The Louisiana Purchase
In what year did the United States buy the Louisiana Territory from France?
1803
What year was the Indian Removal Act passed?
1830
What is Manifest Destiny?
The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America
What major trade route ran from Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico?
The Santa Fe Trail
What was the main purpose of frontier forts in Kansas?
To protect settlers and trade routes
The Louisiana Purchase did what to the size of the United States?
It doubled it
What does “assimilation” mean?
To adopt or blend into another culture
Which U.S. president strongly supported Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion?
James K. Polk
What trail did settlers use to move to Oregon and California?
The Oregon-California Trail
Name one famous Kansas fort that protected travelers.
Fort Leavenworth, Fort Scott, or Fort Larned
Who led the Corps of Discovery expedition?
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
What is “eminent domain”?
The government’s right to take private land for public use
What does the word “prosperity” mean?
Economic success or wealth
What does it mean to “ration” supplies?
To divide supplies carefully so they last longer
What role did forts play in westward expansion?
They made settlement safer and helped enforce U.S. control
What did Stephen H. Long famously call the Great Plains?
“The Great American Desert”
What tragic event forced the Potawatomi to march from Indiana to Kansas in 1838?
The Potawatomi Trail of Death
How did Manifest Destiny affect Native Americans?
It led to loss of land and forced relocation
What was the Last Chance Store in Council Grove known for?
The final stop for supplies before crossing the plains
What is a “squatter”?
A person who settled on land without legal permission
What word means “giving permission or approval,” such as when Congress agreed to the Louisiana Purchase?
Consent
What are “reservations”?
Lands set aside for Native American tribes to live on
What does the phrase “divine right” mean in the context of Manifest Destiny?
Belief that expansion was God’s will
Who were the risk-taking businesspeople who traded along the Santa Fe Trail?
Entrepreneurs
What famous book series tells about life on the prairie during westward expansion?
Little House on the Prairie