Manifest Destiny Quiz

Which statement most aligns with expression "Manifest Destiny?"

• That the U.S. viewed it as their mission to diminish the power of the Mexican government and drive them out of Western territories

• That it was an almost "divine" mission for the U.S. to settle the continent from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts

• That the U.S. states were destined to solve the question of whether slavery would exist in Western states

• That Western settlers were moving west to help civilize the native populations

What time period is the era of Manifest Destiny most associated with?

• The 1770s

• The 1840s

• The 1870s

• The 1920s

All of the following were big events that shaped the era of Manifest Destiny EXCEPT:

• The Oregon Dispute

• The Mexican American War

• The California Gold Rush

• The Civil War

What was the result of the Battle of the Alamo?

• A large army, comprised of American settlers in Texas, successfully fought off Santa Anna’s much smaller Mexican force.

• Santa Anna’s army easily defeated the weak American force.

• It took Santa Anna’s army nearly two weeks to defeat a much smaller American force.

• Santa Anna’s forces fell to the much smaller American forces which were defending the Alamo mission.

What debate caused tension over the decision of whether or not to "annex" the Republic of Texas?

• If it would upset the balance between slave and free states in the United States

• Whether or not it would anger the Mexican government

• What the settlers be able to tame the native population

• Would the discovery of oil in Texas divide the sectionalist debate between the Northern and Southern states?

How did America acquire the territories of California and New Mexico?

• President James Polk baited Mexico into a war and then took the territories by force.

• Congress negotiated an expensive deal to purchase the lands from Mexico.

• The territories were largely empty, so Americans simply emigrated there and set up towns and farms on the land.

• America had to give Mexico the rights to Texas in exchange for the new territories.

Which of the following was most responsible for the rapid rise in California’s population in the 1840s?

• The large population of Native Americans living in California were naturalized as United States citizens.

• Slavery was popular in the California territory, so most settlers that came to the region brought labor forces of thousands of slaves.

• Given its long coastline, California became home to the largest port cities in North America.

• The California Gold Rush led over 100,000 people to emigrate to California in hopes of getting rich from mining gold.

All of the following future states were ceded to the U.S. as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo EXCEPT:

• California

• Arizona

• Nevada

• Oregon

Which city exploded in population as a result of the influx of settlers in the late 1840s?

• Los Angeles

• San Francisco

• Seattle

• Denver

All of the following technologies helped tame the “wild west” EXCEPT:

• The telegraph

• The railroad

• The stagecoach

• Metal hulled ships