Exploring Westward Expansion

What first sparked Samuel’s interest in exploring the West?

• His father told him he had to move.

• He overheard a fur trapper talking about it.

• He read about it in a book.

• He wanted to become a gold miner.

What does Samuel’s father mean when he says, “The United States is growing” in the story?

• More people were moving to the cities.

• The country was gaining more land.

• The U.S. population was shrinking.

• The government was limiting expansion.

Which event in the text led to the U.S. gaining Florida?

• The Monroe Doctrine

• The Adams-Onís Treaty

• The Missouri Compromise

• The War of 1812

What does Samuel learn from Little Bear?

• That the U.S. government is giving land to Native Americans.

• That Native Americans were losing their homes.

• That the Oregon Trail was dangerous.

• That he should move back east.

How did the Missouri Compromise try to keep balance in the nation?

• It allowed slavery in all new states.

• It gave land to Native Americans.

• It made Missouri a free state and banned slavery everywhere else.

• It allowed Missouri to be a slave state and Maine to be a free state.

Why do people in the story keep saying “Manifest Destiny”?

• They believe the U.S. was meant to expand westward.

• It was a law that required people to move west.

• It was a new invention that helped settlers travel.

• They were against westward expansion.

Which event in the story led to the U.S. gaining the Oregon Territory?

• The War of 1812

• The Convention of 1818

• A peaceful agreement with Britain in 1846

• The Mexican-American War

What was the main cause of the Mexican-American War in the story?

• Texas declared independence from the U.S.

• The U.S. annexed Texas, angering Mexico.

• The Gold Rush started fights between settlers.

• Britain and the U.S. fought over the land.

How does the story show that westward expansion was not easy for everyone?

• Many settlers had to pay high taxes.

• Native Americans were forced off their land.

• The U.S. had trouble finding enough land.

• Samuel never reached the West.

What happened right after the Mexican-American War in the story?

• The Gold Rush began.

• The Trail of Tears took place.

• The U.S. lost land to Mexico.

• Texas left the U.S. again.