Chapter 11 Study Guide

Name:

Matching

Match each item with the correct statement below.

a.	Santa Fe Trail	f.	forty-niners
b.	Tejanos	g.	James K. Polk
c.	vigilance committees	h.	Joseph Smith
d.	the Alamo	i.	Oregon Country
e.	Manifest Destiny	j.	missions

formed in response to the lawlessness in mining towns

a mission where a small Texan force fought for twelve days against Santa Anna’s forces

idea that it was inevitable that the United States would expand to the Pacific Ocean

came to California in search of gold

went from Missouri into New Mexico Territory

founder of the Mormon church

an area between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains and north of California

Mexicans who viewed Texas as their home

Spanish settlements built to convert Native Americans to Christianity and put them to work

10.

president who was determined to get New Mexico and California from Mexico through war

Match each item with the correct statement below.

a.	Davy Crockett	f.	Stephen F. Austin
b.	Gadsden Purchase	g.	Texas
c.	mountain men	h.	Bear Flag Republic
d.	Mormons	i.	Oregon Trail
e.	Sam Houston	j.	Kit Carson

11.

land acquisition in 1853

12.

a large American landowner and political leader in Texas

13.

annexed by the United States in 1845

14.

killed at the Alamo

15.

formed by Americans in Sonoma, California

16.

trapped for fur in the Oregon Country and adopted Native American ways

17.

settled in the Great Salt Lake area in Utah

18.

followed by tens of thousands of settlers westward

19.

guided settlers westward

20.

president of the Lone Star Republic

Match each item with the correct statement below.

a.	joint occupation	d.	Cayuse
b.	mountain men	e.	South Pass
c.	rendezvous

21.

agreement over Oregon in 1818

22.

on the main route to Oregon country

23.

killed the Whitmans

24.

meeting for trade

25.

resourceful fur trappers

Match each item with the correct statement below.

a.	Tejano	d.	Stephen F. Austin
b.	empresario	e.	Santa Anna
c.	Davy Crockett

26.

Mexican dictator during Texas War for Independence

27.

leader of Texas independence movement

28.

a Mexican who claimed Texas as his or her home

29.

former congressman who died at the Alamo

Match each item with the correct statement below.

a.	Juan Bautista de Anza	d.	William Becknell
b.	rancho	e.	John C. Frémont
c.	John Sutter

30.

built trading post in Sacramento Valley

31.

American army officer who traveled through California

32.

the first American trader to reach Santa Fe

Match each item with the correct statement below.

a.	forty-niner	d.	Joseph Smith
b.	California Gold Rush	e.	Brigham Young
c.	vigilantes

33.

led the Mormons to the Great Salt Lake

34.

they take the law into their own hands

35.

founded the Mormon church

36.

sought gold in California

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

37.

Why did mountain men travel to the Oregon country?

a.	to claim farmsteads
b.	to become cowboys
c.	to collect beaver pelts to sell for profit
d.	to fight Native Americans

38.

Why did Spain offer land in Texas to American settlers after the United States dropped its claim to the area?

a.	to bring settlers to fight Native Americans
b.	to promote economic development
c.	to fulfill the terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty
d.	to show gratitude to the United States

39.

What was the significance of the Battle of the Alamo?

a.	It united Texas in the common cause.
b.	The Texans’ bravery provided inspiration in the fight for independence.
c.	It gave Texan leaders time to declare independence from Mexico.
d.	All of the above

40.

Why did Texans want to be independent from Mexico?

a.	They wanted to stop emigration from the United States.
b.	Stephen Austin had become a dictator.
c.	Santa Anna had overthrown Mexico’s constitution.
d.	All of the above

41.

Who was against the Mexican-American War?

a.	Northerners	c.	Democrats
b.	Southerners	d.	the media

42.

What issue brought difficulties to the admission of new states to the union during the early and mid-1800s?

a.	manifest destiny	c.	access to overland trails
b.	trade restrictions	d.	disputes over the spread of slavery

43.

What was one result of the California Gold Rush?

a.	Chicago was depopulated.
b.	Boomtowns were abandoned.
c.	California cities flourished.
d.	Most forty-niners got rich.

44.

What was life like in California gold mining camps?

a.	There were very few women.
b.	Vigilantes acted as judge and jury.
c.	There was much criminal activity.
d.	All of the above

45.

Why did Utah not become a state until 1896?

a.	Slavery was legal there.
b.	Mormons resisted federal authority.
c.	Mexico would not sell the territory.
d.	Polygamy angered many people.

