U.S. Territorial Expansion up until 1860 1. How many Americans had crossed the Appalachian Mountains by 1790? What percent of the U.S. population lived West of the Appalachians by then? 2. List at least 5 major roads or trails that were used by the time of our independence. Describe roads in America at the time of our independence. 3. What road did Daniel Boone help to build? 4. What were turnpikes? 5. When did Congress authorize the construction of the National (Cumberland) road? Where was it built? What is significant and/or controversial about its construction? 6. When were the following states admitted into the United States? a. Ohio b. Kentucky c. Tennessee d. Michigan e. Wisconsin f. Illinois g. Indiana h. Alabama i. Mississippi j. Arkansas k. Louisiana l. Missouri m. Texas n. California 7. Where does the “West” begin, according to U.S. Historian Bernard De Voto? 8. Why were very few permanent settlements founded on the Great Plains early on? 9. Define “frontier” 10. What is the size and makeup (e.g. topography, climate, etc. ) of the Great Plains? 11. How long did it normally take a person on horseback to cross the Great Plains? What was the typical method used by pioneers to cross the Great Plains? 12. Who was the party of emigrants moving West in Emanuel Leutze’s painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” comprised of? 13. Who were the “new masters” of the American continent in Crawford’s The Progress of Civilization? 14. What scenes and symbols were depicted in Inness’s The Lackawanna Valley to illustrate the belief in Manifest Destiny? 15. Who or what aided westward expansion in Gast’s Manifest Destiny (aka American Progress)? 16. What percentage of Americans lived in rural areas by 1820? 17. What did Britain and the U.S. agree to do with the Oregon Country in 1818? 18. What was the average travel time from New York to the following places in 1830? a. Philadelphia b. Boston c. Richmond d. Buffalo e. Savannah f. Atlanta g. New Orleans h. Memphis i. St. Louis j. Cincinnati k. La Crosse 19. How long did it take a letter to get from Savannah, Georgia to Portland, Maine in 1789? 20. List three major problems presented by river transport. 21. List and explain the two most common kinds of river craft used in the early part of the century. 22. On average, how many flatboats carried commodities from the Ohio Valley to southern markets between 1815‐1840? 23. Who developed the first working steamboat in America? 24. How do steam engines work? 25. Why did John Fitch’s steamboat service ultimately fail? 26. How did James Rumsey’s steamboat work? 27. How/why did Robert Fulton’s steamboat service succeed where others had failed? What was the name of Fulton’s first steamboat? When was it’s maiden voyage? Where did it operate? 28. What three technological centers supplied most of the steam engines? 29. What “solution” enabled farmers in the Old Northwest to sell their products in eastern markets? 30. When\Where was the Erie Canal dug? Who provided much of the labor in constructing it? What were its dimensions? What was done to prevent it from becoming a muddy ditch? What was used to pay off the costs associated with constructing it? 31. How/why did the Erie Canal earn the title “The Granddaddy of them all”? LIST AT LEAST 5 reasons. 32. What was used to overcome the 70’ difference in elevation at the two ends of the Erie Canal? 33. What points did the following canals connect? a. Illinois and Michigan Canal b. Wabash and Erie Canal c. Miami and Erie Canal d. Ohio and Erie Canal e. Pennsylvania Canal f. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal g. James and Kanawha Canal 34. Why did the U.S. army assume the task of building roads in the United States? 35. In what way(s) did the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lead the way in opening up the trans‐
Mississippi West to settlement? List at least 4. 36. List 5 major western explorers between 1804‐1844 37. What was the purpose/role of western forts? Identify at least 10 forts by both name and location out west. 38. What was the Pony Express used for? Trace the route(s) of the Pony Express. When/why was the Pony Express ended? 39. How/why did western trails develop or emerge? 40. What trail(s) would you take if you were a pioneer heading out for the following places? Make certain to identify where you would pick up the trail head. What sites/places/locations would you pass through along your route(s)? a. Los Angeles, California b. San Francisco, California c. Sacramento, California d. Salt Lake City, Utah e. Portland, Oregon f. El Paso, Texas g. Tucson, Arizona h. Sante Fe, New Mexico i. San Diego, California 41. Roughly how long did it take to travel the full length of the Oregon Trail. 42. What housing problem did farmers/homesteaders on the Great Plains confront? How did they solve this problem? 43. What was a “bee”? 