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Worksheets

westward expansion

Total questions: 90

Worksheet time: 2hrs 6mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Who is one of the most famous long hunters?

(a)  

2.

Daniel Boone was a (check all that apply)

a)

hunter

b)

trapper

c)

guide

d)

stone thrower

3.

Which two routes did Daniel Boone take on his journey in 1769?

a)

turnpike

b)

Appalachian Mountains

c)

Cumberland Gap

d)

i-79

4.

What major thing did Daniel Boone and his group do that benefitted the West?

a)

planted corn all along the route

b)

Cut a continuous road nearly 300 miles through the Cumberland Gap

c)

Started Beaver plantations

d)

Made friends with all the Native American women

5.

Check all that apply: Because of Boone's travels West, what states benefitted by being allowed into the Union?

a)

ARkansas

b)

Kentucky

c)

TEnnessee

d)

Ohio

6.

Which southern town became a very important port city?

(a)  

7.

New Orleans was an important port city because of its ideal location on what river?

(a)  

8.

What river was important for western travel, settlement, and transportation of goods?

a)

Mississippi

b)

Algonquan

c)

Ohio

9.

Because New Orleans became such an important city, who began to worry about its security?

a)

George Washington

b)

Alfred Einstein

c)

Courtney Lavioisier

d)

Thomas Jefferson

10.

In order to keep New Orleans safe, the American government looked into purchasing the

a)

Louisiana Territory

b)

Ohio valley

c)

Midwest rainbelt

11.

Who controlled both New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory?

(a)  

12.

What major product was shuttled up and down the Mississippi and traded in New Orleans which eventually made its way to Europe?

(a)  

13.

who was the leader of France who wished to rebuild France in North America?

(a)  

14.

Why did Napoleon's plan to rebuild in North American fail?

a)

Jefferson and Napoleon didn't agree

b)

France was too heavily in financial debt

c)

The enslaved Africans revolted and gained freedom

d)

None of the above

15.

Who sold Louisiana to Jefferson?

a)

Tewksbury

b)

Talleyrand

c)

Tallyho

d)

Talagalucha

16.

What was a benefit to buying Lousiana?

a)

all the sweets we could eat

b)

more slaves

c)

doubling the size of the US

d)

tobacco farms

17.

Jefferson hired Lewis and Clark to explore for what reasons? (Check all that apply)

a)

find a river route to the West

b)

learn more about the land out west

c)

get information on the Native Americans who lived there

d)

See if he could purchase Texas

18.

What does the following quote mean? "You can't put doors on open country."

a)

The Americans kept plundering the new villages

b)

The Americans wouldn't stay out of the Louisiana area

c)

The goverment kept seizing land from wealthy white owners

19.

What was the Corps of Discovery?

a)

the skilled frontiersmen who journeyed with Lewis and Clark

b)

the followers of Sacajewea

c)

the stonemasons and architects of the railway

20.

What animal is largely responsible for westward expansion?

a)

otter

b)

bison

c)

cow

d)

beaver

21.

What did Lewis find so impressive about the Great Plains?

a)

the open grassland and the quantity of bison and buffalo and elk

b)

the open cat farms

c)

the abundance of sunshine

d)

the ladies

22.

What Shoshone joined Lewis and Clark on their expeditions and helped to translate and share knowledge of the geography?

(a)  

23.

Why was it important for Lewis and Clark to have Sacagawea on their side during the expedition?

a)

Because they needed to have good relations with the Native Americans so they could get needed supplies

b)

to have a place to stop and pee

c)

to be able to spy for the American government

24.

Were Lewis and Clarke successful in their journey? If yes, why? If no, why?

4 lines
25.

What explorer was arrested on suspicion of being a spy?

(a)  

26.

Which explorer made a detailed report of his travels including geology, botany, and climate.

a)

John Beauxbaton

b)

Lewis

c)

Clark

d)

Fremont

27.

Who created the American Fur Company?

a)

John Jacob Aster

b)

Napoleon

c)

Sacagawea

d)

Fremont

28.

Which group helped to revolutionize the fur trading industry out west?

a)

Frontiersmen

b)

mountain men

c)

green berets

29.

Many families traveled West along which trail?

(a)  

30.

Check all that apply: What were some struggles of the journey west along the Oregon Trail?

a)

six month journey

b)

the cost ($600 for a family of 4)

c)

families were young (hard to travel with youngsters)

d)

traveling with herds of animals

e)

had to walk much of the trail to save the animals pulling the heavy carts

31.

