the Revolutionary War as they were rewarded with land grants to settle and develop this new territory. It offered opportunities to escape the coastal lowlands, which were often associated with malaria, and to own land. It also provided space to expand the slave-based economy, which had become highly concentrated along the coast due to the high density of population and limited land. The western territory presented greater potential for large-scale farming and the expansion of the plantation system.