Westward Expansion Quiz

What was the main idea behind Manifest Destiny?

• The belief that the U.S. was meant to expand westward

• Expanding voting rights

• Limiting immigration

• Protecting Native American lands

What trail did pioneers most commonly use to travel west?

• Oregon Trail

• Freedom Trail

• Appalachian Trail

• Pony Express Trail

What group was most negatively affected by westward expansion?

• Native Americans

• French settlers

• African explorers

• Canadian traders

Why did many settlers move to California in 1849?

• To search for gold

• To escape war

• To find religious freedom

• To hunt buffalo

The war between the U.S. and Mexico began over disputes in which region?

• Texas

• Oregon Territory

• California

• Louisiana Territory

What was a major result of the Mexican-American War?

• The U.S. gained the Southwest and California

• The U.S. gained control of Alaska

• Mexico took over Texas

• Native Americans won new lands

The idea of Manifest Destiny helped justify...

• Westward expansion

• Slavery in the North

• Expanding the railroad system

• Building the Erie Canal

What year did the California Gold Rush begin?

• 1849

• 1830

• 1855

• 1861

What was the name given to people who rushed to California in search of gold?

• Forty-Niners

• Forty-Eighters

• Trailblazers

• Minutemen

What was the Gadsden Purchase?

• The final piece of land added to the continental U.S.

• A land trade with Britain

• A railroad treaty with Mexico

• A canal system deal with France