How did the weather affect the families traveling west along the Oregon Trail?

4 lines
32.

Which trail went from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico?

(a)  

33.

What was the motivating factor for people to cross the blazing deserts and rough mountains of the Santa Fe Trail?

a)

high profits for traders

b)

optimal sunshine

c)

Native American recipes

34.

What was the name of the group of people who traveled west seeking religious freedom? They were led by Joseph Smith.

(a)  

35.

What contained the golden tablets of religious teachings?

(a)  

36.

In what western state did many Mormons make home?

(a)  

37.

Despite the fact that the Mormon population in Utah exploded, and despite the fact that church membership grew rapidly, why were Mormons persecuted?

a)

they practiced polygamy, the practice of marrying more than one woman at a time

b)

they practiced matriarchy, the idea of making the woman the head of household

c)

they practice poligarchy, the idea of believing in three gods

38.

Who became the head of the Mormon church after Smith's murder in 1844?

(a)  

39.

Name two ways in which the Native Americans were affected by Westward Expansion.

4 lines
40.

Why were the cowboys nervous about Westward expansion?

a)

settlers were sectioning off their land so cowboys could no longer roam freely

b)

they were worried there would be no herds of cows left to eat

c)

they feared for their fur trading businesses

41.

What created opportunities for wealth and brought more settlers to the west?

a)

deposits of iron and ore

b)

diamond mines

c)

deposits of gold and silver

d)

milking cows

42.

What do you call an area of American that has not yet been explored and is undeveloped?

(a)  

43.

When did California gain admission to the Union?

(a)  

44.

Most of the minerals settlers looked for were located in what state?

a)

Nebraska

b)

New England

c)

nevada

d)

Neopia

45.

What did Henry Comstock do?

a)

discovered a huge deposit of gold and silver in nevada

b)

murdered Little Giant Chief

c)

developed hydraulic mining

46.

Settlers moved west. Settlers moved west to mine silver and gold. They were successful. Business boomed. Demand for more gold and silver rose. The companies wanted to produce more silver and gold. They hired more settlers to work the mines. More people moved west to work the mines and they cycle continued. However, the mines were hard. Why? (check all that apply)

a)

unsafe equipment

b)

loud thunderstorms

c)

elevator platforms without walls

d)

dark tunnels

e)

unclean, dusty air

47.

Explain how a boomtown becomes a ghosttown.

4 lines
48.

Which of the following was big business in the west? (check all that apply)

a)

mining gold

b)

mining silver

c)

cattle industry

d)

helium

49.

Which trail ran from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas and was one of the most popular routes for cattle drives?

(a)  

50.

According to the text you see here, why were cowboys misunderstood?

4 lines
51.

Cattle Kingdom was a term used to describe the abundance of cattle in the west, the cattle farms, and the farmland that had been divided by the newly developed barbed wire. Eventually Cattle Kingdom failed. Why?

a)

too many chickens

b)

cowboys all died

c)

cows ate up all the prairie grass and nothing to eat and died

d)

dust bowls

52.

What was a series of messengers used to carry mail West?

(a)  

53.

Using the text above, describe how the Pony Express worked.

4 lines
54.

what does transcontinental mean?

a)

goes from one state to the next state over

b)

pans the whole country (coast to coast)

55.

The Transcontinental Railway could not have been completed without government help in the form of loans and land grants. These were because of the passing of the

(a)  

56.

Which two companies led the race to the complete the transcontinental railway?

a)

the USC rail company

b)

Union Pacific

c)

Central Pacific

d)

Northern Pacific

57.

Which two groups of immigrant workers largely made up the workforce on the railway?

a)

Russians

b)

Irish

c)

English

d)

Chinese

58.

According to the text above, why did the rail companies struggle to build the Transcontinental Railway?

4 lines
59.

When the railway from the west met the railway from the east in Promontory, Utah, what was used to connect the two railways?

(a)  

60.

What did the completion of the railroad do to life in the west? (check all that apply)

a)

population growth and the ability to buy land

b)

economic growth for businesses to ship materials to the east

c)

better transportation for goods and people

d)

unification of different areas of the country

e)

development of time zones (including standard time)

61.

What led to the cattle boom?

a)

open land for grazing (lots of grass)

b)

barbed wire to make farmland divisions

c)

cowboys

d)

trains

62.

