Deck 11: Moving West

Question 1

Perhaps most emigrants to the Far West were motivated by dreams of

A) bettering their lives by cultivating the land.
B) making a fortune by the mining of gold.
C) restoring their health by escaping debilitating sicknesses.
D) bringing Christianity and education to the Indians.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

As a result of Mexican restrictions in Texas, American settlers there

A) freed their slaves.
B) disallowed further American immigration.
C) plotted a revolution.
D) converted to Roman Catholicism.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The town of Santa Fe was

A) settled by Americans in the 1820s to promote trade.
B) fiercely guarded and protected during the Mexican War.
C) captured and annexed by Texans in 1841.
D) occupied without a shot by American forces in 1846.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

All of the following factors nourished an American conviction that California must become part of the United States EXCEPT the

A) favorable position of California for the China trade.
B) ethos of Manifest Destiny.
C) desire of newcomers to blend into California society.
D) suspicion that other nations had designs on the region.

Question 5

In his popular Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California (1845), Lansford Hastings

A) maintained that California belonged rightfully to the United States rather than Mexico.
B) applauded the concept of joint occupation of Oregon with the British.
C) defended the rights of Native Americans to certain lands of the Northwest.
D) provided both practical information as well as encouragement for frontier settlers.

Question 6

In the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, the United States

A) accepted a southern border excluding Texas.
B) purchased southern Arizona from Mexico.
C) recognized the independent Republic of Fredonia.
D) surrendered its claims to Florida.

Question 7

Eastern Indian tribes from the South and Old Northwest, whom the American government forcibly relocated in the West,

A) received permanent protection of their new lands.
B) served ironically as agents of white civilization.
C) strengthened Native American resistance to further white expansion.
D) converted the Plains Indians to agricultural enterprises.

Question 8

By 1860, the number of Americans living in the trans-Mississippi West

A) exceeded 8 million.
B) exceeded 6 million.
C) exceeded 4 million.
D) was approximately one million.

Question 9

Americans were attracted to Texas in the 1820s by the

A) prospect of mining for precious metals.
B) flourishing trade in bison robes and cowhides.
C) lure of cheap land for cotton cultivation.
D) demand of Mexicans for American products.

Question 10

According to agreements made in 1818 and 1827, the United States and Great Britain

A) jointly occupied Oregon.
B) cooperated in the fur trade.
C) extended the slave trade.
D) engaged in joint explorations of the Northwest.

Question 11

Democrats such as Stephen Douglas supported the annexation of Texas on the grounds that it would

A) expand the institution of slavery.
B) ease sectional tensions within the United States.
C) secure the reelection of John Tyler.
D) spread the benefits of American civilization.

Question 12

The slogan "Manifest Destiny" referred to the conviction of Americans in the 1840s that the United States had a(n)

A) God-given right to exist as a nation.
B) opportunity to replace greed with benevolence.
C) obligation to spread across the continent.
D) mission to free slaves.

Question 13

Most of the emigrants who headed for the Far West were

A) white and American-born.
B) members of the poorest class.
C) slaveholders from the Deep South.
D) Asians, especially from China.

Question 14

In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), the United States agreed to

A) guarantee the civil and political rights of former Mexican citizens.
B) pay $10 million for large tracts of land in New Mexico.
C) collect all outstanding American claims against Mexico.
D) receive $15 million in reparations from Mexico.

Question 15

With the victory at San Jacinto in 1836, Texas

A) won recognition from the Mexican Congress.
B) lost heroes Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie.
C) gained its independence from Mexico.
D) secured admission to the United States.

Question 16

In reference to the Oregon question, President Polk

A) recommended a continued joint occupation with Britain.
B) supported a division of the territory at the 49th parallel.
C) exercised great tact and skill in achieving a compromise.
D) demanded a "fifty-four forty or fight" resolution.

Question 17

In 1845, President Polk sent ________ to Mexico City

A) Secretary of State James Buchanan
B) General Zachary Taylor
C) diplomat Nicholas Trist
D) secret agent John L. Slidell

Question 18

By 1843 in Oregon,

A) most Americans were located north of the Columbia River.
B) the number of American settlers gradually declined.
C) the British expanded their interests in the fur trade.
D) American settlers wrote a constitution and elected a legislature.

Question 19

In 1815, Spain held the title to all of the following present-day lands EXCEPT

A) Louisiana.
B) California.
C) Texas.
D) New Mexico.

