Many Americans saw the West as the future They wanted new lives 4 Introduction
In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson bought land from the French This deal was called the Louisiana Purchase It doubled the size of the United States In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act Homesteads are homes and the land around them The U S government gave free land to farmers Farmers had to live on the land for 5 years They had to improve the land These events inspired people to travel west People wanted land They built new cities Americans had already started leaving their homes in 1840 From then until 1870 they headed west from the East Coast This was called Westward Expansion Expansion means a growth These Americans traveled along the Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a major route Routes are paths 5
