The families of most settlers originally came from Europe. There, open land was scarce—which means there was very little of it. The richest people bought up all the land, while everyone else worked for them. Most people who farmed for a landowner lived on the same small piece of land all their lives and could not easily leave.

In North America, however, a smaller population of people meant that there was much available land, with little competition for it. There was no land ownership, so people were free to use natural resources in many different regions. Some mainly stayed in one place and farmed, while others moved from place to place with the seasons.

In this lesson, you'll explore the major differences between Native Americans' and settlers' perspectives on—ideas about—land, and what happened when these two groups wanted to live in the same area.