Westward Expansion

What innovation used electricity to send messages across the country?

• telegraph

• the pony express

• the transcontinental railroad

• the stagecoach

Which of the following best describes a major challenge faced by the Union Pacific railroad?

• conflict with Chinese immigrants

• competition with other railroad companies

• conflict with Native Americans

• the steep slopes of the Sierra Nevada

Which group made up a large part of the Central Pacific's workforce?

• Irish immigrants

• Chinese immigrants

• African Americans

• Native Americans

Which innovation allowed people and goods to travel across the country in just a week?

• morse code

• stagecoach

• pony express

• trnscontinental railroad

What was the main purpose of the Homestead Act?

• to bring an end to cattle drives

• to encourage settlement on the Great Plains

• to defeat the Native Americans

• to provide a market for steel plows

Which of the following was not a challenge faced by homesteaders?

• high cost of land

• harsh weather

• thick sod

• large amount of insects

Why did many Exodusters go to the Great Plains?

• European immigrants forced them from their homes

• They wanted to hunt buffalo

• They faced discrimination and lack of opportunity

• They were seeking religious freedom

Which of the following was not a way technology helped turn the Great Plains into productive farmland?

• Steel Plows

• Windmills

• Barbed Wire

• Thick Sod

Why did cattle drives come to an end?

• Ranchers moved west

• Consumers became more interested in gold

• Farmers started raising cattle

• The transcontinental railroad made cattle drives unnecessary

What were some of the challenges settlers faced moving west?

• harsh weather

• mountains

• rivers

• all of the above