Mexican American War
This 1846 event did what President Polk hoped: it gave the U.S. a reason to ask Congress to declare war on Mexico. What is it?
The Mexican attack on U.S. troops / skirmish near the Rio Grande
People who rushed to California in 1849 were nicknamed after this year; give the nickname.
Forty-niners
Name the Mormon leader who led the migration west and helped settle the Utah region
Brigham Young
The small fort defended for 13 days in 1836 before being overrun is called what?
The Alamo
This idea held that the United States was meant to expand across the continent. Name it (two words).
Manifest Destiny
Name the 1848 treaty that ended the war and required Mexico to cede large territories to the U.S. and accept the Rio Grande as the border.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The tiny shiny find that started the rush was discovered near which man’s sawmill on the American River? (Last name is fine.)
Who is John Sutter?
Before migrating west, Mormons faced persecution. Give one reason (social or political) why they left the Midwest.
Religious persecution/violence and legal pressure.
Who led the Texan army to a surprise victory at San Jacinto and later became the first president of the Republic of Texas?
Who is Sam Houston?
Spain and later Mexico offered these to attract settlers to Texas: large areas of land at low cost. What are they called?
Land Grants
One of Polk’s war goals was to seize two territories on the Pacific coast. Name either territory
California (or New Mexico)
Name one major boomtown or port city that grew rapidly because it was near gold regions and a convenient harbor.
What is Sanfrancisco
What was the main goal of Mormon migration to Utah in terms of community survival?
Self‑sustenance (or communal survival).
Give one reason American settlers in Texas grew angry with the Mexican government in the 1830s.
Examples: Mexico’s restrictions on immigration, attempts to end slavery, refusal to follow Mexican laws (language, religion), or taxation/trade limits.
Name one major overland trail used by settlers and traders heading west (one answer).
Oregon Trail / California Trail / Santa Fe Trail (any one).
Polk planned a three-part strategy. Besides driving Mexican forces out of disputed Texas, what was one of the other two parts?
Seize and occupy California and New Mexico; or capture Mexico City
Many people didn’t get rich mining. Which group — merchants or miners — typically profited most from the boomtown economy?
Merchants or business owners
Identify one key practice or strategy Mormons used to make their new settlement more self-sustaining.
Irrigation, cooperative farms, building local industry, or establishing settlements.
What banner and phrase did the Gonzales settlers fly when they refused to return a cannon?
"Come and take it."
Give one economic motive that pushed Americans to move west in the 1800s (short answer).
Search for land/farming, gold and resources, trade opportunities, or new markets.
After U.S. victories, the U.S. paid Mexico money and assumed claims by U.S. citizens. State the dollar amount paid to Mexico under the treaty.
15 million
Explain one major social or demographic effect the Gold Rush had on California between 1848 and 1852
Rapid population growth/diversity, creation of boomtowns, California statehood by 1850, or economic changes (any one explained).
The name of the followers of the Mormon relions (not Mormons).
Latter Day Saints
After Texas declared independence, why did President Andrew Jackson initially refuse annexation? (Relate to national politics.)
Jackson worried annexation would upset the balance between slave and free states (and provoke sectional conflict).
Explain how the U.S. government and private individuals used treaties, purchases, or military actions to expand U.S. territory between 1803 and 1848
Example answer — The U.S. bought the Louisiana Territory (1803), negotiated treaties (Adams‑Onís Treaty), and after war with Mexico (1846–48) forced the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, acquiring the Mexican Cession; private empresarios and settlers also secured land grants, and military actions helped the U.S. assert control.