Final answer:
Westward Expansion fueled conflict with Native Americans as American settlers sought new lands and economic opportunities, leading to the displacement of Native tribes onto reservations and cultural transformations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Conflict with Native Americans increased during Westward Expansion due to the driving force of Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans were destined to spread their democratic institutions across the continent. The influx of settlers encroaching on Native American lands, searching for opportunities and land for settlement, inevitably led to conflict. The Indian Wars were a series of conflicts and attempts by the U.S. government to move Native Americans onto reservations, transforming tribal cultures and sparking a national debate about Native American policy.
During this period of expansion in the 1800s, American settlers often viewed the Indians' rights to land as an obstacle to the nation's interests. Economic developments such as the growth of plantations, railroads, the discovery of mineral wealth, and manufacturing exacerbated the situation. The result was a tragic displacement and decimation of Native American tribes, with long-term consequences for their cultures and livelihoods.