Gov role in opening up West

Question 1

How many states were there in 1803?

Answer 1

In 1803 there were 16 states

Question 2

How many states were there in 1850?

Answer 2

In 1850 there were 30 states

Question 3

Who was the first US president?

Answer 3

George Washington

Question 4

In 1796 it cost $2 per acre to buy land. What the minimum amount of land you could purchase in 1796 and then in 1832?

Answer 4

1796 minimum purchase = 640 acres $2 per acre

1832 minimum purchase = 40 acres $2 per acre

Question 5

The price of land fell to $1 per acre.

How did this effect expansion?

Answer 5

Number of settlers west of Appalacian Mountains increased from 387,000 in 1800 to 7 million in 1840.
1900 census = 68% of population lived west of ^

Question 6

Who completed the expedition through the Louisiana Purchase from 1804-1806?
Why was it beneficial?

Answer 6

Lewis and Clark supported by Jefferson

Provided 4000 miles of maps including Mississippi and Colombia rivers, Rocky Mountains and Atlantic coast

Question 7

Who completed the first offical military expedition and when was it completed?

Answer 7

Leiutenant Pike lead military expedition to the upper Mississippi River from 1806-1807

Question 8

What did Stephen Long do?

How did he discourge people from moving west?

Answer 8

Led 5 expeditions covering 26,000 miles

declared the Great Plains was a ‘Great desert’ and unsuitable for settlement

Question 9

who was involved in the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 9

James Monroe negotiated with France, gaining the whole of Louisiana.
Origionally, Jefferson sent Monroe to negotiate only New Orleans and Florida, however Napoleon abandoned his plans for NA and offered all of Louisiana

Question 10

The Gadsden Purchase was the result of party politics. Why would it benefit the president’s campaign?

Answer 10

Franklin Pierce hoped supporting expansionist policies would maintain the unity of the pro-slavery Democratic party.
The south wanted to expand land in order to expand slavery and also help southern railway

Question 11

Why were Northerners against the Gadsden purchase?

Answer 11

The Gadsden purchase would offered the opportunity to expand slavery which the north (free states) were against.
Also threatened the Northern railway

Question 12

When was the Gadsden purchase?
Who did the US negotiate with to gain it?
How much land was gained?

Answer 12

Gadsden Purchase = 1853
James Gadsden negotiated with Mexico
Negotiated for 250,000 but ended up with 54,000 square miles

Question 13

When was the Louisiana purchase?
Who did the US negotiate with to gain it?
How much land was gained?

Answer 13

Louisiana purchase = 1803
James Monroe negotiated with France
820,000 square miles - more than doubled the size of US

Question 14

What was the reason for the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and what did it accomplish?

Answer 14

Missouri sought to enter the Union in 1819
This would tip the balance of the current 22 states (11 slave states, 11 free states)
Congress compromised by creating new free state, Maine, out of Massachusetts to keep the balance
It was also agreed there would be no slavery north of 36, 30 lattitude in the Louisiana Territory

Question 15

When was the Transcontinental Treaty signed to gain Florida?

Who did the US negotiate with?

Answer 15

1819 = Transconinental Treaty was signed

US negotiated with Spain for Florida

Question 16

Why were southerners against the possession of Florida?

Answer 16

Worried it could become a safe haven for run away slaves

Question 17

How was most of Florida gained between 1810 and 1819?

Answer 17

1810 = American settlers seized Baton Rouge and proclaimed to Republic of West Florida
1812 = Officials occupied much of the region and so it became part of Louisiana
1813 = rest of west Florida was taken (Spain was at war with France so they couldn't do much)
1817-1819 = Pres. Monroe negotiated with Spain to settle border disputes and ordered campaign against the Seminoles (he ordered commander not to pursue into spanish territory but they did anyway and much of N Florida was taken

Question 18

How did Texas become independent in March 1836?

Answer 18

Americans had been encouraged to settle there in the 1820’s and brought their slaves with them
In 1829 Meixco freed its slaves and 1830 it prohibited further American immigration into Texas
Americans defied this and defeated Mexicos weak government

Question 19

Why did James Polk win the election in 1844?

Answer 19

Campaigned on an expansionist ticket
Ambitious to gain more western territory (wanted to take all of oregon)
Supported manifest destiny

Question 20

What did the Treaty of Guadalupe accomplish in February 1848?

Answer 20

US gained 500,000 square miles of territory + half of Mexico

Mexico gained $15 million from US

Question 21

What happened during the war with Mexico and the US in 1846?

Answer 21

1845 - US sent troops to border area hoping it would provoke war
May 1846 - Mexican troops ambushed US giving Polk a reason to ask Congress for war (cost $100 million)
2000 died, 11,000 died of disease and 28,000 Mexicans died

Question 22

When was the Homstead Act?

What did it offer?

Answer 22

Homstead Act 1862

Could claim 160 acres of land for free if you had lived on it for 5 years

Question 23

Was the Homstead Act a success?

Answer 23

Many were too poor to become independent farmers
Many who did move were already farmers so it didn’t attract new farmers
160 acres was not sufficent for settlers to make a living in the drier conditions

Question 24

When was the Timber Culture Act?
What did it offer?
Was it a success?

Answer 24

Timber Culture Act 1873
A further 160 acres if they planted 40 acres with trees within 10 years
Failure as the winds and lack of water prevented trees from growing

Question 25

When was the Desert Land Act?
What did it offer?
Was it a success?

Answer 25

Desert Land Act 1877
Chance to purchase another 640 acres if they irrigated it within 2 years
Failure due to cost of irrigation

Question 26

When was the Morrill Act?

What did it do?

Answer 26

Morrill Act 1862
established colleges mainly to teach farming
69 universites around the country were founded under this act in the next decades making higher education available to the general public for the first time

Question 27

How did the Federal Goverment aid expansion?

Answer 27

• Aquired new territories
• Supported exploration and mapping
• Provided funding and infrastructure
• Encouraged settlement (adertisment)