Answer:
White settlers marched further westward towards the Pacific, inspired by the concept of Manifest Destiny, which believed that European Americans were divinely destined to occupy the whole North American continent. As they did so, they increasingly clashed with Native American Indians for land and natural resources, particularly when the discovery of gold in western regions triggered the Gold Rush. Prospective gold miners flocked to the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest, fighting – often violently – with the Native Americans they met.