Newly Settled Western Territories

Definition

Areas in the western part of the United States that were recently occupied by settlers and had minimal development compared to the eastern cities.

Related terms

Frontier: The outer edge of settlement where land was not yet fully developed.

Homestead Act: A law passed in 1862 that granted public land to settlers who agreed to improve it through farming or other means.

Manifest Destiny: The belief that the United States was destined to expand its territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.