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After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, a large amount of land west of the original 13 states and the Northwest Territory was acquired. The open land, additional benefits and other existing problems encouraged Americans to expand westward. The American people began to realize that the future of the country lay in the development of its own western resources. There were many reasons that made the people face the grueling and dangerous movement west, but the primary reason was economy. "Like the Spanish conquistadors before them, the Americans looked beyond the Mississippi, they saw an open beckoning. Despite the presence of hundreds of Indian nations with rich and distinct cultures, who had populated the land for thousands of years-from the desert of the Southwest and the grassy prairies of the Great Plains to the high valleys of the Rocky Mountains and the salty beaches of the Paci