Chapter 11

What caused the American fur trade to move westward in the early 1800s?

• Fur trappers called “mountain men” wanted to be the first to map western territory and asked the American Fur Company to sponsor their journey.
• American Indian trappers from the Pacific Northwest were acclaimed for their skill and eastern companies wanted to know their secrets.
• Fur companies wiped out the beaver population in the East in their effort to meet European demand for the popular “high hat.”
• The American Fur Company sent mountain men to the West in its effort to beat its competitors from Europe and the East.

Which was true about the Oregon Trail?

• It took six months to travel.
• It was a popular route for merchants.
• It required protection by U.S. government troops.
• It ran through the Sierra Nevadas.

When they first moved from New York in the early 1830s, what did Mormons hope to find in the West?

• gold and other natural resources
• a site for their Great Temple
• a set of silver tablets with religious teachings
• a sense of religious freedom

By December 1860, the Mormon population of Utah had reached about 40,000 people because of the efforts of which church leader?

• Brigham Young
• Joseph Smith
• John Jacob Astor
• John Sutter

Why was the Battle of the Alamo significant to the outcome of the Texas Revolution?

• Frontiersman Davy Crockett and Colonel Jim Bowie joined the Texan defenses.
• Prisoners who had surrendered at Goliad were released, adding to the Texan defenses.
• The Texans were beaten, but Sam Houston’s forces were inspired to win the Battle of San Jacinto.
• The Texans suffered heavy losses, but the survivors overcame Antonio López de Santa Anna’s army.

What happened during the Bear Flag Revolt?

• A small group of Americans seized the town of Sonoma and declared California’s independence.
• A union of Spanish settlers rose up against the Californios in the Mission district of San Francisco.
• John C. Frémont’s mapping expedition fought off a black bear while crossing the Sierra Nevadas.
• General Taylor led his troops across the Rio Grande to protect Texas against a Mexican uprising.

How did the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, affect the United States?

• It gave the U.S. the southern parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico.
• It enabled the U.S. to collect $18 million in property taxes from Mexico.
• It increased the size of the U.S. by almost 25 percent.
• It drew the border line that divides the U.S. from Mexico to this day.

How did the Gadsden Purchase benefit the United States?

• It promised to safeguard the property rights of longtime U.S. residents.
• It gave the U.S. hunting rights in the area of Texas north of the Rio Grande.
• It allowed the U.S. to purchase the northern part of present day Arizona.
• It secured a southern route for a transcontinental railroad on American soil.

Which description fits the group of people known as “forty-niners”?

•     Mexicans and South Americans who immigrated to find gold
• middle-aged married men with previous gold-mining experience
• gold-seekers from America and abroad who migrated to California
• individualistic prospectors of California gold-mining sites

As a result of the population explosion of the “gold fever” years, California became

• eligible for statehood.
• off limits to new immigrants.
• richer than any other region in the country.
• more populous than any other region in the country.