Answer: With Federal resources focused on waging the war farther east, both native tribes and the Confederacy attempted to claim or reclaim lands west of the Mississippi. The Federal government responded with measures (Homestead Act, transcontinental railroad) and military campaigns designed to encourage settlement, solidify Union control of the trans-Mississippi West, and further marginalize the physical and cultural presence of tribes native to the West.
Although advanced under the mantle of protection, the nation's American Indian population in the West bore the cost of the westward-looking military and political undertakings.
Step-by-step explanation:
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