Westward Expansion Test Study Guide
1. What are the major features of the Great Plains?
2. List 5 reasons people moved WEST:
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3. What did the Homestead Act promise if settlers met all of the requirements?
4. Who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad? (Hint: 3 groups)
5. What did settlers in the west use the Transcontinental Railroad for?
6. What did businesses in the east use the Transcontinental Railroad for?
7. What impact did settlement in the Great Plains have on the U.S. economy?
8. Identify the technological advancement that solved the problem that is described. Then explain how that
advancement solved the problem.
Problem
Technological Advancement
How It Solved the Problem
People in the East had an appetite
for beef.
Hard and rocky soil kept breaking
all the farmers’ tools.
Harvesting wheat with a sickle or
scythe was difficult and timeconsuming.
Transporting goods and crops
across the country was expensive
and took a long time.
There was very little rainfall in the
Great Plains – not enough for the
vegetables that were grown in the
East.
Settlers in the plains needed food
that could be stored for
consumption during long winters.
Cows and other livestock were
constantly escaping or being killed
by coyotes.
People living in the Plains needed a
reliable source of drinking water.
Plains settlers needed houses to live
in and there were very few trees
with which to build them.
Communication between East and
West was costly and unreliable.
9. Label the political region settlers traveled to during
Westward Expansion
10. Explain the reason Native Americans lost land during the westward expansion era?
11. What is a reservation?
12. How did Americans force Native Americans to assimilate?
13. Complete the chart below. What actions did each leader take as a result of forced relocation?
Leader:
Sitting Bull
Chief Joseph
Geronimo
Action taken (did he run or fight? What happened?)
14. Summarize what happened at each event.
Battle of Little Bighorn:
Massacre at Wounded Knee:
“Hear me my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more
forever.” ~Chief Joseph
15. Explain what this quotation above means and why he said it.
16. In the chart below, provide three ways Westward Expansion helped (the US government and
businesses) and hurt (Native Americans).
How did Westward Expansion help?
How did Westward Expansion hurt?
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.