I can explain what happened and how it happened, but for the thesis statement, that is up to the mind to create otherwise it'd be plagiarism.
Here !
A quarter section of land (160 acres, or a square quarter mile) was made available by the Homestead Act of 1862 to people who staked out a claim and improved it during a seven-year period. The land was theirs if they carried out this. There are several instances where large families may rent four-section plots and cultivate them jointly.
The US Government granted special concessions to the rail roads, such as Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Train roads, to build rail lines across the west. They would build a water and fuel stop for the locomotives every twenty or so miles or so. At the gas station, they would be given a one square mile plot of land on which to establish a town.
Here in Nebraska, several of those settlements are referred to as "Alphabet towns" since the gas stations were assigned the letters a through d. My great-great grandparents were a part of the migration into south central Nebraska that followed the railways. Flyers promoting the free land in the American West were delivered into Europe via train routes, attracting immigrants to Nebraska, Kansas, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and other states. These immigrants arrived in certain parts of the west in large family groups and established settlements. The communities of Stromsburg, Nebraska (Swedish), O'Neil, Nebraska (Irish), Wilber, Nebraska (Czech), and Henderson, Nebraska are still inhabited by ethnic groups (German).
When it was discovered that cattle could survive the hard winters on the Northern Plains, ranching exploded in Western Nebraska, Western Kansas, Oklahoma, Eastern Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. As a result, the lands were developed for ranching.
The gold and silver discoveries in Colorado and the South Dakotan Badlands also had an impact. To get affluent, many individuals relocated to such locations.
The native Native American population was driven from their lands as a result of the desire to populate those territories. They were driven off of the territories set aside for white colonization and into reservations. It was safe for White people to live on former Indian territory after their departure.
Thanks,
Eddie