Worksheets6.2: Westward Expansion- Economic Development
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 5mins
What was the primary means of planting and harvesting crops during the period of westward expansion from 1877 to 1898?
Mechanical reaper and combine harvester
Water-powered machinery and windmills
Hand tools and horse-drawn plows
Human sweat and animal muscle
What effect did the mechanization of agriculture have on the production of corn and wheat between 1870 and 1900?
Production increased tenfold
Production roughly doubled
Production decreased
Production remained the same
What was the impact of the increasing obsolescence of small farmers during this period?
They were able to compete with giant industrial farmers
Their farms were bought out by the bigger farmers
They received government subsidies to stay in business
They formed a powerful union to protect their interests
What was the purpose of the National Grange Movement organized in 1868?
To establish a political party for farmers
To advocate for the rights of railroad workers
To bring isolated farmers together for socialization and education
To promote industrialization in farming
What was the significance of the Commerce Act of 1886?
It required farmers to sell their crops at reasonable prices
It established a federal agency to regulate railroad rates
It granted free land to potential migrants out west
It provided financial assistance to struggling farmers
What facilitated a mass migration of Americans for settlement in the western lands?
The completion of transcontinental railroads
The discovery of gold in California
The expansion of the Homestead Act
The invention of the mechanical reaper
What was the condition for receiving 160 acres of free land under the Homestead Act of 1862?
To build a railroad on the land
To mine for precious metals on the land
To farm and settle the land
To establish a trading post on the land
What led to the influx of over 100,000 migrants into the Kansas and Nebraska territories in 1869?
The establishment of the National Grange Movement
The passage of the Granger Laws
The discovery of gold in the region
The completion of the transcontinental railroad
What was the result of the discovery of gold in the western regions during the period of westward expansion?
The rapid growth of diverse boomtowns
A decrease in diversity in the boomtowns
An increase in the number of small-scale farmers
The establishment of large industrial farms
What was the primary purpose of the Pacific Railroads Acts?
To regulate railroad rates for carrying freight
To grant huge swaths of land to railroad companies
To provide financial assistance to struggling farmers
To establish a federal agency to enforce railroad regulations
