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Worksheets

Westward Expansion

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Why were people traveling West?

a)

Economic opportunities

b)

For gold

c)

For free land

d)

All of the above

2.

How did people travel to the West?

a)

by boat

b)

by car

c)

by covered wagon

d)

they walked

3.

Why was the journey difficult for pioneers?

a)

They had to cross mountains, rivers, and worry about weather conditions

b)

It was not difficult

c)

Because it was a very long journey

d)

They kept running out of food

4.

What mountain range did the pioneers cross?

a)

Colorado

b)

Applachian

c)

Rocky

d)

Mount Everest

5.

Who was already living in the West?

a)

White people

b)

Europeans

c)

Chinese

d)

Native Americans

6.

The Native Americans welcome the pioneers at first.

a)

True

b)

False

7.

Who mainly worked on the railroads?

a)

Chinese and Irish

b)

Chinese and Europeans

c)

Chinese

d)

Pioneers

8.

Working on the railroads was a very dangerous job

a)

True

b)

False

9.

What effects did the railroad have on the Native Americans' animals?

a)

Americans took their land by building railroads on the Great Plains

b)

The buffalo, which was their main food, clothing, and shelter, were killed

c)

They were put on reservations which altered, or changed, their traditional way of life.

d)

All of the above

10.

Why was steel plow important to the development of the West?

a)

The making of steel plow created many jobs

b)

Steel plows were huge machines that cleared land

c)

The steel plow was not an expensive tool to purchase

d)

The steel plow allowed the planters to produce an agricultural surplus

11.

The building of the Transcontinental Railroad improved travel and trade to the West by...

a)

helping immigrants in other countries

b)

making travel possible for all people

c)

giving Native Americans a way to travel

d)

making travel possible for all people as well as transporting goods and other products from east to west

12.

What problems developed between ranchers and farmers?

a)

Both wanted to make money

b)

Farmers wanted to raise their cattle to graze in their pastures

c)

Ranchers drove hers through farm fields to get cattle to the railroads

d)

Both wanted to own huge pieces of land to make their business grow

13.

What did cowboys do?

a)

They took care of the animals

b)

They herd all of the animals

c)

They rode on horses

d)

They didn't do anything

14.

Who were the 49ers?

a)

Football team

b)

People who searched for gold

c)

People who were the age of 49

d)

Europeans

15.

This invention generated water for the pioneers

a)

Steel plow

b)

Mechanical Reaper

c)

Barbed wire

d)

Windmill

16.

This invention kept cattle from escaping

a)

Steel plow

b)

Mechanical reaper

c)

Barbed Wire

d)

Windmill

17.

This invention made it easy to harvest crops mechanically instead of by hand

a)

Mechanical reaper

b)

Barbed wire

c)

Steel Plow

d)

windmill

18.

This invention helped break up tough soil for farmers

a)

Steel plow

b)

Railroad

c)

Barbed wire

d)

Mechanical reaper

19.

What was the name of the battle where the US Army attacked the Native Americans?

a)

Battle of Little Knee

b)

Battle of Little Bighorn

c)

Battle of Bighorn

d)

Battle of Sitting Bull

20.

Where were Native Americans forced to move to?

a)

The east

b)

California

c)

Colorado

d)

Reservations