Cattle Trail Quiz

The "Black Cowboys" of nineteenth-century Texas are MOST associated

with

• clearing and developing the Chisholm Trail for cattle.

• cattle drives from Texas and across the Great Plains.

• the founding of trading posts along the US-Mexican border.

• the relocation of American Indians in the American Southwest.

To whom in the American West did the term "cowboy" originally refer?

• men who raised cattle on plantations in the American South

• men who sold cattle to merchants at ports along the Texas coast

• men who sailed cattle up the Mississippi to communities in the north

• men who drove cattle from Texas to Kansas along the Chisholm Trail

What was the MAIN purpose of many nineteenth-century cattle trails such as the Chisholm Trail?

• to help settlers farm new lands

• to provide food to eastern cities

• to clear wildlife from crowded areas

• to supply western ranches with livestock

How did the transcontinental railroad change the American West?

• It made horses and wagons much less popular.

• It made traveling and selling goods easier.

• It created high paying jobs for immigrant laborers.

• It created high paying jobs for immigrant laborers.

How did price incentives motivate cowboys to drive their cattle all the way up to Kansas?

• Less cattle were raised on the east coast, so if they could get the cattle to east coast by railroad, they could sell them for more money.

• More cattle were raised on the east coast, so if they could get the cattle to the east coast by railroad they could sell them for more money.

• The cows were worth more money if they got lots of exercise so they drove them up to Kansas for exercise.

• Kansas is on the east coast, and they didn’t have as many cows, so the demand was higher making them worth more there.

How did the market for beef encourage ranchers to make cattle drives?

• Beef was expensive in Texas, but cheap everywhere else.

• Beef was cheap in Texas but expensive everywhere else.

• There was nowhere to buy beef in Texas.

• There were many places in the US to buy beef.

What is the BEST definition of the word incentive?

• Products that people really want to have.

• Something that encourages you to make a choice.

• The number of potions you have when buying something.

• The maximum amount a person is willing to pay for something.

How are prices for goods and services determined in a market economy?

• By labor unions

• By state governments

• By the federal government

• By producers and consumers

Driving cattle on the cattle trails was very hard work in hot dry locations. Which incentive did people have to do this difficult work?

• The price they could get for selling cattle was high.

• The more cattle driven, the more slaves they could own.

• People who drove cattle were more likely to become famous.

• There were no other jobs available for cattle ranchers to do.

The Great Western Cattle Trail had an important role in moving goods in which direction?

• from Oregon to the Midwest

• from Texas to the Northeast

• from California to the Atlantic Coast

• from Oklahoma to the Pacific Coast