Westward Expansion - Unit Assessment Study Guide
Evolution of Indian trade patterns and interaction with settlers
Effects of Spanish exploration and conquest in the Southwest
“Right of conquest” (“Living Beside Each Other,” p.70)
Arguments for and against Indian Removal (including Jackson & Frelinghuysen)
Indian Removal Act
Louisiana Purchase
Lewis and Clark
Treaties dealing with expansion of U.S. borders (Know what areas were added and when)
Gadsden Purchase
Manifest Destiny
President Andrew Jackson
What happened in Texas? (Who did it belong to? How did it come to be part of U.S.?)
Who was president at the time of the Mexican American War?
What were the causes of the war?
What were the results of the war? (Texas and Mexican-American War see “The West” note sheet and
PPT online)
Estimated historical population of buffalo in North America
Reasons why the buffalo were hunted almost to extinction
Homestead Act, qualifications, effects on Native Americans, effects on the land
Reasons why settlers moved west (push and pull factors, government incentives)
Inventions that fostered/facilitated westward expansion
Gold Rush (“The West” note sheet) (*We will cover this on Tuesday)
General Allotment Act / “Dawes Act”
Five Civilized Tribes and different ways “outsiders” tried to get onto Tribal Roles
Amount of land (in acres) controlled by Native Americans in 1500? 1887? 1934? (use
statistics from “General Allotment Act” reading, p 506).
Allotment in the Oklahoma Territory, process by which settlers received former reservation lands
Date at which all Native Americans were allowed to become citizens, other ways they gained citizenship
According to recent estimates, what was the North American native population before 1492? In
1900?
Assimilation and boarding schools
Contrast Jefferson's policies toward the Indians vs. Jackson's. What accounts for this shift?
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
Worcester vs. Georgia
Trail of Tears
Sand Creek Massacre (“Indian Problem” PPT, section on Indian Wars)
Battle at Little Big Horn
Battle (“Massacre”) at Wounded Knee
When was the first transcontinental railroad completed? (*We will cover this on Wednesday)
Railroad growth, standardization, and influence.
How was it built? (Who built it and how was it funded?)
John Collier and Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (From notes on Eras of Policy)
“Cultural Relativism”
Termination Policy
Know the last 6 Eras of Federal Indian Policy, beginning in 1830s (see link in notes)
Native Americans today: Percent of U.S. land that is reserved, Percent of Americans with Native
American Ancestry (all or part) according to the most recent census, Percent of Native Americans that
live on reservations
Short Answer: Be able to discuss all of the major land acquisitions. This will be covered in class, and
there is a link called “Territorial Acquisitions PPT” with a review of this material on the main
American Studies page.
Items to consider: Who ceded the land, why did the U.S. want it, was it won in a war or was it
purchased (or both), if it was purchased then why was someone willing to sell it, and who were the
major characters involved in each acquisition?
*The more specifics that you include, the easier it will be for me to award you points for each response.