46.

Davy Crockett was famous as a

a.	skillful hunter.	c.	fighter who died at the Alamo.
b.	popular Congressman.	d.	all of the above

47.

Stephen Watts Kearny led his troops

a.	from the U.S. to Mexico.	c.	into Mexico City.
b.	across the Rio Grande.	d.	from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

48.

Where were the shots fired that began the Mexican-American War?

a.	in Santa Fe	c.	the area between Mexico and Texas
b.	in Sonoma, California	d.	at the Alamo

49.

Who won most of the battles of the Mexican-American War?

a.	the Texans	c.	the United States
b.	the Mexicans	d.	citizens of Sonoma

Starting from Monroe County, Iowa, on April 19, 1853, and ending near Milwaukie, Oregon Territory, September 13, 1853.
Wednesday, April 19 We are creeping along slowly, one wagon after another... out of one mud hole into another all day . . .
May 1 Still fine weather; wash and scrub all the children...
August 5 (Snake River Ferry) Our turn to cross will come sometime tomorrow. . . . Have to pay three dollars a wagon. . . .
September 4 Ascended [climbed up] a long steep hill this morning, which was very hard on the cattle, and also on myself. [Amelia gave birth to her eighth child 12 days later.] . . .
September 17 We . . . ferried across the Columbia River. . . . Here husband traded two yoke of oxen for a half Section of land with one-half acre planted to potatoes and a small log cabin and lean-to with no windows. This is the journey’s end.

—Amelia Stewart Knight, 1853

50.

What did Amelia Stewart Knight and her family do at journey’s end?

a.	build a log cabin	c.	trade for a cabin and land
b.	stake a claim to an orchard	d.	turn around and travel east

51.

Why did many Americans settle in Oregon?

a.	economic troubles in the East	c.	the belief in Manifest Destiny
b.	the promise of fertile farmland	d.	all of the above

52.

Knight described the journey to Oregon country as

a.	not as bad as she thought it would be.	c.	very long and difficult.
b.	relatively easy.	d.	deadly.

53.

Spain gave up its claim to Oregon Country

a.	in the Adams-Onís Treaty.	c.	in the XYZ affair.
b.	in the Treaty of Paris.	d.	in the Gadsden Purchase.

54.

Who were among the first Americans to reach Oregon Country?

a.	missionaries	c.	cotton plantation owners
b.	fur trappers	d.	both A and B

55.

What became an important issue in the presidential election of 1844?

a.	the safety of the Santa Fe Trail
b.	the belief that the United States should have sole possession of Oregon Country
c.	the safety of the Oregon Trail
d.	the belief that the United States should have sole possession of Texas

56.

Why did Mexico halt U.S. immigration to Texas?

a.	American settlers had not adopted Mexican culture.
b.	The area had become overpopulated.
c.	Americans outnumbered Mexicans in Texas.
d.	Both A and C

57.

Andrew Jackson did not immediately annex Texas because he

a.	did not recognized the right of Texas to secede from Mexico.
b.	thought its population was not yet big enough.
c.	did not want to upset the balance between slave and free states in Congress.
d.	was receiving diplomatic pressure from Mexico.

58.

Mexico initially welcomed American settlers in the New Mexico Territory and California because the country

a.	believed settlers would boost the regions’ economies.
b.	hoped to become part of the United States.
c.	needed soldiers to fight Native American.
d.	needed fur trappers and traders.

59.

Why did Americans want to settle California?

a.	They wanted to bring Christianity to Native Americans there.
b.	They believed in Manifest Destiny.
c.	There were profitable coal mines there.
d.	All of the above

60.

What forced the Mexican government to surrender to Americans at the end of the war with Mexico?

a.	the capture of the Alamo	c.	the capture of San Francisco
b.	the capture of Mexico City	d.	a revolt of tejanos

61.

When did the California Gold Rush begin?

a.	at about the same time as the Mexican Cession
b.	before the Mexican-American War
c.	at about the same time a group of settlers set up the Bear Flag Republic
d.	during the Texan Revolution

62.

The California Land Law of 1851

a.	nationalized gold mines.	c.	redistributed land.
b.	eroded Californios’ land rights.	d.	privatized gold mines.

63.

What river did the Mormon trail follow?

a.	Snake River	c.	Platte River
b.	Missouri River	d.	Mississippi River

64.

