Westward Expansion, Inventions, & Impact on Indians

After the Gold Rush of 1849, people dreamed of a faster, cheaper, and safer way to travel west. What new technology of the 1800's made this dream a reality?

• Pony Express
• Stagecoach
• Transcontinental Railroad
• Wagon Trains

Moving west primarily offered former slaves:

• free homes that were already built

• assimilation

• land without taxes

• a new beginning and freedom

What was the main reason Native Americans resented settlers who moved into the West?

• The settlers took the Native Americans' land.
• The Native Americans didn't approve of settlers' beliefs.
• The settlers didn't pay taxes to the Native Americans.
• The Native Americans didn't approve of farming.

Which statement best reflects how the lives of American Indians changed with westward expansion?

• The American Indian population increased with westward expansion.

• The American Indians were forced to assimilate to white American culture.

• The buffalo population increased as more settlers came West.

• The American Indians wanted to move to reservations .

Native Americans lost their homelands mostly due to:

• droughts.

• selling their land.

• fights breaking out.

• treaties being broken.

Which Act divided land up for individual American Indian families to farm. This was an example of assimilation.

• Homestead Act

• Morril Act

• Dawes Act

• Reconstruction Act

What did the Homestead Act offer?

• a free house made of wood

• a stop along the Oregon Trail

• free land after 5 years of living on it.

American Indians’ population was reduced by battles with settlers, disease, and a decrease in buffalo populations.

• True

• False

The US treated the American Indians fairly by buying their land at a good price and allowing them to live on reservations only if they wanted to.

• True

• False

How did the invention pictured above enable settlers to live on the Great Plains?

• It kept the farm cool.

• It improved communication between settlers.

• It allowed them to dig wells to pump water out of the ground.

• It created electricity that allowed them to use machines.