Chapter 3 Crossing the Continent Test

Which innovation used electricity to send news across the country?

• the transcontinental railroad
• the telegraph
• the Pony Express
• the stagecoach

What was the main purpose of the Homestead Act?

• to bring an end to cattle drives
• to defeat the Native Americans
• to encourage settlement on the Great Plains
• to provide a market for steel plows

Levi Strauss and Luzena Stanley Wilson are two examples of _______________.

• gold rushers
• homesteaders
• cattle drivers
• entrepreneurs

Which of the following was NOT one of the challenges typically faced by homesteaders?

• high cost of land
• harsh weather
• large amounts of grasshoppers
• thick sod

Which innovation allowed people and goods to travel across the county in just a week?

• the stagecoach
• the Pony Express
• the transcontinental railroad
• the Morse Code

Which of the following was NOT a way that technology helped the pioneers turn the Great PLains into productive farmland?

• Stronger steel plows were used on the thick grasslands.
• Windmills were used to pump water to the land's surface.
• Barbed wire was used to keep animals away from crops.
• Sod was used as a building material to keep bugs out.

Why were cattle drives profitable for Texas Ranchers?

• Cattle grew fatter as they traveled the trails.
• People paid to watch the cattle drives.
• Cattle could be sold for more money in the East.
• Railroads paid ranchers to use their services.

How did the Union Pacific railroad solve its labor shortage?

• It hired farmers.
• It hired Native Americans.
• It hired African Americans, Irish Immigrants, and former Civil War soldiers.
• It hired old men.

Which of the following best describes a reason why cattle drives came to an end?

• Thousands of cattle ranchers moved west in search of gold.
• Consumers became more interested in gold than cattle.
• Farmers on the Great Plains began raising cattle.
• They were no longer necessary once railroads reached Texas.

Why is the Battle of Little Bighorn also known as "Custer's Last Stand"?

• Custer resigned after witnessing the brutal Lakota defeat.
• Custer was seriously injured as he led his forces to victory.
• Custer was killed along with his entire forces.
• Custer surrendered after his forces were surrounded by the Lakota.