44. Identify the gun “that won the West” and explain how/why. 45. What percent of land in the U.S. was used for farming by 1850? By what percentage did the percentage of land used for farming increase between 1850‐1900? How much did wheat cultivation increase during the same period? 46. What was the Homestead Act of 1862? How much of the U.S. land passed into the hands of individual citizens as a result of the Homestead Act of 1862? 47. What was the intended purpose of the Timber and Stone Act of 1878? Why did the plan fail? 48. By what percentage did settlement on the prairies and Great Plains increase the nation’s farmland? 49. What 1848 event dramatically increased use of the Oregon Trail? When/why did use of the Oregon Trail halt? 50. What was the annual value of goods exchanged along the Santa Fe Trail by 1855? When/why did use of the Sante Fe Trail halt? 51. List the four major steps by which the U.S. gained most of its western land between 1845 and 1853. 52. What proportion of the U.S. remained unsettled by 1865? 53. Roughly how many settlers lived in California and the Oregon Country by 1865? Roughly how many settlers lived in The Great Salt Lake City Basin by 1865? Roughly how many settlers lived in New Mexico by 1865? 54. Where did the frontier begin in 1865? 55. Approximately how many acres of territory were settled between 1607‐1870? How many acres were settled between 1870‐1900? Where did pioneers settle during the latter period? Who were those pioneers mainly? What factors contributed to this settlement? 56. Who/what contributed toward the organization and settlement of the Oregon Country? 57. What was the Compromise of 1850 and why was it necessary? 58. How many miles of railroad track were laid between 1830 and 1860? 59. Who created the first steam locomotive to run on rails in the U.S.? When? Where? 60. Describe how a steam locomotive works. 61. Why didn’t the John Bull in particular and British steam engine locomotives in general not fare well in the United States? What adaptations were made to make it work? 62. What was America’s first railway? Where did it operate? When was it established? How was it financed? 63. How much was travel/transport between New York City and Chicago shortened after Cornelius Vanderbilt consolidated his New York Central Railroad? 64. Identify the four major eastern trunk lines? Which of these trunk lines was self‐labeled “the Standard of Railroads”? 65. How many systems of integrated railroad lines existed in the U.S. by 1865? 66. Why didn’t early railroads promote large scale industry and commerce? 67. Why was competition between and among the railroads so ruthless and self‐destructive? Left off at slide 80 68. What was the Erie War? 69. How does a corporation work? What are the benefits of forming a corporation? BE SPECIFIC. 70. What was the rate of growth in railroads between 1840‐1860? 71. In what way(s) is the railroad an “economic multiplier”? 72. How much did railroads reduce the price of shipping between 1815 and 1860? 73. What problems existed during the early years of train travel? How were these problems overcome? Be specific. 74. Before the adoption of a standard gauge, how many times would passengers/freight headed to Chicago from New York have to be transferred? Charleston to Philadelphia? 75. How many different gauges of railroad track were used in the U.S. by 1860? 76. What was the standard gauge eventually adopted in the U.S.? Who is credited for this development? When did Congress require this standard gauged be adopted? 77. How many miles of railroad track were laid between 1860 and 1890? 78. What was the Bessemer process? When was it first used? What was significant about this inventive process? 79. Who was Siemens‐Martin? 80. What were the major challenges in constructing a transcontinental railroad? 81. How/why did the federal government promote the construction of a transcontinental railroad? Why was government assistance necessary? BE SPECIFIC. 82. How did a transcontinental railroad promote both nationalism and sectionalism? 83. What was considered by many to be the “best route” to build a transcontinental railroad? 84. What was the Gadsden Purchase and why was it negotiated? 85. What was the Kansas‐Nebraska Act of 1854 and why was it proposed? Who were the supporters and opponents of the bill? How did the Kansas‐Nebraska Act contribute to the formation of the Republican Party? 86. How/why did the first transcontinental railroad follow a central route? 87. How much land was granted to the railroads by the federal government? 89. What scheme was created by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 (i.e. how would the program/policy/system operate)? 90. Given that railroad companies often had to capitalize their ventures and enterprises when constructing a new line, what were the various ways in which the railroad could generate profits and return dividend to their investors? BE SPECIFIC. 