wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Westward Expansion Study Guide

Total questions: 34

Worksheet time: 26mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The demand for (a)   increased after the Civil War, driving the prices up.

2.

Cattle drives were made from west Texas to the Great Plains, and then shipped off on the ___________ for processing in the North.

a)

railroads

b)

airplanes

c)

wagons

d)

boats

3.

Which country's investors poured money into the American Cattle Industry?

a)

France

b)

Britain

c)

Spain

d)

Portugal

4.

After all of the money started pouring into the country from Britain, there was massive (a)   of cattle, which led to deflation that crippled the farmers financially.

5.

A major (a)   decimated the cattle industry in 1886-1887, leaving 90% of the cattle dead, leading to it's nickname-- "The Great Die-Up."

6.

After, the blizzard, barbed wire became important to the cattle industry because...

a)

it created fences.

b)

it ended cattle ranching in the US completely.

c)

it transformed the cattle industry into what it is today.

d)

it provided fun jumping obstacles for the longhorns

7.

Which of the following is NOT a name for someone who grows crops?

a)

farmer

b)

rancher

c)

granger

d)

agrarian

8.

The Populist party was started by ___________ and was known as ____________.

a)

wealthy businessmen; "The Elite Party"

b)

farmers; "The Elite Party"

c)

wealthy businessmen; "The People's Party"

d)

farmers; "The People's Party"

9.

Why did farmers support bimetallism?

a)

It would allow the gold standard to take effect

b)

it would allow them to pay off their debts incurred from expensive farm equipment

c)

it would allow them to win the election of 1896

d)

it would allow them to replace all American currency with silver

10.

The ________________________ was significant because it was the first time that an industry was federally regulated.

a)

Pacific Railway Act

b)

Dawes Act

c)

Interstate Commerce Act

d)

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

11.

Which best describes the climate of the Great Plains?

a)

harsh climate in summer (arid and hot) and winter (blizzards)

b)

harsh climate in summer (humid and hot) and winter (dry)

c)

mild climate in summer (humid and warm) and winter (cool and breezy)

d)

mild climate in summer (dry and warm) and winter (dry and cool)

12.

Which of these people held a monopoly on railroads in the US?

a)

Anderson Cooper

b)

Cornelius Vanderbilt

c)

Teddy Roosevelt

d)

William Jennings Bryan

13.

Monopolies kill _____________.

a)

people

b)

products

c)

farmable land

d)

competition

14.

Railroad monopolies led to _________________.

a)

increased wealth for railroad tycoons

b)

high freight rates

c)

unfair business practices

d)

all of the above

15.

The Interstate Commerce Act regulated the monopolistic railroad industry by stating that their rates had to be __________ & __________.

a)

reasonable & just

b)

cheap & efficient

c)

costly & variable

d)

inflated & unchanging

16.

Which animal was hunted by citizens who were paid in return, severely damaging the Native Americans' sources of food and raw materials?

(a)  

17.

Which act ended communal holding of property by Native Americans by splitting their property into allotments that were sold off to non-Natives?

a)

Interstate Commerce Act

b)

Dawes Act

c)

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

d)

Pacific Railway Act

18.

What was the name of the Act that severely limited the immigration of the Chinese into the United States?

a)

Chinese Inclusion Act

b)

Chinese Exclusion Act

c)

Chinese Allusion Act

d)

Chinese Illusion Act

19.

Which of the following was NOT one of the ways in which Native Americans were forced to assimilate into American culture?

a)

Many Native American children were forced to attend boarding schools that would ensure they were not educated about their tribal practices and history.

b)

Native Americans were forced to only speak their native languages when absolutely necessary and were only allowed to keep their first name (not their last).

c)

Native Americans were forced to transform their culture through religion (converting to Christianity) and dress (forced to wear European/American-style clothing).

20.

The major effect of the Transcontinental Railroad was...

a)

Railroad construction led to the growth of towns and big business

b)

Railroad construction led to new countries being invaded.

c)

Railroad construction resulted in more trains.

d)

Railroad construction created more cattle.

21.

A (a)   is a town whose population rapidly increased when gold was found nearby.

22.

After the areas gold was depleted, a Boom Town would often be called a ______________.

a)

Bust

b)

Bomb

c)

Dust

d)

Blast

23.

__________ transformed the Cattle Industry into what it is today.

a)

barb wire

b)

barbed wire

c)

bar wire

d)

cattle guards

24.

Which of the following is the definition of Nativism?

a)

Americans disliking immigrant groups

b)

Americans disliking Native Americans

c)

Americans encouraging immgration

d)

Americans hiring immigrants for labor

25.

"China Towns" were cultural centers in cities like _____________________ where the Chinese immigrant community would band together.

a)

New Orleans, Louisiana

b)

Carson City, Nevada

c)

Promontory Point, Utah

d)

San Francisco, California

26.

This act showed clear favoritism to big business by offering incentives (like land grants and cash incentives) to railroad companies and good farm land to wealthy entrepreneurs.

a)

Pacific Railway Act

b)

Interstate Commerce Act

c)

Chinese Exclusion Act

d)

Silverite Act

27.

The populist candidate for President in the 1896 election, he opposed the gold standard and advocated for bimetallism.

a)

Teddy Roosevelt

b)

Cornelius Vanderbilt

c)

Abraham Lincoln

d)

William Jennings Bryan

28.

Immigrants moving all over the country (leading to increased diversity) and the increase in communication from coast to coast are two examples of ________________ of the expansion of the country's rail system.

a)

political benefits

b)

cultural benefits

c)

monetary benefits

d)

cultural challenges

29.

(a)   was the belief of white American's that their fate was to go settle the rest of North America and that God wanted them to.

30.

Big businessmen __________ regulations on businesses.

a)

opposed

b)

supported

31.

Foreign policy during the late 1800s was marked by the enforcement of this, which claimed that the U.S. was the protector of the entire Western Hemisphere and would prohibit further colonization from Europe.

a)

the Gettysburg Address

b)

the Monroe Doctrine

c)

the Chinese Exclusion Act

d)

the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

32.

The Homestead Act of 1882 said that __________________.

a)

Citizens could claim 160 acres of land that they must farm for the government for 5 years.

b)

Citizens could claim 60 acres of land that they must farm for the government for 10 years.

c)

Formerly enslaved persons could claim 160 acres of land that would be off-limits to white settlers.

d)

Native Americans were granted reservations to live on.

33.

The Homestead Act was controversial because...

a)

most of the land went to the Native Americans, who used it for herding bison.

b)

most of the land went to the Chinese, who used it for building railroads.

c)

most of the land went to the wealthy businessmen and railroad companies, who used it to make themselves richer.

d)

most of the land went to formerly enslaved people in the South, who used it as their "promised land."

34.

Who were the Exodusters?

a)

Native Americans fleeing American genocide

b)

formerly enslaved people fleeing the racial violence and Jim Crow laws of the South in order to form their own "Promised Land."

c)

formerly Chinese immigrants who were seeking to create their own cultural centers in cities like San Fransisco

d)

Irish immigrants who were fleeing the hardships brought on by the potato famine in Ireland