Final answer:
Before settlers moved to the Great Plains, many people viewed the American West as a vast and empty place, unfit for civilized people. It was seen as an arid wasteland suitable only for Native Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before the mid-nineteenth century, many saw the Great Plains as the "great American desert," unfit for civilized settlement. The pervasive belief was that the area was a vast, arid wasteland only suitable for the Native American tribes that already resided there.
This view was part of the broader perspective that saw the American West as empty and inhospitable. However, starting in the 1840s, perceptions began to shift due to increased knowledge of the economic opportunities in the West, promoted by land developers and the U.S. government.
This was underpinned by the ideology of Manifest Destiny, which posited that Americans had a divine right to explore and settle the West.
Early explorers like Major Stephen Harriman Long reinforced the view of the Plains as barren, but as more settlers perceived economic opportunities for commercial farming and other ventures, more were encouraged to migrate.
While the Panic of 1837 dampened some enthusiasm by restricting the financial means to move westward, the allure of land deals and the promise of prosperity eventually won out.
This was characterized by a uniquely American narrative of taming the wilderness, where individuals used their ingenuity and labor to transform the land into profitable farms, which laid the groundwork for future towns and industry.
Nevertheless, the westward expansion was not a simple tale of success. It also involved conflicts between the settlers and Native American tribes, the often coercive renegotiation of treaties, and a clash of cultures that led to tumultuous change on the Great Plains.