91. On average, how much was each railroad company earning per mile of track built by 1868? 92. What happened if/when railroad companies failed to exercise their claim(s) on the land grant(s) they received (i.e. if/when they failed to complete a track or line)? 93. When did construction of America’s first transcontinental railroad begin? What two companies were chosen to build it? Where did construction begin and end? When was the work completed? 94. Why did a lot of the track initially laid during the construction of the first transcontinental railroad have to be replaced? 95. Who handled the business/financial and construction end(s) of constructing America’s first transcontinental railroad? 96. How was work along the Union Pacific railroad end of the transcontinental line organized? What was the rate of construction; how many total miles of Union Pacific track was laid and at what cost? 97. What did the Amerindians call the steam engine locomotive? 98. What issues and controversies surrounded the use of Chinese laborers prior to and during the construction of the Central Pacific line of the transcontinental route? Given such controversies, why were Chinese laborers even used? 99. Evaluate the effort(s) and performance of Chinese laborers in constructing the Central Pacific line of the transcontinental railroad. BE SPECIFIC. 100. How many lines of track were laid by the Central Pacific railroad and at what cost? 101. What was the total length of America’s first transcontinental railroad? 102. What was the Credit Mobilier scandal? 103. By how much time did the first transcontinental railroad cut a trip across the continental United States? 104. What percent of the total railroad mileage built in the U.S. between 1860‐1920 was built as the direct result of federal land grants and subsidies? 105. How many miles of railroad track were built by 1870? How many additional miles of railroad track were built between 1870‐1900? 106. Beside the Union Pacific and Central Pacific line, what other transcontinental railroads were built in the 19th century? 107. What connection exists between the transcontinental railroad (as well as railroad business in general) and the adoption of standard time zones? When was the standard time zone system adopted? 108. How does the system of standard time zones work? What are the four standard time zones in the continental/contiguous United States? 109. When was the first message transmitted via telegraph signal in the United States? What role did Samuel F.B. Morse and Joseph Henry play in this developmental process? How does and electromagnetic telegraph work? 110. Why were the railroads the first to use the telegraph? 111. How many miles of telegraph lines were built by 1852? 112. What industry experienced the most rapid growth during the time period covered on the PowerPoint? 113. What is significant about telegraph communication? BE SPECIFIC. 114. List and explain the significance of at least 5 developments in railroad travel and/or transportation (e.g. George Pullman—the Pioneer/the Delmonico, George Westinghouse). 115. Describe the pace of railroad development—it what way(s) was it harmful? 116. What were “the Granger Roads”—identify them 117. What impact did the following individuals or groups have on the ranching industry (whether positive or negative)? Joseph McCoy Gustavus Swift and Philip Armour Farmers Joseph Glidden Sheep herders Daniel Halladay the railroad 118. How and why did the cattle ranching industry develop on the Great Plains? BE SPECIFIC (e.g. what opportunities, developments, demands, or incentives were exploited, etc….) 119. Describe a typical cattle drive (i.e. the size/makeup of the crew, job roles/responsibilities, length of time and distance, daily routines, challenges and demands, etc.) 120. Identify the following: Cattle trails (e.g. trailhead, destination(s), what states/territories they passed through, what western railroad(s) they used, etc.) Cattle towns (include the first as well as the most famous): 121. Which cattle trail was taken miles out of its way to avoid problems with Native Americans? 122. What was the percentage growth of steerage shipped to Chicago between 1867‐1871? 123. What period is considered the “boom” of the cattle ranching industry? 123. Describe the typical cowboy. 124. Who was Nat Love? 125. List the major mines for the following minerals and metals: Gold: Silver: Copper: Zinc: Lead: Molybdenum: 126. What is the importance/value of the aforementioned minerals/metals? 127. Identify the following: “49ers” “59ers” U.S. Geological Survey 128. What accounted for the population boom in Nevada during this period? Why did it decline? 129. Who settled in Utah? What were these settlers seeking? 130. What accounted for the rapid settlement of California during this period? List the major settlements.