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Westward Expansion

Total questions: 60

Worksheet time: 42mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Which of the following best explains an increase in California's population in 1849?
a)
It was cheap to move there
b)
Gold was found there
c)
Factories provided many jobs
d)
Native American land was returned to them
2.
All of the following were problems people faced on the journey west EXCEPT
a)
bad weather
b)
extreme wealth
c)
wagon difficulties
d)
sickness
3.
The belief that Americans were justified in expanding their nation all the way west. 
a)
Manifest Destiny
b)
Settlers Prophecy
c)
The American Dream
d)
Patriotism
4.
Which country sold the Louisiana Territory in 1803?
a)
Britain
b)
France
c)
Spain
d)
Unite States
5.
In 1803, with the purchase of this territory, the size of the United States was doubled?
a)
Mississippi Territory
b)
Oregon Territory
c)
Louisiana Territory
d)
The Republic of Texas
6.
Which is true about San Francisco's population after the Gold Rush?
a)
The Gold Rush caused San Francisco’s population to increase dramatically
b)
The Gold Rush caused a severe drop in the population of San Francisco
c)
The Gold Rush had only a minor effect on the population of San Francisco
d)
The Gold Rush was strictly limited to white citizens
7.

Use logical reasoning: Which group of people made huge profits during the Gold Rush?

a)

Merchants

b)

Teachers

c)

Miners

d)

Missionaries

8.
Which number represents the Louisiana Purchase?
a)
3
b)
5
c)
2
d)
6
9.
A major goal for the Lewis and Clark expedition was to -
a)
Locate the mouth of the Mississippi River
b)
find a water route to the pacific ocean
c)
Create a map of the Appalachian Mountains
d)
Find a water route to the Atlantic Ocean
10.
What is the name given to the belief that the United States had the right and duty to expand across the North American continent?
a)
Manifest destiny 
b)
 Monroe Doctrine 
c)
 Great Awakening 
d)
Louisiana Purchase
11.
Who was Sacajawea?
a)
Lewis's Dog
b)
The African American Slave they brought on the expedition
c)
The Native American who navigated and helped translate.
d)
A native american tribe
12.
Canals were important in the 1800s because they decreased the cost of shipping goods.
a)
True
b)
False
13.

Use logical reasoning: A _____________ was a place where the population grows very quickly.

a)

wagon train

b)

boomtown

c)

Underground Railroad

d)

building full of dynamite

14.
Which was NOT a reason that Americans travelled west?
a)
To escape their debts or other legal problems
b)
To hire less expensive workers and start factories
c)
To find gold and become rich
d)
To farm and ranch where land was plentiful
15.

What is one reason settlers chose to west?

a)

To own land

b)

To see the ocean

c)

To visit their family

d)

To ride a train

16.
Why did miners, cowhands, and ranchers want to move west.
a)
They wanted an adventure
b)
They wanted to escape the busy lifestyle in the East
c)
They were interested in economic opportunity
d)
They enjoyed big city life
17.
The purpose of the Homestead Act was to develop the West
a)
True
b)
False
18.

The Homestead Act of 1862 helped the development of the West by

a)

providing free land to settlers

b)

granting land for construction of transcontinental railroads

c)

allowing slavery to spread to the territories

d)

placing Native American Indians on reservations

19.

In an effort to resolve conflicts with the frontier settlers in the 1870s, the federal government forced Native American Indians to

a)

move south of the Mississippi River

b)

live on reservations with definite boundaries

c)

relocate to urban industrial centers

d)

help build the transcontinental railroad

20.

Which event was the most significant in ending traditional Native American life on the plains?

a)

invention of barbed wire

b)

the destruction of the buffalo

c)

the discovery of gold

d)

the building of railroads

21.
Which is NOT a reason people moved west?
a)
Native American Wars
b)
Adventure
c)
Opportunities for Land
d)
Gold/Silver
22.
Technological advances, discovery of gold and silver and land opportunities are all considered what?
a)
Factors to support city growth
b)
Factors to support westward migration
c)
Native American Wars
d)
Expansion of Naval Bases
23.
Oregon Trail 
a)
a route used during the US migration westward
b)
a person who went to California for the gold rush
c)
a giving up ( as in territory or rights ) to another
d)
a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives
24.
What did the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the annexation of Texas in 1845, and the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846 have in common?
a)
They all brought about a war with Spain.
b)
They all increased the territory of the United States.
c)
They all resulted in territory being taken from the United States.
d)
They all involved land forcibly taken from Mexico. 
25.

Use logical reasoning: The Transcontinental Railroad allowed people to move across the country in approximately ...

a)

6 days

b)

6 weeks

c)

6 months

d)

6 years

26.

What President was the biggest supporter of Manifest Destiny? (hint: His speech was included as a source)

a)

James K. Polk

b)

Abraham Lincoln

c)

James Monroe

d)

