Westward Expansion

Which of the following was the main reason for the rapid settlement of the Great Plains during the late 1800s?

• Congress passed a law requiring all public lands to be sold at auction

• Congress passed a law allowing people to claim public land and convert it to private property through homesteading

• Speculators bought large parcels of land and then built factory towns to attract new immigrants

• Native Americans sold most of their tribal lands directly to railroad companies

How did the expansion of railroad transportation most benefit farmers in the United

States?

• By raising the consumer price of agricultural products

• By increasing the variety of locally grown crops

• By providing farmers with affordable access to distant markets

• By encouraging farmers to form the first agricultural cooperatives

One result of the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 includes

• a rush to grab free land in the Great Plains

• an influx of Chinese immigrants to California

• the building of large urban centers in the West

• the creation of Indian reservations in the Southwest

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was primarily a response to

• increased U.S. presence in China

• rapid population growth in the Northeast

• China’s actions during the Boxer Rebellion

• competition for jobs on the West Coast

Which word best explains the changes shown in these photographs?

• immigration

• nativism

• nullification

• assimilation