Westward Expansion

During the 19th century, the Federal government helped the transcontinental railroad companies by

• breaking up railroad monopolies

• setting safety standards for railroad operation

• providing loans and free land for railroad construction

• establishing uniform shipping rates

The establishment of transcontinental rail lines and the construction of America's massive rail network had all of the following effects EXCEPT

• They led to the rapid industrialization of the Old South following the Civil War

• They allowed for the faster distribution of goods throughout the country

• Their building spurred a series of important technical advances

• They made the country "smaller" in the sense that they dramatically reduced the time needed to traverse the continent

What did the Dawes Act of 1887 do?

• It granted Native Americans large tracts of land for reservations that would be owned collectively by each tribe.

• It granted free land to farmers who would occupy and improve their plots for at least 5 years.

• It made it illegal for whites to settle on Native American lands.

• It transferred ownership of Native American reservations from entire tribes to individual families.

The decline of the "open range" resulted primarily from

• low beef prices which made the practice unprofitable.

• government policies giving priority use of the range to sheepherders.

• the invention of barbed wire led to many farmers fencing off their land.

• the high cost of cattle which constantly wandered off on the open range

Who were the "Exodusters"?

• Former slaves who, after emancipation, vowed never to pick cotton again.

• A mass migration of African Americans from various southern states to the west in the late 1870s.

• Newly freed slaves who founded black churches across the South.

• Former slaves who spent their post-slavery days searching or family members who had been sold away.

The Morrill Act provided

• 160 acres of free land to farmers who would occupy and improve their plots for at least 5 years

• Large reservations for the tribes of the Great Plains

• Large amounts of federal government land to states that would establish agricultural or mechanical colleges

• 40 acres of land to former slaves

"What we can and should do is...to fit the Indians...for the habits and occupations of civilized life, by work and education; to individualize them in the possession and appreciation of property, by allotting to them lands in severalty, giving them free simple title individually to the parcels of land they cultivate...The circumstances surrounding them place before the Indians this stern alternative: extermination of civilization." -Carl Shurz, Secretary of Interior, 1881

Which federal policy is most clearly reflected in the quote above?

• The attempt to instill white notions of property ownership in Native Americans

• The intentional massacre of Native Americans during the Plains Wars

• The repeated violation of treaties signed with Native Americans

• The movement to allow Native Americans to keep their original lands

Which of the following best describes the experience of Mexicans who remained in the West after the Mexican Cession in 1848?

• While the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo stated that their property rights would be respected, in practice many lost their land and political power to Anglo migrants.

• They retained their dominance over California politics despite being quickly outnumbered by Anglo migrants to the state.

• Many grew rich from mining the gold and silver fields of California and Nevada.

• Most willingly assimilated into Anglo culture, quckly learning English and converting to Protestantism.

I. It provided settlers with free land from the public domain.

II. It applied to US citizens, including Whites and African Americans.

III. It required 5 years of residency.

IV. It encouraged the economic development of the Great Plains.

Which of the above were true of the Homestead Act?

• I,II, and IV only

• I, III, and IV only

• II, III, and IV only

• I, II, III, and IV

Which of the following was true of women's participation in the settlement of the West?

• Women were generally held to stricter standards for behavior and etiquette in the West.

• Women of all ethnicities generally found the West to be a land of opportunity.

• Women in the West often took on new tasks, some of which were traditionally viewed as men's work.

• Most women faced greater gender discrimination and had fewer rights in the West.