AP 5.2 ~ Manifest Destiny - Heimler's History

What was the defining feature of 18th and 19th-century America?

• Civil rights movement

• Westward expansion

• Immigration

• Industrialization

What was the slogan used by James K. Polk during his campaign for the Oregon Territory?

• Homesteading opportunities

• Manifest Destiny

• Fifty-four forty or fight!

• Gold Rush

What was NOT a reason for the California Gold Rush in 1848?

• To live in a large city.

• Economic opportunities

• Religious refuge

• Access to minerals and natural resources

Which battle ended the revolution in Texas with a victory for the Texans?

• Battle of San Jacinto

• Battle of Little Bighorn

• Battle of Gettysburg

• Battle of the Alamo

What did the slogan 'Manifest Destiny' refer to?

• Possession of the Midwest

• Possession of the East Coast

• Possession of the whole continent - from the EAST to the WEST coast of America.

• Possession of the South

Americans in Texas ignored the Mexican Laws. What was the response of Mexico to the American settlers in Texas?

• They ignored them

• They welcomed them

• They shut down the border

• They declared war

What did the Preemption Acts set up for those wanting to move west and farm the land?

• Tax exemptions

• Free education

• Government subsidies

• Cheap land

What did the Americans and the British agree upon regarding the Oregon Territory?

• Split at the 45th parallel

• Split at the 49th parallel

• Split at the 55th parallel

• Split at the 60th parallel

What was the main reason for the Mormons (practiced polygamy) fleeing persecution and settling in the Utah Territory?

• Homesteading opportunities

• Religious refuge

• Economic opportunities

• Access to minerals and natural resources

“No roads marked the way to the traveler in California then: but, guided by the sun and well-known mountain peaks, we proceeded on our journey. . . . Some forty or fifty men were at work with the cradle machines, and were averaging about eight ounces [of gold] per day to the man. But a few moments passed before I was knee deep in water, with my wash-basin full of dirt, plunging it about endeavoring to separate the dirt from the gold. After washing some fifty pans of dirt, I found I had realized about four bits’ worth of gold. Reader, do you know how [one] feels when the gold fever heat has suddenly fallen to about zero? I do. . . . The Indians who were working for Capts. Sutter and Weber gave them leading information, so that they were enabled to know the direction in which new discoveries were to be made. . . .

“The morals of the miners of ’48 should here be noticed. No person worked on Sunday at digging for gold. . . . We had ministers of the gospel amongst us, but they never preached. Religion had been forgotten, even by its ministers, and instead of their pointing out the narrow way which leads to eternal happiness . . . they might have been seen, with pick-axe and pan, traveling untrodden [untraveled] ways in search of . . . treasure . . . or drinking good health and prosperity with friends.”

James H. Carson, describing life in the early California gold fields, 1848

Which of the following developments most directly led to the activities described in the excerpt?

• A prohibition on the northern extent of slavery in territories west of the Mississippi River

• The acquisition of significant territory following the Mexican-American War

• The vetoing of the rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States

• The completion of the first transcontinental railroad to the Pacific Ocean

Answer explanation

The United States gained control of California from Mexico as a result of the Mexican-American War, which enabled Americans, primarily, to profit from the gold rush activities described in the excerpt.