The Split History of Westward Expansion in the United States

American Indians had lived in North America for thousands of years by the time European settlers arrived. The settlers came in search of land and were eager to build farms, roads, and towns. The Indians lived off the land and believed it belonged to everyone. When the U.S. government completed the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the plan to expand the country to the Pacific Ocean set up a collision course between the two groups' ways of life.