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Worksheets

Westward Expansion Unit Test

Total questions: 44

Worksheet time: 22mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The Gold Rush of 1849 was when....

a)

settlers flooded California in search of gold.

b)

gold rushed out of the Appalachian mountains.

c)

gold thread was woven into fabric for people to purchase.

2.

Which of the following is NOT a reason why Texas settlers wanted independence from Mexico?

a)

Settlers wanted to bring their enslaved humans and Mexico didn't allow it.

b)

Settlers wanted to expand their lands more.

c)

Settlers didn't like the food there.

d)

After just a few years, there were more Americans than Mexicans in Texas.

3.

Where did the Oregon trail begin and end?

a)

Mississippi ----- Oregon

b)

Missouri ----- Oregon

c)

Massachusetts ----- Oregon

d)

Minnesota ----- Oregon

4.

The temperance movement was a _____________ movement that tried to make life better for people.

a)

entrepreneur

b)

reform

c)

annexation

d)

boomtown

5.

San Francisco was a ________ that grew during the California Gold Rush.

a)

entrepreneur

b)

reform

c)

annexation

d)

boomtown

6.

Why did settlers make the difficult trip across the Appalachian Mountains?

a)

They wanted to hunt on the land.

b)

They enjoyed a good adventure.

c)

They wanted to settle on good, inexpensive farmland and find new opportunities.

7.

Why did some settlers travel into the Ohio River Valley by flatboat instead of by wagon?

a)

It was faster and more comfortable than traveling by wagon.

b)

It was better to enjoy the sunshine.

c)

They could fish while they floated down the river.

d)

It could carry a larger load.

8.

Which of the following were jobs commonly done by women on the frontier?

a)

children, farms, gardening, cooking, cleaning, sewing

b)

children, plowing, banking, cooking, cleaning

c)

farming, cooking, washing the wagons, doctoring the animals

d)

home improvements, sewing, children, gardening

9.

Daniel Boone led settlers through the ______________ to cross the Appalachian Mountains.

a)

Chattanooga Gap

b)

Ohio River

c)

Cumberland Gap

d)

Tennessee River

10.

Why did President Jefferson send representatives to France?

a)

He wanted to purchase land.

b)

He wanted Napoleon to allow French farmers to come to the U.S. and show the Americans how to farm.

c)

He wanted to import expensive fabrics and china to the U.S.

d)

He wanted Napoleon to agree that U.S. farmers could trade through New Orleans.

11.

What was Jefferson's purpose for the Corps of Discovery?

a)

to explore the new territory in the west

b)

to purchase goods to trade

c)

to create a new military

d)

to search for gold

12.

The __________ was the biggest U.S. land deal in history and doubled the size of the country, adding about 828,000square miles, or 530 million acres.

a)

Battle of Lake Champlain

b)

Corps of Discovery

c)

Louisiana Purchase

d)

Industrial Revolution

13.

Why was impressment a cause of the War of 1812?

a)

American soldiers captured Native Americans and forced them to serve in the U.S. military.

b)

British officers sometimes captured American sailors and forced them to serve in the British navy. This led to increased anger at Britain among Americans.

c)

British soldiers sometimes captured Native Americans and forced them to serve in the British military. This led to a rebellion.

d)

Native Americans sometimes forced enslaved humans into helping them in their wars. This caused a anger and hostility among all people.

14.

What was the main idea of the Monroe Doctrine?

a)

European countries were to stay out of North and South America.

b)

European countries were to send soldiers to the U.S.

c)

President James Monroe would lead the military.

d)

President James Monroe would serve four terms as president.

15.

Which of the following is NOT a group of people President Andrew Jackson wanted to help?

a)

farmers

b)

working people

c)

frontier settlers

d)

Native Americans

16.

The ________________ was a law that ordered all Indians east of the Mississippi River to move west of that river.

a)

Corps of Discovery

b)

Monroe Doctrine

c)

Indian Removal Act

d)

Louisiana Purchase

17.

What happened to the White House during the invasion of Washington, D.C?

a)

The British burned it.

b)

The river flooded it.

c)

The British took control of it.

d)

A tornado destroyed it.

18.

_____________ helped the Corps of Discovery by collecting plants for food and medicine, by talking with the American Indians they met to show they were peaceful, and by helping trade for horses and supplies.

a)

James Monroe

b)

Lewis & Clark

c)

Sacagawea

d)

Chief Logan

19.

In what ways did Jefferson's views differ from those of the first two Presidents?

a)

He thought state governments should be weaker than the national government. He wanted to help big business owners, too.

b)

He thought state governments should be stronger than the national government. He wanted to help farmers more than business owners and manufacturers.

c)

He thought states should break away from the union and become their own countries.

d)

He thought war was a waste of time.

