Explain one way in which the american civil war was important in the settlement of the west ?

With Federal resources focused on waging the war farther east, both native tribes and the Confederacy attempted to claim lands west of the Mississippi. The Federal government's response included The Homestead Act and the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The goal was to encourage settlement, solidify Union control of the trans-Mississippi West, and further marginalize the physical and cultural presence of tribes native to the West. 

the answer is a. since they were a huge producer of cotton and wanted the most money for it.

bujías y una hora antes y no me parece muy difícil