Westward Expansion Study Guide

Why did the US want new acquisitions in the West?

• to give people from the US more land to farm and live on

• to have closer ties with Europe

• to study American Indian cultures

• to protect the natural environment

The US and Great Britain agreed on a boundary for the

• Oregon Country

• Mexican Cession

• Gadsden Purchase

• Louisiana Purchase

Manifest Destiny was the belief that the US should

• expand to the Pacific Ocean

• honor the claims by other countries

• give all citizens the right to vote

• treat native peoples with respect

Why did Mexico give up the territory called the Mexican Cession?

• they received a large price

• they traded it for other property

• they had just lost a fierce war

• they did not want desert land

Jefferson agreed to buy French land to the west so that

• runaway slaves could not hide there

• American Indians would have a place to live

• American goods could move through New Orleans

• the US would have an ally against Great Britain

What was the main reason American Indians went to reservations?

• they wanted better farmland

• the US government forced them to move

• Buffalo herds led them there

• they formed an alliance with Mexicans

The US got Florida from

• France

• Great Britain

• Mexico

• Spain

The judicial branch can decide whether a law is

• popular

• reasonable

• unconstitutional

• wise

Many Americans in Texas wanted freedom from Mexico so they could

• get free land

• keep their slaves

• build homes at the Alamo

• help the American Indians

Which term refers to the principle that nobody is above the law?

• rule of law

• limited powers

• check and balances

• republican government