CHAPTER 1 A NATION EXPANDS After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 thousands of people in the United States moved west Some rode in wagons or stagecoaches But most traveled by water Many people followed the Missouri River Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had used this route during their expedition to explore the new territory In the early 1800s steamboats made it easier for people to travel and settle along rivers 5
However this land was not empty It belonged to American Indian nations Before 1815 the US government had treated these nations like separate countries But that began to change Nationalism was growing US leaders did not respect or value American Indian cultures They treated American Indian land like it was part of the United States During the 1820s and 1830s the US government forced many American Indian tribes out of areas where white people wanted to settle First tribes on the Great Plains such as the Osage and Kansa were forced to give up some of their land Next the US government forced tribes 6
The Osage lived in areas that would become Missouri Arkansas Kansas and Oklahoma from farther east to move to that land It became known as Indian Territory Many American Indian tribes were driven from their land near the Great Lakes For example the Shawnees were forced to leave their homes in Ohio They moved west of the Mississippi River 7
