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Study Guide: Westward Expansion

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Question
Answer
What were the last set of mountains that pioneers had to cross to get to California?   The Rocky Mountains  
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Many pioneers had been reluctant (hesitant) to settle on the Plains. Why did they call the area the "Great American Desert"?   Pioneers believed the land was not good for farming.  
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Why was timing important to settlers on wagon trains?   The snow in winter made travel perilous (difficult).  
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What was the soil of the Great Plains like after the sod was removed?   The soil was extremely fertile.  
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What were some of the challenges the climate provided settlers in the West?   Drought, dust storms, blizzards, and other unpredictable weather ruined crops.  
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What was the Homestead Act of 1862?   A law that offered 160 acres of free land on the Great Plains to women who were the head of the family and to men over the age of 21 who were either U.S. citizens or immigrants. They paid a filing fee and had to live there for 5 years.  
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What were some challenges homesteaders faced on the Great Plains?   Harsh weather/climage, grasshoppers, thick sod, and cutting through the thick sod before planting crops.  
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Why did exodusters come to the Great Plains?   They faced discrimination and lack of opportunity in the East.  
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A town that grew up overnight around a mining site was called a (BLANK).   Boomtown  
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What helped change the "Great American Desert" into valuable farm land?   Barbed wire, wind mills, irrigation, and the extermination of buffalo.  
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How did technology, such as Steel Plows, help pioneers turn the Great Plains into productive farmland?   Steel Plows were used on thick grasslands.  
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How did technology, such as Windmills, help pioneers turn the Great Plains into productive farmland?   Windmills were used to pump water to the land's surface.  
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How did technology, such as Barbed Wire, help pioneers turn the Great Plains into productive farmland?   Barbed Wire was used to keep animals away from the crops.  
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What was a new form of fencing used on the Great Plains?   Barbed Wire  
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What was one of the main reasons why the Transcontinental Railroad needed to be built?   The Transcontinental Railroad created a faster route to the West.  
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What parts of the country were connected by the Transcontinental Railroad?   West to the East  
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What physical features of the land made it difficult to build the Transcontinental Railroad?   Mountains  
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What was a major challenge faced by the building of the Transcontinental Railroad?   Conflict with Native Americans.  
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How did the Transcontinental Railroad help westward expansion?   It helped businesses to grow because travel was faster and easier.  
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What event took place in 1869, in Promontory, Utah, that was celebrated throughout the country?   The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.  
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It's been said that the railroads made the country seem smaller. What does that mean?   People could travel from coast to coast in a short amount of time.  
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What was one of the main dangers cowboys faced on cattle drives?   Entire herds of frightened longhorn steers, buffalo, would trample people, horses, or other farm animals.  
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The Manifest Destiny (the U.S. Westward Expansion)hurt who the most?   Native Americans  
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Who would drive cattle through difficult plains?   Cowboys  
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What was a town called that grew quickly, basically overnight, because of the gold rush?   Boomtown  
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Most immigrants who built the railroads came from where?   China  
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Russian immigrants contributed what important agricultural (farming) product?   Russian Wheat Seed  
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What two (2) groups of immigrants worked on the Transcontinental Railroad?   Chinese and Irish.  
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Range wars were fought between what two group of people?   Miners and ranchers  
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BEFORE the Westward Expansion, why did Native Americans move from place to place?   They were following buffalo to hunt.  
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Why did Plains Indians and new settlers have a hard time existing (living) on the same land?   Settlers were mostly farmers & ranchers; Plains Indians were mostly hunters.  
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What changes threatened the way of life for Native Americans of the Great Plains?   -The decline in buffalo herds. -The spreading of telegraph and railroad lines -The arrival of miners, farmers, and ranchers  
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Where did the government put Native Americans after they took their land?   Reservations.  
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Land set aside by the government for Native Americans that were forced to move and live there were called (BLANK)   Reservations  
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Sudden movement of many people to an area where gold was discovered was called the (BLANK)   Gold Rush  
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This service begun in 1860 that used riders on horses to deliver mail from Missouri to California in ten (10) days was called the (BLANK)   Pony Express  
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A large farm, especially in the western United States, on which large herds of cattle, sheep, or horses were raised was called a (BLANK).   Ranch  
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What is an exoduster?   African-American pioneers who fled the South to farm on the Great Plains.  
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What best describes how Native Americans live TODAY?   Many Native Americans try to keep traditional cultures alive by speaking their ancestors' language and telling their history.  
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Why were Native Americans unhappy with the building of the Railroad?   The trains scared the buffalo.  
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What happened to the treaty (agreement) of the Sioux and U.S.?   The treaty was broken when gold was found in the Black Hills.  
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How did Native Americans react to the Sand Creek Massacre?   They attacked; causing the Battle of Little Big Horn.  
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The Battle of Little Big Horn convinced the U.S. to...   Take a stronger action against Native Americans  
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What is the significance (importance)of the Battle of Wounded Knee?   It was the last major battle between the U.S. and Native Americans.  
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What invention made the work of cowboys driving cattle through the plains difficult?   The invention of barbed wire.  
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