The first half of the 1800s saw tremendous growth in the acquirement of U.S. territory as well as in the population of settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains. The land available for settlement almost doubled, and the population in the West more than tripled. The freedom and incentive to move into the unknown territories had been hard won through the American Revolution, which opened up the world west of the Appalachians. Additionally, a major land purchase from the French dramatically transformed the geography of the country.
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