Westward Expansion

What was the purpose of the Homestead Act?

• To offer free land to any citizen or intended citizen that was the head of the household.

• To grant railroads 10 square miles of public land for every mile of track laid in a state.

• To punish ranchers and cattlemen who fenced in open land without permission.

• To give federal land to states to help agricultural colleges.

As the United States expanded westward, conflict with Native Americans became called...?

• Reservation System.

• The Plains Wars.

• Americanization.

• The war of 1812.

Under the Dawes Act of 1887, how would American Indians be eligible for American citizenship?

• They would have to find and cultivate their own land west of the Mississippi river.

• They would have to join the U.S. Army.

• They would have to register as a member of one of the five "civilized tribes."

• They would have to disavow tribal practice and farm the land like Americans.

The federal government policy was most interested in improving conditions for which group during the later 1800s?

• White settlers.

• African Americans.

• Native Americans.

• Business leaders.

What is the definition of Americanization?

• Process by which people of one culture merge into and become part of another.

• An effort to assimilate Native Americans more quickly by destroying their culture.

• A law that distributed reservation land to Native Americans.

• Alloted Native American land provided by the federal government

What are the Great Plains?

• Vast forests located between California and Kansas.

• A plateau located in the southern United States.

• Vast grasslands between the Mississippi River and the Rocky mountains.

• A hilly area located in the western United States.

Many Native Americans were forced to live on small pieces of land known as...?

• Districts

• Territories

• Quarantine zones

• Reservations

Which of the following was NOT a reason for westward expansion?

• There were many earthquakes in the east.

• Many people wanted to seek adventure.

• The discovery of golf in California.

• There was less discrimination in the west.

The Homestead Act promised Americans 160 acres of free land as long as...?

• They gave all of their crops to the government.

• The mined it for gold.

• Farmed the land and lived there for 5 years.

• Defended it from Native Americans

The railroad that stretched from the east coast to the west coast was called the...?

• The Cross Country Railroad.

• The Great American Railroad.

• The Really Big Railroad.

• Transcontinental Railroad.