What do you think the opportunities were that caused this change?

I think that having more land was an opportunity that many people wanted. They could use the land for many different things. I believe that people wanted to move out into the Western part of the United States because of the resources out there. They resources out in the west may have been more valuable than the resources in the east. With these new and valuable resources, it would also create the opportunity to open new trading with different people. Sicknesses could have been a cause of the expansion. People had to move away, so they didn't get ill and die.