Social and Cultural Effects of Westward Expansion

What year marked the beginning of significant westward expansion due to the discovery of gold in California?

• 1900

• 1896

• 1876

• 1849

How did the US government's policy towards Native Americans change after the Civil War?

• Allowed self-governance

• Granted full citizenship rights

• Considered wards of the state

• Treated as independent nations

Which conflict was characterized by the US Army's efforts to subdue the West post-Civil War?

• The Civil War

• The American Revolutionary War

• The Spanish-American War

• The Indian Wars

Which act was passed to allocate land to Native American heads of households, similar to the Homestead Act?

• Indian Appropriations Act

• Indian Removal Act

• Native American Citizenship Act

• Dawes Act

What was the consequence of the Dawes Act on Native American lands?

• Increased land ownership among Native Americans

• Strengthened tribal sovereignty

• Loss of over 80 million acres of land

• Improved agricultural productivity

What was the primary purpose of the Indian boarding schools established in the late 19th century?

• To provide vocational training

• To protect children from conflicts

• To assimilate Native American children into American culture

• To educate Native American children in their cultural practices

Which legislation explicitly aimed to prevent a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the United States?

• The Chinese Exclusion Act

• The Immigration Act

• The Alien Act

• The National Origins Act

What major environmental impact did the introduction of the railroad have on the American West?

• Expansion of agricultural lands

• Reduction in Native American lands

• Near extinction of the American bison

• Increased urban development

What was the impact of barbed wire in the American West?

• Decreased the cost of railroad construction

• Facilitated large-scale farming

• Led to the fencing off of communal grazing lands

• Improved relations with Native American tribes

What was the primary reason for the near extinction of the American bison by the late 19th century?

• Over-hunting by Plains Indians

• Natural disasters

• Hunting by white settlers and railroad construction

• Disease spread among the herds