Name:______
Chapter 17- The West Test
Matching
Term / Answer / Definiton1. vigilante / A. Spanish word for cowboy
2. reservation / B. settlers who acquired free land from the government.
3. vaquero / C. Plains farmers
4. sooner / D. People who arrived before the boomers during the Oklahoma land rush.
5. transcontinental / E. Groups of farmers who pooled their money to make large purchases of tools, seeds, etc.
6. cattle drive / F. Self-appointed law keepers
7. sodbuster / G. Spanning the continent
8. farm cooperative / H. The herding and moving of cattle over long distances
9. subsidy / I. A general rise in prices.
10. cow town / J. Grants of land or money
11. homesteader / K. Land set aside for Native Americans to live on.
12. inflation / L. Settlement at the end of a cattle trail that had saloons, dance halls, etc.
Multiple Choice- Choose the best answer.
1. Which of the following correctly describes the impact of the discovery of gold and silver in the West?
a. The discovery of gold and silver led to an increase in settlers and mining companies coming westward.
b. The discovery of gold and silver made the Native Americans very rich.
c. All of the gold and silver was given to former slaves by the Freedmen’s Bureau.
d. The discovery of gold and silver only affected the population of California.
2. Individuals who hunted down bandits and imposed their own rough brands of justice were known as
a. Bounty Hunters
b. Night Riders
c. Vaqueros
d. Vigilantes
3. The most important animal to the Plains Indians was
a. The sheep
b. The cow
c. The buffalo
d. The Longhorn
4. The rise of new towns, new states, and influx of immigration to the United States, was a direct result of the
a. Construction of the transcontinental railroad
b. Reservation system
c. Construction of the Aswan Dam
d. Need for vigilantes to maintain order in towns.
5. The last major victory for Native Americans during their resistance movements took place at
a. Plymouth
b. Little Big Horn
c. Bunker Hill
d. Bull Run
6. Which of the following describes why cattle drives were so dangerous?
a. They often lasted two to three months
b. Lightning and other poor weather conditions often scared the herds
c. Swift river currents could sometimes carry animals away
d. All of these
7. Which of the following describes the importance of Cow Towns to the West?
a. They served as spots to store cattle for the winter.
b. They served as spots for cowhands to rest and relax along a cattle trail
c. They served as places for cattle to go to be slaughtered
d. They were places where diseased animals could go to seek treatment
8. Which of the following describes why the cattle industry began to decline by 1886?
a. Scorching summers and frigid winters killed a lot of the cattle.
b. The diet of most Americans became vegetarian.
c. The Civil War took the focus off the economy and onto war.
d. The discovery of gold in California led to a shift to a mining economy.
9. How did mining and railroads attract people to the west?
a. Offered jobs and a chance to get rich
b. Affordable housing in the west
c. Tropical climates
d. A chance for religious freedom
10. How did the federal government aid in the construction of the transcontinental railroad?
a. They provided workers
b. Offered subsidized loans and free land
c. Sent workers to the west
d. Forced ex-Confederate soldiers to build the rail lines
11. Why did the federal government help the railroads expand into the west?
a. Wanted to remove the French from lands in the Great Plains
b. Wanted to fulfill manifest destiny and help more territories gain statehood
c. Preferred railroad transportation to dirt roads
d. To transport military supplies to aid the war with Mexico
12. Why was the buffalo so important to Native Americans?
a. It carried great spiritual value
b. They made great pets
c. Almost every part of it could be used to help them survive
d. They could be used in battle against the white settlers
13. What did the Populists want?
a. Less government restrictions on the economy
b. Lower prices on crops and raw materials
c. Silver to be used to back U.S. currency so inflation would occur
d. William McKinley to win the election of 1896
Short Answer-1 point each. Answer in complete sentences
14. What was one way farmers tried to save money so that their farms wouldn't be foreclosed on?
15. What was the difference between how Native Americans and American settlers viewed unclaimed land in the West?
16. What was one way farmers adapted to life on the Great Plains?
17. What was one reason why people wanted to move west?
18. Where did the majority of the American population live in 1850?
True/False- 1 point each
Directions: Decide whether each statement is true or false.
1. The Homestead Act was an attempt to help the poor by giving them a chance to own a farm.
2. The railroad industry hurt the farming industry, because all of the prime farmland was absorbed by the railroad companies.
3. The Plains offered fertile soil that was easy to farm.
4. African Americans who left the south to settle on the Plains were known as “exodusters.”
5. Overproduction and the resulting surplus of crops, led to the decline in prices of crops.
6. The Republican Party candidate in the presidential election of 1896, William McKinley, was supported by the Populists.
7. The Populist Party was primarily concerned with social reform.
8. Farm Cooperatives were formed so that farmers could make large purchases of tools, seed, and other supplies at discounted prices.
9. William Jennings Bryan won the election of 1896.
10. The Populist Party wanted to use silver as the basis for the money supply, to create inflation so that farmers could be able to pay off their debts.
Paragraph=15 points
In a well-organized paragraph, explain the effect that U.S. westward expansion had on Native Americans. You are encouraged to use specific examples that you researched in your project. You must have a topic sentence, at least 5 sentences of details and a “So What” statement that tells the reader why this information is important to American history.
Chapter 17-The West Test-Answer Sheet
Short Answer and Paragraph
Matching
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Multiple Choice
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True/False
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