United States History Chapter 13: Settling the West Study Guide
Mr. Ron McCants, Teacher
Answers on page 4
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
1. Many of the first miners in the Colorado mountains did not find minerals because
a. there were no minerals.
b. the areas were too remote.
c. mining companies had claimed them.
d. the minerals were too deep.
2. Under the Homestead Act, homesteaders could gain title to the land by
a. fencing it within five years.
c. living there for five years.
b. planting it within five years.
d. building a home on it.
3. One approach to farming the Great Plains was “dry farming,” in which farmers
a. cooperated to build community irrigation ditches from the nearest river.
b. dug out depressions to catch the precious rain, creating ponds for irrigation.
c. selected crops that could withstand long periods without rain.
d. planted seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them.
4. The legendary boomtown of Leadville got its name from
a. rich deposits of lead.
b. lead deposits that contained large amounts of silver.
c. lead deposits that contained large amounts of gold.
d. the town’s main industry, which made lead from its rich copper deposits.
5. The material for “dime novels” often came from
a. miners’ exaggerated tales of striking it rich.
b. cowboys’ exaggerated tales of daring.
c. immigrants’ exaggerated tales of battles with hostile Native Americans.
d. explorers’ exaggerated tales of adventure and discovery in the wilderness.
6. The fencing of the open range resulted in all of the following EXCEPT
a. the end of long cattle drives.
b. the transition of cowboys to ranch hands.
c. the replacement of longhorns with new European breeds.
d. the decline of the cattle industry in favor of sheep ranching.
7. The army encouraged white hunters to kill buffalo to
a. stop buffalo from trampling crops.
b. starve the Native Americans.
c. force Native Americans onto reservations.
d. make way for new railroad lines.
8. The confrontation at Wounded Knee occurred because the chief’s followers
a. would not stay on the reservation.
c. continued to hunt buffalo.
b. were raiding nearby farms.
d. continued to perform a ritual.
9. Prior to the discovery of gold in the Dakota Territory, previous events in other western regions created similar
industries. What similar industry developed?
a. The ranching industry followed on the heels of the Dakota discoveries.
b. While there were similar events, the industries differed.
c. The individual transporation industry was a result of the Dakota Territory opening up.
d. The mining industry grew out of the discoveries in Colorado and Nevada prior to the
Dakota discovery.
The Railroad and Native American Population
Year
Approximate
miles of railroad
track in United
States
Approximate
Native American
population
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
30,000
53,000
116,000
208,000
259,000
351,000
323,000
318,000
265,000
248,000
____ 10. According to the railroad chart above, from 1860 to 1900 approximately ____ miles of railroad track were
laid the United States.
a. 53,000
c. 208,000
b. 323,000
d. 229,000
Completion
Complete each statement.
11. The Comstock strike turned the town of ____________________, Nevada, into a boomtown.
12. The "rising room" in a Nevada boomtown hotel was the West's first ____________________.
13. In boomtowns, where law enforcement was scarce, self-appointed volunteers sometimes formed
____________________ committees to track down and punish wrongdoers.
14. The Texas ____________________ was a breed of cattle descended from Spanish cattle that had been
brought to Mexico two centuries earlier.
15. Ranchers used ____________________ to distinguish their cattle from those in the herd owned by other
ranchers.
16. A ____________________ was a tract of public land available for settlement.
17. The people who settled in the Great Plains and plowed the soil there were called ____________________.
18. Large wheat farms were called ____________________ farms because they often brought their owners big
profits.
19. For centuries, the ____________________ was the main source of food for most Native American nations on
the Great Plains.
20. The ____________________ Dance was a Native American ritual that celebrated a hoped-for day of
reckoning.
Matching
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a. Sedalia
f.
b. barbed wire
g.
c. Henry Comstock
h.
d. Abilene
i.
e. frontier
j.
Helen Hunt Jackson
vigilance committees
long drive
Denver
longhorn
____
____
____
____
____
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
prospector who staked a claim in Six-Mile Canyon, Nevada
destination for the first cattle drive
cattle that roamed wild on the grasslands of Texas
invention that helped end the cowboy lifestyle
journey across the Plains to bring cattle to railroad shipping centers
Short Answer
26.
What positive effects did the railroads have for western settlers?
27.
Which of the top five manufacturing states had fewer than 30,000
manufacturing facilities in 1870?
“Praise, flattery, exaggerated manners, and fine, high-sounding words were no part of Lakota politeness.
Excessive manners were put down as insincere, and the constant talker was considered rude and thoughtless.
Conversation was never begun at once, nor in a hurried manner.” —Luther Standing Bear, chief of the Oglala
Sioux
28.
According to Luther Standing Bear, how should someone properly converse
with a member of the Sioux?
“ . . . we agreed to go to a place outside of Arizona and learn to live as the white people do. I think that my
people are now capable of living in accordance with the laws of the United States, and we would . . . like to
return to that land which is ours by divine right.” —Geronimo, Apache chief
29.
According to the excerpt, Geronimo felt that his people should be able to return
to Arizona, because they had “learn[ed] to live as the white people do.” What is
the term for this acceptances of another’s culture?
“ . . . if my people were placed in the mountainous region lying around the headwaters of the Gila River . . .
they would live in peace and act according to the will of the President. They would be prosperous and happy
in tilling the soil and learning the civilization of the white men.” —Geronimo, Apache chief
30.
If Geronimo and his people were allowed to return to their homeland, what,
according to the excerpt, would they do?
United States History Chapter 13: Settling the West Study Guide
Answer Section
Mr. Ron McCants, Teacher
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
REF: 416
2. ANS: C
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 421
3. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 422
4. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 416
5. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: Challenging REF: 418
6. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 418-419
7. ANS: C
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 429
8. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 429-430
9. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: Challenging REF: 415
10. ANS: D
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
REF: 424
COMPLETION
11. ANS: Virginia City
12. ANS: elevator
13. ANS: vigilance
14. ANS: longhorn
15. ANS: brands
16. ANS: homestead
17. ANS: sodbusters
18. ANS: bonanza
19. ANS: buffalo
20. ANS: Ghost
MATCHING
21. ANS: C
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 415
22. ANS: A
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
REF: 417
23. ANS: J
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
REF: 416
24. ANS: B
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
REF: 419
25. ANS: H
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
REF: 417
SHORT ANSWER
26. ANS: Railroads made it easier to transport goods from the East to settlers and provided settlers a fast,
reliable method of shipping goods to eastern markets.
27. ANS: Ohio (22,773 establishments), Massachusetts (13,212 establishments), and Illinois (12,597
establishments) had fewer than 30,000 manufacturing establishments.
28. ANS: Conversations should not head straight to the point and people should take their time when speaking.
Talk plainly and calmly, allowing time to stop and think.
29. ANS: assimilation
30. ANS: In exchange for being allowed to live in the place of their choosing, the apache would cease their
nomadic lifestyle and assimilate to American culture. they would practice farming and cooperate with
American society.