20.

An ____________ is someone who helps speakers of different languages understand each other.

a)

pioneer

b)

engineer

c)

entrepreneur

d)

interpreter

21.

An ____________ is someone who helps speakers of different languages understand each other.

a)

pioneer

b)

engineer

c)

entrepreneur

d)

interpreter

22.

_______ is the right to vote.

a)

suffrage

b)

prosperity

c)

campain

d)

frontier

23.

Daniel Boone was a __________ who led settlers west of the Appalachians.

a)

frontier

b)

fugitive

c)

pioneer

d)

reform

24.

How did the new cotton spinning mills in Britain change the textile industry?

a)

They began producing cotton balls and Q-tips for the whole U.S.

b)

They created new forms of transportation.

c)

They created softer fabrics.

d)

They spun cotton much faster than the old machines and increased productivity of the whole U.S.

25.

The __________ was invented by Eli Whitney and its wire "teeth" cleaned cotton very quickly.

a)

cotton gin

b)

cotton mill

c)

textile mill

d)

reaper

26.

How did the railroads help American business?

a)

They let farmers get seeds quicker.

b)

They promoted setters to take long-distance vacations.

c)

They let farmers and factories ship their goods all over the country quickly.

d)

They provided jobs for most of the frontier families.

27.

Which of these was NOT a reform movement people worked for in the mid-1800s?

a)

antislavery

b)

temperance

c)

women's rights

d)

education

28.

______________ is the belief that the U.S. should spread across the entire North American continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

a)

annexation

b)

manifest destiny

c)

temperance

d)

foreign policy

29.

The ___________ allowed settlers to cross the Rocky Mountains and travel from Missouri to present-day Oregon by wagon

a)

Gold Rush

b)

Trail of Tears

c)

Oregon Trail

d)

Cumberland Gap

30.

In 1838, the U.S. Army forced the Cherokee to make a 1,000 mile trip to Indian Territory. About one-fourth of the Cherokee died along the way. This journey is known as the _________________.

a)

Trail of Tears

b)

Oregon Trail

c)

Underground Railroad

d)

manifest destiny

31.

_____________ means controlling or cutting back on the drinking of alcohol.

a)

Reform

b)

Prosperity

c)

Temperance

d)

Famine

32.

Why did cotton become the South's most important crop?

a)

Mills in Britain and New England needed cotton, and the South grew most of the world's cotton.

b)

The weather was perfect in the South for growing cotton and nobody else wanted to grow it.

c)

The cotton could be used for making fabric, food, and machinery.

33.

What happened to slavery as the states grew more cotton?

a)

It increased a little

b)

It sky-rocketed

c)

It decreased

d)

It stayed about the same

34.

In some territories, settlers had _________ and decided for themselves whether to allow slavery.

a)

tariff

b)

popular sovereignty

c)

fugitive

d)

sectionalism

35.

When Congress passed a ______, people had to pay higher prices for imported goods.

a)

tariff

b)

popular sovereignty

c)

fugitive

d)

sectionalism

36.

An escaped slave was called a _________.

a)

tariff

b)

popular sovereignty

c)

fugitive

d)

sectionalism

37.

Loyalty to one part of the country is called _______.

a)

tariff

b)

popular sovereignty

c)

fugitive

d)

sectionalism

38.

Why were southerners upset about Lincoln's election?

a)

They didn't like his hat.

b)

They were afraid he would be killed.

c)

The worried that Lincoln would pass laws that would abolish slavery.

d)

The election was too expensive.

39.

Jefferson Davis started a draft to get enough soldiers for his army.

a)

true

b)

false

40.

Why did General Robert E. Lee decide to surrender?

a)

He was tired and cold.

b)

His army was surrounded and did not have enough food or supplies.

c)

His army had abandoned him and left him alone to fight.

d)

The Confederate army was getting stronger every day.

41.

Why did Congress create the Freedmen's Bureau?

a)

to provide law enforcement

b)

to organize tax collecting

c)

to insurance to people just starting new businesses

d)

to provide food, clothing, medical care, and legal advice

42.

Why did sharecroppers usually stay poor?

a)

They owed money to the landowners, making it hard to get out of debt.

b)

They owed money to the banks and often had poor crops and couldn't pay it back.

c)

They would keep their crops and not sell them to make money.

d)

They didn't know how to make a bigger profit.

43.

What was the purpose of the Thirteenth Amendment?

a)

It ended the Civil War.

b)

It abolished slavery in the U.S.

c)

It gave women the right to vote.

d)

It made the U.S. a free country.

44.

The __________ said that enslaved people in the Confederacy were free, but it did not end slavery in the border states.

a)

secession

b)

Reconstruction

c)

Jim Crow Laws

d)

Emancipation Proclamation