Chapter 11 - Settling the West

A glut of wheat on the world market led to

• an increase in the number of bonanza farms.

• an increased general demand for wheat.

• construction of new railroad lines.

• falling wheat prices paid to farmers.

Which of the following were hardships that early settlers on the Great Plains faced?

• crowded cities

• scorching summers

• dangerous factories

• too many trees

Which of the following was another hardship that settlers on the Great Plains faced?

• frequent Native Americans raids

• plague

• prairie fires

• too many trees

The open range was a large area of grassland where cattle ranchers could

• buy land from the government.

• graze their herds for free.

• claim land within limits set by the government.

• graze their herds in exchange for a small fee.

What was one key requirement that applicants had to meet to receive land under the Homestead Act?

• They had to file a claim with a bank.

• They had to live on the land all year long.

• They had to wheel portable cabins from plot to plot.

• They had to farm the land for five years in a row.

During the era of the cattle drives, the leading cause of cowboy deaths was

• over-exhaustion

• being dragged by a horse

• Native American raids

• stampedes

George Custer attacked a large group of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at

• Sand Creek

• the Little Bighorn River

• the Black Hills

• Wounded Knee

It was not until 1924 that Congress granted all Native Americans

• citizenship

• the right to assimilate

• reservation lands

• the right to vote

What reason was given by settlers as to why they had a greater right to western lands than the Native Americans?

• The government already owned all the land of the West.

• Settlers produced more food and wealth than Native Americans.

• Native Americans had already agreed to give away their lands.

• The Native Americans did not want the land.

Many of the first miners in the Colorado mountains did not find any minerals because

• mining companies had claimed them.

• the minerals were buried too deep.

• the areas were too hard to reach by walking.

• there were no minerals to find.