Preface-Chapter 2
Which were the 3 most populous states in 1840?
Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio
What happened to the first Americans who went to Santa Fe?
They were thrown in jail because the Mexicans did not welcome Americans
About how many women were pregnant in the emigrant trains?
About 1 in 5
About how long could a wagon train expect to be "on the road" before it would reach its destination?
close to 6 months
What did the Mexican Californians do with the Spanish Catholic missions after Mexico won its independence from Spain?
They turned them into large cattle ranches
What was a mountain men rendezvous?
(Preface - Chapter 2)
A yearly month long meeting for mountain men where they sold animal skins, ate and traded stories
Describe the relationships between the mountain men and Indians
Sometimes they were very good friends who helped each other survive, other times they were enemies who killed each other
Name four of the ethnic groups that composed the trading caravans that went to Santa Fe
French, German, Polish, Indian, American
What do we call the people who left the US to move west? What did they call themselves?
We call them pioneers; they called themselves emigrants since they were leaving the US for the "foreign land" of the Oregon Territory and California
What was one practice of Mormons that disturbed many Americans?
Polygamy - having more than one wife.
How did the Mexican Californians treat the Indians?
Like slaves; they were forced to do all the work on the cattle ranches
Name three of the natural barriers that stood in the way of the pioneers reaching the West coast?
(Chapter 6-7)
The Rocky Mountains
The Utah desert
The Sierra Nevada Mountains
Death Valley
What did mountain men do when they were not at a rendezvous?
They stayed in the wilderness away from other people and civilization
If William Beckwell brought something for $1.00, what would he have to sell it for in Santa Fe in order to earn 2000% profit?
$21.00
Why were so many people headed west?
The US was experiencing an economic depression, making money and jobs scarce, while the western territories seemed to promise unlimited opportunity - especially free land
How did the Mormon settlements in Utah become important?
The Mormons provided many pioneers with food, water, horses and a place to rest on their journey
Why did the Spanish send priests to build missions in California?
They wanted to teach the Indians the Gospel and train them in Western ways
How was the economy of America changing in the early to mid 1800s?
(Preface - Chapter 2)
The Industrial Revolution started a money based economy as compared to a barter economy
What was different about the way farmers were earning a living in 1840 as compared to 1790 (right after the Revolutionary War)?
In 1790 they mostly grew just enough food to feed their families; by the mid-1800s, most farmers had changed to growing cash crops for profit
What happened to the Santa Fe Trail in 1879 when the railroad system reached New Mexico?
It was abandoned because travel by train was so much easier and faster
Why did many of the pioneers never reach the west?
Extremes in cold and heat, starvation, accidents, and disease - primarily cholera (a bacterial disease that in contracted through infected water)
How did Joseph Smith found the Mormon religion?
He claimed an angel showed him the Book of Mormon engraved on golden tablets; it tells the story of an ancient Hebrew tribe that came to America
What was the idea of manifest destiny?
The belief that it is obvious that white Americans have the right and the duty to spread across the North American continent
How did New Mexico become part of the US?
(Chapter 3-4)
James Magoffin convinced his brother in law - the New Mexican governor - not to fight; then Colonel Kearny came in and took New Mexico without a fight
What part of America was not included in the Louisiana Purchase and still owned by Spain in the early 1800s and what was it called?
The southern and western land from Texas to California and north to Wyoming; it was called California
What motivated the Irish, the Germans and the Chinese to move to the US in the late 1840s and early 1850s?
Irish: The Potato Blight that caused horrific famine
Germans: no work at home and thinking the immigration "door" might be shut
Chinese: lack of work at home and the well paying railroad jobs in the US
Why do the pioneers start the trip with so many belongings but end up with so few?
They wanted to take as much as they could, but then needed to lighten the load as the journey dragged on, especially when they reached the Rocky Mountains and had to go up through the mountain passes
Who was Brigham Young and were did he move?
After Joseph Smith was killed, Young became the new Mormon leader and moved them west to the Great Salt Lakes
How did the United States and Great Britain solve the Oregon Territory issue?
They agreed to split the territory on the 49th parallel - England got the land north of this latitude and the US got the land to the south
Why would St. Louis be a big city at this time?
(Chapter 5)
Because it was at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers; rivers were the highways of the day