US Westward

The western frontier at the end of the nineteenth century was most transformed by

• Railroads
• The mechanical mower-reaper
• The Homestead Act
• The Dawes Severalty Act

Congress passed the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887 in order to

• Put Native Americans on reservations
• Preserve Native American culture
• Force Native Americans to assimilate into white American culture as quickly as possible
• Encourage all Native Americans to move to Canada

Many farmers in the Midwest hated the railroad companies because they

• All of the above
• Issued unfair rebates to larger agricultural shippers
• Didn’t publish standard fares
• Overcharged for even the shortest hauls

Members of the Ghost Dance Movement sought to

• Turn away white settlers and return to traditional ways of life
• Resolve differences with whites and assimilate into white American culture as quickly as possible
• Increase cultural awareness of Native American traditions among whites
• Move all Native Americans to Canada

Which of the following does not represent a group that participated significantly in westward migration after 1870?

• recent immigrants from Northern Europe and Canada
• African American “exodusters” escaping racism and seeking economic opportunities
• former Southern slaveholders seeking land and new financial opportunities
• recent Chinese immigrants seeking gold in California

Which of the following represents an action that the U.S. government took to help Americans fulfill the goal of western expansion?

• the passage of the Homestead Act
• the official creation of the philosophy of Manifest Destiny
• the development of stricter immigration policies
• the introduction of new irrigation techniques

What specific types of hardships did an average American farmer NOT face as he built his homestead in the Midwest?

• hostile Indian attacks
• droughts
• insect swarms
• limited building supplies

Which of the following groups was not impacted by the invention of barbed wire?

• illegal prostitutes
• ranchers
• cowboys
• farmers

The American cowboy owes much of its model to what other culture?

• Mexicans
• Indians
• Northern European immigrants
• Chinese immigrants

Which of the following was not a primary method by which the American government dealt with American Indians during the period of western settlement?

• Appeasement
• relocation
• extermination
• assimilation