Westward Expansion Test Review
1. __________________ was the belief that one race or culture is superior to another and was one driving force
behind manifest destiny.
2. Who blazed the trails that helped settlers migrate west? ___________________________
3. Who is credited with discovering South Pass? ________________________
4. What animal were trappers and mountain men looking for that led them into the West? _________________
5. What was the rendezvous system?_______________________________________________________________
6. What routes did people use to come to California during the gold rush years? __________________________,
___________________________, _______________________________
7. Largely because of the ____________________________, the Far West was rapidly settled by large numbers of
Americans.
8. What is the name given to people who came to California during the mid-1800s in search of gold? _____________
9. At the Battle of _______________________, Texan forces defeated the Mexican army led by Santa Anna and won
independence for Texas from Mexico.
10. This battle of the Texas revolution was fought near San Antonio in an old Spanish Mission. All 187 defenders were
kill except a woman, her child, and a slave._________________________
11. After the Texas Revolution, Texas became its own nation for a while and was called the ______________________.
12. This man became wealthy during the California Gold Rush by making durable pants. _______________________
13. ________________ was a master mind of hype that got the California Gold Rush started by running through the
streets of San Francisco yelling about the discovery of gold after buying every pick-ax, pan and shovel in the region.
14. Identify the name of the piece of land Mexico handed over to the United States after losing the Mexican American
War.
15. Name of the treaty that ended the Mexican American War was? _________________________
16. What was the goal of Assimilation? ______________________________
17. Most people who emigrated west traveled along the _________________________ trail which began in
Independence, Missouri.
18. One example in which the United States compromise and settled for less land than many Americans wanted was
in the acquisition of this territory when America divided the land with the British at the 49th parallel.
___________________________
19. What U.S. President is most responsible for adding the Mexican Cession, the Oregon Territory, and the Texas
Territory to the United States? __________________
20. What event led President James Polk to ask congress to declare war on Mexico and officially started the Mexican
American War. ________________________________
21. What was the war between Mexico and America Called? ___________________________
22. What treaty ended the Mexican American War and gave the United States a Huge tract of land known as the
Mexican Cession._____________________________
23. What issues eventually led to an armed conflict between Mexico and Texans called the Texas Revolution.
______________________, ______________________, _________________________, _____________________
24. Native American living on the Great Plains relied heavily on this animal for survival? ______________________
25. The Ghost Dance movement was an attempt by native Americans to do what? _____________________________
26. What two men are most closely linked to the discovery of gold in California?__________________________
27. Following ________________________ all wars between the federal government and the Plains Indians ended?
28. The Homestead Act required those who claimed land to do this ________________________________________.
29. What were the provisions of the Homestead Act? _________________________________
30. What Act broke up reservations and redistributed 160 to 320 acre parcels of land to individual Native American
families? ________________________
31. What two railroad companies built the Transcontinental Railroad?_______________________________________
32. List the four groups of people who worked on and helped to build the Transcontinental Railroad. ______________
_________________, _______________, _________________
33. In what battle of the Texas Revolution did Sam Houston and nearly 700 Texan soldiers defeat Santa Anna and
force him to grant Texas its independence? _____________________
34. Who was a master mind of hype that got the California Gold Rush started by running through the streets of San
Francisco yelling about the discovery of gold after buying every pick-ax, pan and shovel in the region.
__________________________.
35. This man became wealthy during the California Gold Rush by making durable pants for miners. _______________
36. Militia, under the command of Colonel John Chivington, attacked and killed nearly 200 Cheyenne encamped near
Fort Lyon, Colorado in an event known as what? ________________________________
37. In the 1820s, who established an American Colony in Tejas? _________________________
38. People who took advantage of the offer of free land offered through the Homestead Act acquired the land by
participating in ________________________
39. What law authorized the distribution of 170 million acres of land to two companies to build a rail line connecting the
eastern part of the United States with the western United States? __________________________
40. In what famous Native American conflict Sioux and Cheyanne Warriors under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse encircle and
kill over 200 U.S. Soldiers including General George Armstrong Custer in a matter of minutes?
__________________________
41. Study the Territorial Grow map. Know when we acquired the different territories that make up the Continental
United States.
42. United States after the American Revolution in 1783
43. Mexican Cession Acquired in 1848
44. The Oregon Country Acquired in 1846
45. The Republic of Texas- Gained independence from Mexico in 1836
46. Spanish Cession became a part of the U.S. in 1819
47. Gadsden Purchase - Bought from Mexico for $10 million in 1853
48. Louisiana Territory – Purchased form Napoleon in 1803
49. Texas Annexation – Made Texas a part of American in 1845
50. Be able to identify the following Trails on the map.
Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and the Transcontinental Railroad.