George Washington

27.
In what year did the Louisiana Purchase take place?
a)
1776
b)
1787
c)
1803
d)
1812
28.
Which idea is supported in this painting?
a)
Women's Rights
b)
Freedom of Religion
c)
Manifest Destiny
29.
The idea of Manifest Destiny is the idea of the U.S.
a)
give land to American Indian tribes
b)
stretch from ocean to ocean
c)
pay settlers to live on the plains
30.
What geographical obstacles did pioneers face while moving west?
a)
Mountain ranges, rivers, and deserts  
b)
Sickness or disease 
c)
Fighting with Native Americans 
d)
Bad weather or storms
31.
How did most people travel to the west?
a)
Boat
b)
Horseback
c)
Car
d)
Covered Wagon
32.
What major river systems had to be crossed in order to move west? 
a)
Snake River, Mississippi River, Columbia River, Missouri River
b)
Nile River
c)
Amazon River
d)
Rio Grande
33.
What types of weather hazards did pioneers face? 
a)
Mountain ranges, rivers, and deserts 
b)
Sickness or disease
c)
Fights with Native Americans
d)
Spring floods, winter snows, and tornadoes
34.
What did the Homestead Act of 1861 allow settlers to do?
a)
Go to war with Native Americans
b)
Own the land that they settled on after 5 years
c)
Establish the sharecropping system
d)
Make peace with the Native Americans
35.
What animal impacted the building of the railroads, and was also essential to the Native Americans way of life?
a)
Snakes
b)
Mountain lions
c)
Bison
d)
Locusts
36.
How did the transcontinental railroad change the economy of the United States?
a)
It transported agricultural products to processing centers and helped major industries such as flour milling and meat processing develop in cities like Chicago. 
b)
It transported people to the cities to work in factories. 
c)
It transported Native Americans to the west. 
d)
 It transported raw materials to build factories in the west. 
37.
What were Boom Towns?
a)
Towns that were developed when gold and silver was found in a particular place. 
b)
Towns that were abandoned after the gold and silver mines were depleted.
c)
Towns where dynamite was found
d)
Towns where loud sounds were often heard.
38.
What two ethnic groups helped to build the transcontinental railroad?
a)
Mexican Americans and Native Americans
b)
Irish immigrants and Chinese immigrants
c)
African Americans and European immigrants
d)
Scottish immigrants and Japanese immigrants 
39.
In 1830, before the annexation of Texas, Texas was a part of _________.
a)
Canada
b)
Mexico
c)
United States
40.
Why were the people that moved to California for the gold rush called "forty niners"?
a)
There were 49 hundred of them
b)
Most of them moved there in 1849
c)
They traveled 49 miles to get to California
41.
Where did the Oregon Trail begin?
a)
Independence, Missouri 
b)
Oregon City, Oregon
c)
Rocky Mountains 
42.
Where does the Oregon Trail end?
a)
Independence, Missouri
b)
Oregon City, Oregon
c)
Rocky Mountains
43.
Which quotation from this letter reveals the main reason for the surge in Irish immigration to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century?
a)
“I am exceedingly well pleased at coming to this land of plenty.”
b)
“I would advise all my friends to quit Ireland. . . .”
c)
“What you labour for is sweetened by contentment and happiness. . . .”
d)
“There is no failure in the potato crop. . . .”
44.

Which document had these characteristics in the image?

a)

Declaration of Independence

b)

U.S. Constitution

c)

Northwest Ordinance

45.

In 1846, war broke out between the United States and Mexico. What was the main cause of this war?

a)

a dispute over the number of settlers in the Oregon Territory

b)

issues arising over the boundaries of Texas (border dispute)

c)

the discovery of gold in California

d)

the relocation of American Indians from the Southeast

46.

The Northwest Ordinance is considered a historical milestone because it —

a)

more than doubled the size of the United States

b)

established a method for admitting new states to the Union

c)

encouraged state legislatures to ratify the Constitution

47.

To give up power of a territory

a)

Annex

b)

Secede

c)

Cede

d)

Produce

48.

Occurred because of Manifest Destiny and the Annexation of Texas. the United States wins the war and pays Mexico $15 million for the Mexican Cession.

a)

U.S. - Mexican War

b)

French and Indian War

c)

American Revolution

d)

War of 1812

49.

Document that ended the U.S. - Mexican War. (1848)

a)

Treaty of Paris

b)

Oregon Treaty

c)

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

d)

Adams - Onis Treaty

50.

Strip of land south of the Mexican Cession that was purchased for $10 million and completed the idea of Manifest Destiny.

a)

Texas Annexation

b)

Northwest Territory

c)

Mexican Cession

d)

Gadsden Purchase

51.

What area does H represent?

a)

Mexican Cession

b)

Gadsden Purchase

c)

Texas Annexation

d)

Oregon Territory

52.

What area does G represent?

a)

Mexican Cession

b)

Louisiana Purchase

c)

Oregon Territory

d)

Texas Annexation

53.

What area does J represent?

a)

Texas

b)

Hawaii

c)

Alaska

54.

What area is C?

a)

Texas Annexation

b)

Original 13 colonies

c)

Louisiana Purchase

d)

Oregon Territory

55.

What area is A

a)

Florida

b)

Ohio River Valley

c)

ceded by Great Britain

d)

Original 13 Colonies

56.
Which trail did most travelers take to Oregon?
a)
Lewis & Clark Trail
b)
Santa Fe Trail
c)
Pony Express Trail
d)
Oregon Trail
57.
Between 1838 and 1839, the U.S. Army forced about 15,000 Cherokees to travel about 1,000 miles to Indian Territory.  Which event is being described?  
a)
Trail of Tears
b)
Santa Fe Trail
c)
Oregon Trail
d)
Seminole Wars
58.
What were the three motives for moving West?  Why did we want to move?
a)
Bigger land, more food, more water
b)
Manifest Destiny, economic opportunity, and rich farmland
c)
The Oregon Trail was fun to travel.
d)
Trees, sugar, and rivers
59.
Andrew Jackson sold Cherokee land in Georgia and federal troops pushed 15,000 Cherokees out of their homes.  The law passed in Congress that made these Indians move was known as the
a)
Seminole Wars
b)
Oregon Trail
c)
Indian Removal Act  
d)
Trail of Tears
60.
How did the railroad affect the farmers?
a)
Cost them money
b)
Helped increase their land
c)
Made them angry
d)
It helped to transport their goods to market

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