Westward Expansion

For people heading west during the late 1800s, what was the most difficult area to cross?

• Area 1

• Area 2

• Area 3

• All areas

Why was it so difficult to travel through area 3?

• The area consisted of mountains and rugged terrain.

• The area had not been explored by previous travelers

• The area was the wider than other parts of the country.

• The area was populated with too many Native Americans

What problem faced by the Central Pacific Railroad Company is shown in the image above?

• Buffalo caused trains to derail.

• Tracks had to be built across the Great Plains.

• The steep slopes of the Sierra Nevada caused the need to dig tunnels.

• Native Americans were constantly fighting with the workers to get off of their land.

Which statement summarizes the lasting effects of the search for gold in the west?

• Boom and bust towns were just expected and didn’t have any effect on the West

• Ghost towns filled the west and the Native Americans had a positive effect on this event.

• Towns that were once supply stations and mining towns turned into large cities bringing many people out west and onto Native American territory

• All the towns’ economies went bust after all the miners left the towns and went back to the east, so the Native Americans were never affected by the gold rush.

What effects did the building of the railroad have on the Native Americans of the Great Plains?

• Americans took their land by building railroads on the Great Plains.

• The buffalo, which was their main staple of food, clothing, and shelter, were killed.

• They were put on reservations which altered, or changed, their traditional way of life.

• All of the above

Based on the picture above, which group made up the largest part of the Central Pacific workforce?

• Irish immigrants

• African-Americans

• Chinese immigrants

• Former Union Army soldiers

How did the transcontinental railroad affect the wild bison herds in the west?

• The bison herds were afraid of the rails.

• The railroads cleared grazing land for the bison.

• It resulted in the demise of the free-roaming buffalo in the west.

• The transcontinental railroad assisted with the growth of the bison population.

How was the steel plow important to the development of the west?

• The making of the steel plow created many jobs.

• Steel plows were huge machines that cleared land.

• The steel plow was not an expensive tool to purchase

• The steel plow allowed the planters to produce an agricultural surplus.

What were the causes and effects of the farmers moving out west?

• Pioneers wanted free land, so they moved out west and put up a fence to keep ranchers’ cattle off of their land.

• Pioneers wanted to get away from the big cities, so they traveled out west and this caused a bust to the economy.

• Farmers wanted to expand the amount of land they owned, so they bought many acres and hired former slaves to work the fields.

• Farmers and ranchers wanted to work as a team to provide food for the cattle and then they worked together out west all the way through the last of the 1900s

Why was the construction of the railroad system in the United States beneficial to people of all regions?

• It made the west look beautiful.

• People were proud of the railroad system.

• Railroad systems in the United States were well managed.

• It was a faster way to move people, mail, and goods across the United States.