Westward Expansion
Part A: What does the image of the angel represent?
Manifest Destiny
After gaining its independence from Spain, the Mexican government
encouraged American settlers to move to Texas
Which of the following groups settled in the West to escape religious persecution?
the Mormons
Which conclusion is supported by the graph?
Miners - Year
0 - 1848
80,000 - 1849
250,000 - 1953
The discovery of gold in California quickly increased the territory’s population.
The telegraph helped make which of the following obsolete?
the Pony Express
Part B: Which piece of evidence best supports the answer to Part A?
The angelic figure heading west
The Alamo is most closely associated with
Texas independence
What was the main method of transportation on the Oregon trail and why?
Wagon trains were used. They were used for protection.
(Expand on this answer.)
Who became rich off of the gold rush and how?
Merchants became rich in California. They sold goods to the miners. (Expand on this answer.)
How did the U.S. government help in the construction of the transcontinental railroad?
The government gave railroad companies a gift of ten square miles of land alongside each mile of track they built
On your own paper, write a well-organized paragraph in response to the following prompt:
Which event discussed in this chapter was most responsible for the growth and expansion of the United States in the mid-1800s? Make a claim that answers the question, and support it with evidence from the chapter
Student claims should identify a relevant event, such as the belief in Manifest Destiny, Texas independence and subsequent annexation, the Mexican-American War, acquisition of the Southwest and Oregon Country and migration there, discovery of gold in California, construction of the transcontinental railroad, or passage of the Homestead Act. Answers should include evidence from the chapter that supports the claim
How did President James K. Polk provoke war with Mexico?
He ordered U.S. troops to cross the Nueces River.
Why were the Mormons persecuted because of their religion.
People thought it went against Christian teachings. (Expand on this answer.)
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
[It is] our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. —from John O’Sullivan’s Editorial on Manifest Destiny (1845)
The ideas expressed in the passage contributed most directly to which of the following?
the passage of the Homestead Act
Which of the following were most responsible for expanding U.S. territory into Texas and areas west of the Rocky Mountains? Select the two correct answers
the Oregon Treaty
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
As the Railroad marched thus rapidly across the broad Continent of plain and mountain, there was improvised a rough and temporary town at its every public stopping-place. As this was changed every thirty or forty days, these settlements were of the most perishable materials—canvas tents, plain board shanties, and turf-hovels—pulled down and sent forward for a new career, or deserted as worthless, at every grand movement of the Railroad company. Only a small proportion of their populations had aught to do with the road, or any legitimate occupation. Most were the hangers-on around the disbursements of such a gigantic work, catching the drippings from the feast in any and every form that it was possible to reach them. Restaurant and saloon keepers, gamblers, desperadoes of every grade, the vilest of men and of women made up this “Hell on Wheels,” as it was most aptly termed. —from Samuel Bowles Travels on the Union Pacific
Which statement is supported by the details in this excerpt?
The railroad hired workers of questionable moral character