Why were the Native Americans so upset about the settlers moving west? (check two)

a)

Native Americans wanted a portion of the gold sales

b)

The government had promised the Native Americans they could have their land but then the government manipulated the Native Americans and didn't do as they had promised.

c)

the Native Americans felt they owned the lands and the settlers were taking what they didn't have a right to

d)

None of the above

63.

When the settlers began encroaching upon the Plains Indian's land, the American government began to get nervous for the safety of the settlers. To try and protect the people, the government made what with the Plains Indians?

(a)  

64.

The territory of the Plains Indians stretched from Canada to what southern state?

(a)  

65.

Among the Indians of the west, there many tribes. These included Apache, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Pawnee, and the Sioux. They all spoke many different languages and had different customs. So, how did they communicate with each other?

(a)  

66.

for survival, the Plains Indians depended on which two animals?

a)

buffalo

b)

turtle

c)

fish

d)

horse

67.

Check all that apply: What did the Plains people use buffalo for?

a)

decorating

b)

shelter

c)

clothing

d)

utensils

e)

tools

68.

What was the first major treaty between the US government and the Plains Indians?

a)

Treaty of Fair Trade

b)

Treaty of Fort Atkinson

c)

Treaty of For Laramie

d)

Treaty of Combined Sioux

69.

Who was the Sioux chief who ambushed and killed 81 American cavalry troops?

(a)  

70.

According the passage above, why did the Plains Indians start a war with the Americans traveling west?

4 lines
71.

What is a reservation?

a)

areas of federal land set aside for Native Americans

b)

areas of federal land set aside for settlers

c)

areas of land set aside for cattle breeding

72.

What was one big problem for the Native Americans while living on reservations?

a)

they couldn't sew elaborate costumes

b)

they couldn't feed their families corn

c)

they couldn't hunt buffalo

73.

What did the US government do when the Native Americans resisted moving to reservations?

a)

take away their food rations

b)

outlaw them

c)

Call Europe for help

d)

sent in troops to force the Indians to leave the land

74.

Based on what you know, why was the American response to the Native Americans unjust or unfair?

4 lines
75.

The Indians called the African American cavalry troops who fought for the US government what because of their curly, short hair, and fighting spirit which mimicked that of buffalo?

(a)  

76.

the Battle of Little Bighorn was a battle between which two groups?

a)

Sioux and Cheyenne tribes

b)

Cowboys

c)

George Armstrong Custer's troops

d)

small US government immigrant troops

77.

What was the 300 mile march of the Navajo by the US Army?

a)

Skipping Torture

b)

Extended Mosey

c)

Bleeding Knee

d)

Long Walk

78.

Leader of the Nez Perce?

a)

Chief Joseph

b)

General Custer

c)

Geronimo

d)

Sacagawea

79.

who was the Apache tribe member that led raids on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border and evaded capture for years?

a)

Crying Deer

b)

Geronimo

c)

Sacagawea

d)

Major Hampton

80.

According to the passage, how did Chief Joseph help his people? (Hint.... did he also help them at the end of their journey?)

4 lines
81.

What did the Dawes General Allotment Act promise to the Native Americans but not deliver?

(a)  

82.

What's the difference between the Homestead Act and the Morrill Act?

4 lines
83.

African Americans who left the South in large groups and headed for Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois are known as

(a)  

84.

What is a "new" way of farming that shifted away from water-dependent crops like corn?

a)

dry farming

b)

Water relinquishment farming

c)

less water farming

d)

No farming at all

85.

Because the settlers had to work so hard to create a life, they often had to break up the very tough Plains grasses. This earned the Plains farmers the nickname

a)

sodbuster

b)

grassbuster

c)

dirtbuster

86.

Why was life on the Plains hard for the settlers?

a)

They didn't have knowledge of the area like the Indians did

b)

They didn't have the right equipment to do the work

c)

They didn't have any money left by the time they arrived

d)

The ground was extremely hard to work in

e)

No babysitters

87.

Read the above passage and answer the question on Supply and Demand.

4 lines
88.

What was a social and educational organization for farmers that campaigned for politicians who would fight for laws and regulations that benefitted Western farmers?

a)

national grange

b)

National steer

c)

National United Farmers Union

d)

National Farmers Union

89.

WHat two things did the Populist Party believe the government should own?

a)

farm land

b)

automotive industry

c)

railroads

d)

telephone and telegraph systems

90.

The end of the frontier days is marked by the Oklahoma Land Rush. List two facts about that time (use the above passage).

4 lines