Um, an ideology of a Jewish nation-state within the borders of the United States?
more like Jews should come and live in the USA till God leads them to the holy land, though some Zionist would want a Jewish state in the USA
Assuming that the zionist in this scenario concetrate their efforts within one of the more sparesly populated plains states (Wyoming or the Dakotas) they could probably have a jewish majority state within the US.
how do they get their in large numbers? The railroad is going through Denver, they would have to travel by stage or wagon. Without an organizing company or ethos I don't see this happening. You can't use Zionism because it is predicated on Aliyah so then what? Herzl says, G-d actually meant Montana in the USA, you know that funny Christian republic that just gave up slavery 30 years ago, I just don't see why they all go there.
I get what you are saying but we still have a pretty Wild West (forgive the pun). Sioux are still loose and the Shoshone and Cheyenne (No offense and justifications aside, but the Native treatment of white settlers wasn't all that different than a pogrom, IMHO) aren't confined to reservations so Wyoming and Montana are still pretty wild. Not to mention the boomtowns, why would any Jew want to leave New York? Plenty of jobs, food, and living quarters. Yes, Tenament life was miserable to say the least, but it would IMHO beat the hell outta getting scalped or what have you, not to mention they all just left the Shtetl so why go set up knew ones? Part of me thinks my ancestors left Poland so they could get off the farm (not to mention no Cossacks would be a bonus). I just want to know what you think the motivation would be.
Immigration would be much easier if you waited for the Great Northern Railway to be built, around the 1890s. You would still end up with some 450,000 Jews (your math was off the first time). If you wait until 1939, they would avoid a large bit of discrimination, would have an easier means to travel, there wouldn't be as much lawlessness, and there would be more motivation to get there. The illegal Jewish immigration to Palestine from 1939-1948 was 600,000* Jews, quite a bit more than your other scenario.
*According to wikipedia.
what would happen if zionism become focused on the USA rather than the middle east?
What do you mean? The Jewish equivalent of Mormon Utah, or are they spread out throughout America?
Herzl didn't believe in Godthats why he picked Israel, a good little Jew knows God banned the people from "massively immigrating to the Land of Israel" Herzl and his Zionist were secular in a big way.
any ways the jews in NYC were poor and didn't come to the US for political reasons the Zionists went out to the middle of global nowhere for a political reason, so they left the food and jobs of Europe why not go to the American West it'd be no harder
I think there'd be two groups of Jews in the US, the Zionists in the west and the East coast New York City anti-zionist Jews, it'd be America and Israel in one nation