Westward
Expansion
The Essential Questions Handbook © 2011 by Q2AMedia, Scholastic Teaching Resources
In the nineteenth century, the United States
exploded in size and population due to
westward expansion. Pioneers went west for
a variety of reasons, and Native American
cultures were drastically affected. The Lewis
and Clark expedition, the Gold Rush, the
Oregon Trail, the Homestead Act, and the
transcontinental railroad all contributed to
changing the face of America.
People move for a variety of reasons.
In the 1800s, the United States underwent a tremendous amount of exploration,
expansion, and settlement of lands west of the Mississippi River.
Westward expansion was influenced by geography and economic opportunity.
Successful pioneers used collaboration, courage, and imagination to
overcome challenges.
Change and progress can have both positive and negative effects.
Westward expansion forever altered the lives of Native Americans.
Vocabulary List
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Annex
Great Plains
Oregon Trail
Boundary
Homesteader
Pioneer
Conestoga wagon
Homestead Act
Squatter
Forty-niner
Louisiana Purchase
Transcontinental
Frontier
Nationalism
Social Studies
Essential Questions
Use these questions to help students understand the issues leading to and resulting from
westward expansion.
• Why did pioneers move from the East to the western frontier in the nineteenth century?
• What challenges did they face on their journeys?
The Essential Questions Handbook © 2011 by Q2AMedia, Scholastic Teaching Resources
• Why do people take risks like those experienced during westward expansion?
• What role did the American government play in the movement westward?
• Why was the Lewis and Clark expedition important?
• What challenges did pioneers who settled in western lands face?
• Why did some pioneers prosper, and why did others not prosper?
• What is the “pioneer spirit”?
• How did westward expansion affect Native Americans, then and now?
• How did technology affect westward expansion?
• How did westward expansion change the American economy?
Add your own questions!
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