Deck 6: American Infiltration

Question 1

Which of the following statements about Thomas O.Larkin is FALSE?

A)He came to Monterey from Massachusetts in 1832.
B)His wife was the first American woman to live in California.
C)He was a very successful merchant in California.
D)He became a Roman Catholic and Mexican citizen.

Answer 1

He became a Roman Catholic and Mexican citizen.

Question 2

By the end of the Spanish period,American trading interests focused mainly on California's

A)sea otter.
B)fur seal.
C)hides and tallow.
D)wheat.

Answer 2

hides and tallow.

Question 3

The labor on John Sutter's cattle ranch,farm,and workshops in California was provided primarily by

A)recently arrived settlers from the United States.
B)runaway African-American slaves.
C)veterans of the Spanish army.
D)local Indians.

Answer 3

local Indians.

Question 4

Overland migration to California from the United States was

A)at its peak in the 1830s.
B)made easier by Hastings' Emigrant's Guide.
C)declining by the 1840s.
D)stimulated by reports from Americans such as Fremont,Marsh,and Larkin.

Question 5

The most important foreigners to enter Mexican California came from the United States.

Question 6

Most Americans who entered Mexican California did not come with the intention of Americanizing the province.

Question 7

James Ohio Pattie came to California as a

A)fur trapper.
B)farmer.
C)merchant.
D)hide and tallow trader.

Question 8

The increased presence of American infiltrators in California

A)was welcomed by Mexican officials eager for "enterprising citizens" to develop local resources.
B)stirred considerable apprehension among Mexican authorities.
C)led Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to predict that his fellow Californios would surrender without a fight.
D)prompted Spain to form an anti-immigration alliance with Mexico.

Question 9

The first recorded westward crossing through the center of the Sierra Nevada was made by

A)Joseph Walker.
B)Jedediah Smith
C)Tamsen Donner.
D)Theodore Ebbetts.

Question 10

Jedediah Smith's explorations of California were limited only to the coastal areas of the province.

Question 11

The right "pathfinder" to California was John C.Fremont.

Question 12

"California Banknotes" were

A)cowhides.
B)printed on thin cigarette papers.
C)issued by a mint in Valparaiso for circulation in Alta and Baja California.
D)beaver pelts.

Question 13

The first organized group to cross the Rockies for the purpose of settlement in California was the Bidwell-Bartleson party of 1841.

Question 14

Abel Stearns was the only American settler in California to avoid naturalization and marriage to a "native daughter".

Question 15

John Marsh

A)came to California as a fugitive from a Boston jail.
B)became a successful rancher in California's Great Central Valley.
C)was executed treason by Mexican officials.
D)was a business partner of Thomas O.Larkin.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about John Sutter is FALSE?

A)He was a native of Boston.
B)He established "New Helvetia" in the Sacramento Valley.
C)He became a Mexican citizen.
D)He purchased the livestock and implements of Fort Ross.

Question 17

The book Two Years Before the Mast significantly increased American interest in California.

Question 18

The first recorded anchorage of an American ship on the coast of California was the result of an incident involving the

A)sea otter trade.
B)hide and tallow trade.
C)arrival of the first Protestant missionaries from the USA.
D)establishment of diplomatic relations with the USA.

Question 19

Two Years Before the Mast,the classic description of the California hide and tallow trade,was written by.

A)Lansford W.Hastings.
B)Alfred Robinson.
C)Thomas O.Larkin.
D)Richard Henry Dana.

Question 20

According to the text,the population of sea otters and fur seals along the California coast

A)had been almost exterminated by the end of the Spanish period.
B)rebounded during the Mexican period.
C)migrated to protected sanctuaries in the Aleutian Islands.
D)inspired Russian hunters to adopt "sustainable yield" practices in the early 1800s.

Question 21

Describe the major overland pioneer groups which came to California during the 1841-1846 period.How were these parties organized,and what problems did they encounter as they crossed the continent?

Question 22

Contrast the relations between each of the following groups of Americans and their Mexican hosts: sea otter hunters,hide and tallow traders,beaver trappers,early settlers and overland pioneers.

Question 23

Hastings' Emigrant's Guide to California was an accurate and valuable aid to overland travelers to California.

Question 24

How did Marian Guadalupe Vallejo initially regard the early American infiltration of Mexican California? If you had been a Californio in 1841 would you have shared Vallejo's views? Why or why not?

Question 25

The worst disaster in the history of the California Trail was endured by the Donner Party.

Question 26

According to Rawls and Bean,overland migration was laying the ground for eventual American sovereignty.

Question 27

Explain the major economic activities of early American settlers in California.

Question 28

What were the motives which brought early Americans to California?