Westward Expansion Unit Test

A = True B = False

1. Pony Express riders were railroad conductors

2. Many African Americans became cowboys after the Civil War.

3. Nevada was the state the “Sooners” rushed to in 1889.

4. Westward expansion had little effect upon the lives of the Plains Indians.

5. Resources such as wood were readily available on the Plains.

6. Homestead farmers were called “sodbusters.”

7. The invention of barbed-wire helped to end the open range.

8. “Sooners” were those who took part in the Oklahoma Land Rush.

9. The number of buffalo herds decreased as settlers moved onto the plains.

10. Women and African Americans were unable to claim land under the Homestead Act of 1862.

11. Most Pony Express riders were over the age of 32

12. General Custer easily defeated the Native Americans at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

13. The Ghost Dance was an Indian Religious movement.

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14. Homestead Act farmers were called

a. Plowboysb. Soddiesc. Sodbustersd. Farm-dudes

15. All of these positive, or “pull” factors lured people from eastern cities to the west EXCEPT

a. Newspaper and magazine articles telling how good the west was.b. Advertising and special offers made by railroad companies.c. Letters from those who had already moved west telling of how great it was.d. Overcrowding and poverty in the east.

16. The telegraph was invented by

a. Alexander Graham Bellb. Samuel Morsec. Benjamin Franklind. Abraham Lincoln

17. The Transcontinental Railroad was

a. A system of trails that were used to drive cattle north to cow-townsb. A rail line that connected Washington D.C. to Richmond, VAc. A continuous rail system that spanned New York City to Canadad. A continuous rail system that connected the east and west coasts of the U.S.

18. Which factor led to the decline of the cowboy and the long drive?

a. The automobileb. Development of refrigerated rail carsc. Removal of Plains Indians to reservationsd. The invention of barbed-wire

19. When building the Transcontinental Railroad all groups of labors were used EXCEPT for

a. Chinese immigrantsb. African Americansc. Norwegian immigrantsd. Irish immigrants

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20. The Comstock Lode was a rich deposit of mainly silver ore that was located outside of what would eventually become

a. Carson City, NVb. Pikes Peak, COc. Virginia City, NVd. Sutter’s Mill, CA

21. The mining booms of 1858 and 1859 helped to create many

a. Ghost minesb. Railroad linesc. Women run mining operationsd. Boomtowns

22. What farming method was utilized on the Plains by farmers due to the very dry land and little rainfall?

a. Plowingb. Dry-farmingc. Rain dancingd. Agrigrowtech

23. The transcontinental railroad led to the use of

a. Time Zonesb. The telegraphc. Colt revolversd. Wagon trails

24. Longhorn cattle were kept on an ______________ until they were driven to market via a cattle drive.

a. Farmb. Homesteadc. Range Roverd. Open Range

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25. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869 in

a. Promontory Point, Utahb. Dodge City, Kansasc. St. Louis, Missourid. Richmond, Virginia

26. Pony Express riders carried _________ in their Mochila.

a. Whiskeyb. Mailc. Booksd. Monies

27. The Homestead Act, the mass killing of buffalo, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad are most closely associated with the

a. rise of organized labor b. building of the Erie Canal c. northern migration of African Americans d. decline of the Plains Indians

28. In the period from 1860 to 1900, the Federal Government encouraged the settlement of the West by

a. passing an increased number of liberal immigration laws b. selling the most fertile public land to Native American Indians c. providing free transportation to settlers moving to the frontier d. giving land to railroad companies to encourage construction of a transcontinental

railroad

29. Mexican cowboys or ranch hands were known as

a. Vaquerosb. Sodbustersc. Soonersd. Cowtowners

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30. The Indian Wars that occurred between 1860 and 1890 were mainly the result of

a. disputes over the spread of slavery b. conflict with Mexico over Texas and California c. the search for gold in California d. the movement of settlers onto the Great Plains

31. The passage of the Homestead Act and the completion of the transcontinental railroad helped to fulfill the United States commitment to

a. reconstruction b. racial equality c. manifest destiny d. conservation of natural resources

32. Many cowboys were ______, Mexican, and ex soldiers.

a. Women

b. Children

c. African Americans

d. Soddies

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Matching

33. The Union and Central Pacific RR’s met at a. brand34. Spanish Cowboy b. buffalo35. Symbols seared into an animal c. Pony Express36. Delivered the mail d. Vaquero37. Main food source of the Plains Indians e. Promontory Point

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

38. The search for precious metals within the earth a. Ghost town 39. Where the long-horns come from b. Cowtowns40. Worked on the Central Pacific RR c. Mining41. Cheyenne, Abilene, Sedalia d. Texas42. When a boomtown busts e. Chinese Immigrants

Short Answer (choose TWO questions and answer in complete sentences)

Write on your own paper!

1. Describe what it was like to live in a mining boomtown for either a man or a woman.

2. What was a cattle drive, what did it do and where did it go? What was its intended purpose?

3. Name 2 reasons settlers moved to the Great Plains during the mid to late 1800’s.4. Describe how the Chinese railroad workers were treated by the other railroad

workers during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

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