Westward Expansion (Mining/Homestead)

People who believed in Manifest Destiny believed that the United States should-

• limit immigration

• extend from coast to coast

• control North and South America

• cut all ties with European nations

What geographic feature did the transcontinental railroad make it easier to cross when traveling west in the United States?

• Mississippi River

• Pacific Ocean

• Appalachian Mountains

• Rocky Mountains

Which tools helped miners find gold in the 1850's?

• water wheel

• steel plow

• metal detector

• tin pan

Which answer choice best describes the relationship between farmers and ranchers in the west?

• Each group willingly shared resources and supplies with the other.

• Each group wanted to use the land differently, and they competed for it.

• Both groups disliked the miner and wanted them to leave.

• Both groups disliked the railroads and wanted to stop their growth.

Factories in the East relied on settlers in the West to-

• create new states to help the country grow

• build railroads for shipping goods

• provide homes for women and children

• provide raw material for making products

What attracted many people from the East to homesteading?

• They wanted an easy way to become wealthy.

• They wanted an easier way of life than they had in the East.

• They wanted to be able to buy their own land and hoped to prosper.

• They wanted to teach their children a good profession for the future.

*Loneliness

*Harsh Weather

*Hard, dry ground

The items on this list helped convince-

• some people in the East to try homesteading

• some homesteaders to give up and return East

• the United States government to pass the Homestead Act

• some immigrants from Europe to settle in the United States

Why was a new type of wheat needed on the Great Plains?

• The soil on the Great Plains was too dry to grow many kinds of wheat.

• The winters on the Great Plains were too cold to grow many kinds of wheat.

• The winds on the Great Plains were too strong to grow many kinds of wheat.

• The farmers on the Great Plains did not have the right tools to grow many kinds of wheat.

How did the invention of barbed wire promote farming on the Great Plains?

• It made it easier to store crops after they were harvested.

• It made it easier to provide water to help grow crops.

• It made it easier to build sod houses in which to live

• It made it easier to keep livestock from wandering away.

How was James Oliver's iron plow an improvement over John Deere's steel plow?

• It was less expensive and lasted longer.

• It was lighter and easier to use.

• It made it easier for farmers to harvest their crops.

• It could be pulled by horses.