An Overview of U.S. Westward Expansion

Why did the Missouri Compromise ultimately fail to address the issue of slavery?

• It only applied to territories in the Louisiana Purchase
• It was unpopular among both pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions
• The President overturned it after the Mexican War
• Citizens of the new states voted against allowing it to dictate their local laws

Which of the following details is MOST important to the development of the central idea?

• Mexico's supposed invasion of the United States caused a war
• Tejanos were Texans with Spanish heritage
• John O'Sullivan was a journalist in the 1800s
• The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the young United States

How did Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas intensify the conflict over slavery?

• Douglas took bribes from Southern slaveowners to change the rules of the previous compromises and allow Northern states to enter as slave states
• Northerners were depending on Kansas and Nebraska to become free states and he agreed to a compromise that hurt his cause
• In a betrayal to his political allies in the South, Douglas joined the free-soilers and established a rival government in Kansas
• Despite being from Illinois, Douglas proposed the entry of Kansas and Nebraska into the United States as slave states

Which of these sentences would be MOST important to include in an objective summary of the articles?

• President James K. Polk is most famous for starting a war with Mexico.
• Missouri was one of the most important states the nation gained.
• Slavery was the major issue as the United States gained new territory.
• Texas was eager to join the union as a slave state

Why are the contradictions of President Thomas Jefferson referring to the Louisiana Purchase as the expansion of the "empire of liberty?" (Choose all that apply)

• Westward Expansion contributed to the conflict that ultimately resulted in the Civil War
• The cost of governing so much new territory weighed heavily on the economy
• As America expanded West, it brought the practice of slavery with it

Which of the following people mentioned in the article would be MOST LIKELY to agree that the United States was destined to take control of the western frontier?

• Thomas Jefferson
• Henry Clay
• Stephen A. Douglas
• John O'Sullivan

Why did President Polk face opposition to the War in Mexico?

• Southerners were concerned about losing business to newer, larger farms in the West
• Northerners believed he was using war as an excuse to expand slavery into more states.
• Wealthy slaveowners believed they would have to pay for the majority of the war
• It was perceived that he would personally and financially benefit from Westward Expansion

How does the article develop in the idea that the U.S. government took settlers' opinions into account when addressing the controversy over slavery?

• By quoting setters' thoughts about whether slavery was fair or unfair
• By describing legislation passed to ensure a balance between slave and free states
• By illustrating how settlers in Kansas killed one another over slavery
• By explaining how the government's inability to make a decision on slavery led to the Civil War

What was the primary reason for the Kansas-Nebraska Act's controversy?

• It allowed settlers to decide on the legality of slavery in their territories.

• It proposed the construction of a transcontinental railroad.

• It repealed the Missouri Compromise entirely.

• It granted immediate statehood to Kansas and Nebraska.

Which event is considered a direct consequence of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

• The outbreak of the Civil War

• The annexation of Texas

• The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• The formation of the Republican Party