Westward Expansion test

Question 1

Map of Westward Expansion

Answer 1

Question 2

Date of Louisiana Purchase

Answer 2

1803

Question 3

Date of Texas Annexation

Answer 3

1845

Question 4

Date of Gadsen Purchase

Answer 4

1853

Question 5

Date of ceding of Florida

Answer 5

1819

Question 6

Date of ceding of Mexican Territory

Answer 6

1848

Question 7

Date of aquisition of Oregon Territory

Answer 7

1846

Question 8

Date of Red River Cession

Answer 8

1818

Question 9

Why did people go west

Answer 9

• Possibility of Financial Gain
• Crowding in the cities on the east coast and in europe
• Encouragement by public figures such as politicians and writer (polk and twain)
• Romanticism of the west
• For farming and mining
• For religious freedom (The mormons)

Question 10

Who are the mormons and where did they move to and why?

Answer 10

They were a new religious group that had practices (communal living, multiple wives) that were contrary to the mores of the time. The mormons settled in the Great Salt Lake Valley area in Mexican Territory. Settlements grew as more mormons arrived from Europe.

Question 11

In what ways could you say that the mormons had their own republic

Answer 11

They had a militia, headed by Joseph Smith

The communal living allowded them to pool their wealth together

They created jobs for people to act as a central governemnt

Question 12

Who started the morman migration?

Answer 12

Bringham Young

Question 13

Where were the mining deposits located?

Answer 13

The mining deposits were located in the Dakotas, Oregon and California

Question 14

Describe the evolution of mining pracices during westward expansion?

Answer 14

At the beginning of the mining booms, most of the mining was done by individual miners with primitive tools because mining was easy at the time because gold could be ealisy collected in streams and rivers.

After all of the easy gold had been collected, more complex techniques and equipment was needed to extract deep gold deposits in the ground. This method was very expensive and needed a lot of capital that only a corporation could provide. MIning corporations did invest in mining and brought in the heavy equipment and employed salaries miners.

Question 15

Explain how ranching worked? and why did people ranch in the west? What were the risks?

Answer 15

Cattle in the west was worth very much to people in the east.

The main meat market in the east was Chicago

How ranching worked

Cattle ranchers herded their cattle to the nearest town that had a railroad station which allowed the cattle to be transported by rail to the east for the easrtern market.

This created “cowtowns” that were had a railroad station. The ranching insdustry jumpstarted the economy in these cowtowns.

Risks

It was very risky especially in the winter because it got very cold and it took a long time to heard the cattle to the nearest station. This led to the loss of cattle. It also took a toll on the ranch hands.

It was also very expensive

Question 16

Explain the evolution of farming and the government involvement. What were the risks and dangers of farming in the west

Answer 16

Wheat produced in the US was exported all over the world and was consummed docmestically as well.

Farmers bought land directly from states and the federal government, or they acquired land from the federal government via the Homestead Act or the Morril Act, which was an expansion of the Homestead act.

At first, it was just local farming, but throught competiton between farmers and the evolution and developpment of farming technology (McCormack reaper, barbed wire) and techiniques farming became more and more commercialized. The small scale family farmers ended up going bankrupt

Family Farming turned into Commercial Farming

Risks and Dangers

first of all, there were enterprising criminals that terrorized and robbed farms as well as trains.

The climat was very unforgiving. It was very windy on the plains, there was little fuel and construction material, and rainfall was often sparse and unpredictable.

Question 17

Who were the wild bunch? When and where did they operate?

Answer 17

The wild bunch was a gang of outlaws active in the late 1800s. They operated and terrorozed Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and the Oklahoma terriotry.

Question 18

Why did criminals move west?

Answer 18

criminals moved out west because of the constant flow of money and goods via rail and other methods that could be sabotaged and stolen.

Question 19

Give some characteristics of the population that moved west?

Answer 19

Many of the cowboys were former slaves

Immigrants immigrated to american to work of the railroad

There was a very divers group of people from many different nationalities. The immigrants form the same country usually sticked together in settlements.

The populatio growth was very uneven. For example, many people migrated to California, while fewer people moved to Kansas or the Oklahoma Territory.

For of the people that moved westward were male

Question 20

What was the role of women during the westward expansion.

Answer 20

It was very rare for women to migrate west. However, there were still a few that did migrate. Some of the women, especially in mining towns were used as prostitutes. Others became very rich and famous by dancing or performing, such as Lola Montez, a french dancer who became famous in San Francisco during the gold rush. However, there were also women who worked alongside the men in the mining camps or on the cattle ranch or field. In fact, the western states were the first states to allow women to vote in major elections.

Examples of women that took non traditional roles:

• Laura Bullion -> Train robber
• Annie Oakley -> Sharp shooter