Westward Expansion Assessment

Type your first and last name

1. What was the main purpose of the Homestead Act?

• a. To bring an end to cattle drives
• b. To encourage settlement of the Great Plaines
• c. To defeat the Native Americans
• d. To provide a market for steel plows

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

• a. High cost of land
• b. Harsh weather
• c. Large amounts of grasshoppers
• d. Thick sod

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

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

4. Why were cattle drives profitable for Texas ranchers?

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

5. Why would a homesteader on the Great Plains have cheered the invention of barbed wire?

• a. Homesteaders needed something to mark the boundaries between farms
• b. The wooden fences they were using rotted too quickly
• c. The methods of dry farming required barbed wire to work
• d. Homesteaders needed something to keep cattle from destroying their crops.

6. Label the trail

7. Label the trail

8. Explain why cattle drives were needed during Westward Expansion:

9. Name a famous black cowboy and write something interesting about his life: