One day, there was a president named Thomas Jefferson. He bought the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1862, the Homestead Act was passed by Congress. It stated that any one who settled in the west and farm it for five years will get 160 acres free.

The Transcontinental Railroad was started on May 10, 1863 and was finished in 1869. The Transcontinental Railroad was built so people could easily get across the country quicker and settle the new land purchased.

American Indians were forced on to reservations so the white settlers could live and farm their land. They were also told that if they left the reservation, they would be hung.

When the American Indians were put on reservations, the white settlers went out and killed all the buffalo so that they had to start a new way of living.

When the white settlers killed all the buffalo, the American Indians began to starve to death. Then, one day they tried to escape the reservation.