expandIng WEst
Native Americans didn't believe land could be "owned", but settlers and the U.S. government felt otherwise. They believed in the term Manifest Destiny which was a belief that it was America's destiny to settle west. Many settlers wanted to do this mostly because they could get new jobs of farming or mining. Gold and silver was discovered and that attracted many settlers. To get more people to move west, the Homestead Act was made and there were land races. Many settlers participated in these things and this helped the United States expand west.