So today in class my professor brought up an interesting discussion topic. I'd like a lot of input on this and it should be very entertaining. Also, please do not diss anyone. Although talk of politics may arise, this entire thread is completely fictional and none of the following events ever happened. Though some of these ideas may be based off real ideas, they are all posted in fictional content. I ask no flaming or dissing on this thread.

So my professor asked: What do you think North America would be like today if the West coast was targeted for early colonization instead of the East coast.

Well my first thought would be that North America would be predominately Asian ethnicity instead of White. This is simple to argue because Asia is the closest dense population to the west coast as Britain, France, Spain, and the rest of Europe is to the East coast. Secondly, being a California native and being a history lover, I had to put California's role into this topic. The Sierra Nevadas and a vast desert is what kept California from getting populated for a long time. Now going in an opposite direction, I think this would have prevented inland movement if Asian settlers landed on the West coast. This may have caused the US to end up like Australia is now, populated all around the coast but "bush country" in the middle. Farming and Plantations would likely still dominate due to the vast amounts of farmland in California. Balanced weather would also allow California ports to strive like the South East ports did.

Others in my class suggested possibilities of gold being discovered earlier and the U.S. becoming a world of riches instead of world of dreams (political and religious escape). So what do you guys think?

edit: Proof read, spelling, grammar etc.