Question 20

Britain agreed to a division of the Oregon Territory at the 49th parallel so long as it retained possession of

A) the Columbia River.
B) Vancouver Island.
C) the Puget Sound.
D) the Willamette Valley.

Question 21

Which of the following statements accurately describes the gold miners in California?

A) Most were unmarried men.
B) Most were young, in their twenties.
C) About 80 percent of them came from the United States.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 22

For most emigrants on the overland trails,

A) a traditional division of labor persisted through the journey.
B) the trip proved novel and even enjoyable.
C) drawing up rules and electing officers prevented dissension.
D) difficulties multiplied as the trip lengthened.

Question 23

In Oregon, early settlers seemed most anxious and able to establish

A) a political system.
B) public schools.
C) organized churches.
D) social clubs.

Question 24

The first task facing pioneer farmers was to

A) plant a crop.
B) locate a suitable claim.
C) construct a crude shelter.
D) clear the land.

Question 25

In contrast to the travel journal of Robert Bode, the travel journal of Mary Stuart Bailey reveals a greater preoccupation with the

A) conditions of travel.
B) tools of survival.
C) availability of food.
D) beauty of the landscape.

Question 26

Which of the following ethnic and racial groups were present in California during the 1850s?

A) Asians
B) African Americans
C) Europeans
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 27

Explain American justification of westward expansion in the 1840s.

Question 28

Plains tribes that stood in the path of Anglo American westward expansion included

A) Cheyenne.
B) Apache.
C) Arapaho.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 29

In 1850, prostitutes accounted for approximately ______ percent of the female population in California.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 60
D) 80

Question 30

Mining camps were characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

A) prostitution.
B) gambling.
C) large numbers of women.
D) heavy drinking.

Question 31

Of the following are true regarding the Chinese American population in the 1800s EXCEPT they

A) were mostly men.
B) earned less than they could have in China.
C) were fearful of white miners.
D) worked in a variety of occupations besides mining.

Question 32

The Plains tribes posed an obstacle to white settlement due to their

A) skills in warfare
B) possession of guns.
C) possession of horses.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 33

In contrast to the agricultural frontier, migrants to the mining frontier were more

A) successful in establishing local government.
B) intent on making a quick profit.
C) often married and older in age.
D) isolated from their neighbors.

Question 34

Which of the following were major cities in the western United States in the 1800s?

A) San Francisco
B) Denver
C) St. Louis
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 35

Americans encountered a Spanish-speaking culture in which of the following places?

A) New Mexico.
B) Texas.
C) California.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 36

The Preemption Acts during the 1830s and 1840s

A) increased the minimum amount of public-land purchases.
B) reserved choice public lands for the political elite.
C) encouraged westward migration by protection of "squatters' rights."
D) offered free government land to prospective settlers.

Question 37

Discuss the status of foreign claims and possessions in the trans-Mississippi West from 1811 to 1840. Trace the development of American interests in the region during this era.

Question 38

For pioneers in the west, determination to reestablish familiar institutions was most apparent in

A) law and politics.
B) setting up churches.
C) building schools.
D) willingness to spend money.

Question 39

From 1823 to 1845, Texas grew from a sparsely settled region of northern Mexico to an independent republic to a state in the American Union. Discuss the reasons for and the major events of this transformation.

Question 40

Which of the following areas experienced a gold rush in the 1800s in the United States?

A) South Dakota
B) Montana
C) Colorado
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 41

Contrast the different lives and tasks faced by pioneers on the agricultural, mining, and urban frontiers in the West of the 1840s and 1850s.

Question 42

Describe the culture and political organization of the Plains Indians. Discuss how and why their relationship with white Americans changed from the 1840s to 1851.

Question 43

Write a history of American westward expansion from 1820 to 1860 from the Mexican point of view.

Question 44

Emigrants passing through Utah encountered a Mormon society that seemed "familiar and orderly, yet foreign and shocking." Explain.

Question 45

What led so many Americans to sell most of their possessions and embark on an unknown future thousands of miles away in Oregon or California during the 1840s?

Question 46

Analyze President Polk's actions in handling the Oregon question. Was Polk lucky or smart in achieving a peaceful compromise with Britain?

Question 47

Was the American war against Mexico from 1846-1848 justifiable?