Westward Expansion

What geographical obstacles did pioneers face while moving west?

• Mountain ranges, rivers, and deserts  

• Sickness or disease 

• Fighting with Native Americans 

• Bad weather or storms

How did most people travel to the west?

• Boat

• Horseback

• Car

• Covered Wagon

What technology revolutionized farming in the west? 

• Steel plows, mechanical reapers, and windmills

• Morse code

• Internet

• Hydroelectricity

What major river systems had to be crossed in order to move west? 

• Snake River, Mississippi River, Columbia River, Missouri River

• Nile River

• Amazon River

• Rio Grande

What types of weather hazards did pioneers face? 

• Mountain ranges, rivers, and deserts 

• Sickness or disease

• Fights with Native Americans

• Spring floods, winter snows, and tornadoes

What did the Homestead Act of 1861 allow settlers to do?

• Go to war with Native Americans

• Own the land that they settled on after 5 years

• Establish the sharecropping system

• Make peace with the Native Americans

What animal impacted the building of the railroads, and was also essential to the Native Americans way of life?

• Snakes

• Mountain lions

• Bison

• Locusts

Where did railroad companies advertise to attract new settlers to the region?

• Europe

• The south

• Asia

• The west

How did the transcontinental railroad change the economy of the United States?

• It transported agricultural products to processing centers and helped major industries such as flour milling and meat processing develop in cities like Chicago. 

• It transported people to the cities to work in factories. 

• It transported Native Americans to the west. 

•  It transported raw materials to build factories in the west. 

What were Boom Towns?

• Towns that were developed when gold and silver was found in a particular place. 

• Towns that were abandoned after the gold and silver mines were depleted.

• Towns where dynamite was found

• Towns where loud sounds were often heard.