many americans believed the west was vast, open land. in fact, the land was populated with: a. french…

Brief Explanations:

Native Americans were the indigenous people of the Americas, and they inhabited the western regions of what is now the United States long before European - American expansion. French Canadians were more concentrated in areas like Canada and some parts of the Northeast of the US. Mexicans were in areas that were part of Mexico before the US - Mexican War and in the Southwest. But the most prominent group already populating the West were the Native Americans.

Answer:

B. Native Americans