What is true of most of the land in Mormon territory?

a.	It is in the Great Plains.
b.	It has port cities for trade.
c.	The terrain is very dry and harsh.
d.	The area contains fertile farmland.

65.

Why did the Mormons move to the area near Great Salt Lake?

a.	It was an area of fertile farmland.
b.	They had been persecuted in settled areas.
c.	They were at war with the United States.
d.	Joseph Smith led them there.

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and . . . becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers of their oppression; . . . the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation . . . enjoins it as a right toward themselves and a sacred obligation to their posterity to abolish such government and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.

—Texas Declaration of Independence, adopted March 2, 1836

66.

Texans declared their independence from Mexico because the government

a.	massacred troops at the city of Goliad.
b.	no longer protected the lives, liberty and property of the people.
c.	oppressed Native Americans.
d.	all of the above

67.

The Texas Declaration of Independence was written

a.	while Texans held the Alamo.	c.	during the Battle of San Jacinto.
b.	during the Mexican-American War.	d.	when Stephen Austin was arrested.

68.

What will the new government be designed to do?

a.	make diplomatic agreements with the United States
b.	ask other nations for recognition
c.	protect the people’s welfare and happiness.
d.	ensure equality for all

“We reached the camping place. What first struck our eye was several long rows of Indian tents (lodges), extending along the Green River for at least a mile. Indians and whites were mingled here in varied groups. Of the Indians there had come chiefly Snakes, Flatheads and Nezperces, peaceful tribes, living beyond the Rocky Mountains. Of whites the agents of the different trading companies and a quantity of trappers had found their way here, visiting this fair of the wilderness to buy and to sell, to renew old contracts and to make new ones, to make arrangements for future meetings, to meet old friends, to tell of adventures they had been through, and to spend for once a jolly day.”

–Adolph Wislizenus, a German traveler in the West

69.

Who came to this rendezvous, or meeting of mountain men?

a.	agents of trading companies, settlers, soldiers
b.	trappers, church leaders, Native Americans
c.	Native Americans, agents of trading companies, trappers
d.	settlers, soldiers, trappers, agents of trading companies

“We are creeping along slowly, one wagon after another, the same old gait, the same thing over, out of one mud hole into another all day.”

–Amelia Stewart Knight, 1853

70.

This quotation from a traveler on the Oregon Trail indicates the _____ sometimes felt by pioneers.

a.	fear	c.	anger
b.	boredom	d.	excitement

“After Laramie we entered the great American desert, which was hard on the teams. Sickness became common. . . .”

–Catherine Sager Pringle, 1844

71.

As indicated in this quotation, what was a frequent problem that pioneers faced along the Oregon Trail?

a.	attacks by Native Americans	c.	fatigue
b.	food shortages	d.	illness

“. . . Doct. Whitman was called upon to perform some very important surgical operations. He extracted an iron arrow, three inches long, from the back of Capt. Bridger, which was received in a skirmish, three years before, with the Blackfeet Indians. It was a difficult operation, because the arrow was hooked at the point by striking a large bone, and a cartilaginous substance had grown around it. The Doctor pursued the operation with great self-possession and perseverance; and his patient manifested equal firmness. The Indians looked on meanwhile, with countenances indicating wonder, and in their own peculiar manner expressed great astonishment when it was extracted.”

–The journal of Reverend Samuel Parker, traveling on the Oregon Trail, 1835

72.

Which detail indicates how difficult Doctor Whitman’s operation on Captain Bridger was?

a.	The wound had been made by an arrow three years before.
b.	A cartilage-like substance had grown around the arrow.
c.	The arrow was made of iron and had rusted.
d.	The wound had suddenly become infected.

“The people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended; and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent republic. . . .”

–March 2, 1836

73.

This resolution is a quotation from _____.

a.	the Mexican Constitution	c.	the Texas Declaration of Independence
b.	the Houston Proclamation	d.	the Lone Star Declaration

“. . . I feel confident that the determined valour and desperate courage, heretofore evinced by my men, will not fail them in the last struggle. . . .

“The power of Santa Anna is to be met here or in the colonies; we had better meet them here, than to suffer a war of desolation to rage in our settlements. . . . [T]he war is one of vengeance against rebels; they have declared us as such, and demanded that we should surrender at discretion, or that this garrison should be put to the sword. . . .”

–Lieutenant-Colonel William. Barret Travis, at the Alamo,

excerpt from a letter, March 3, 1836

74.

In this passage, Travis says that he knows his men _____.

a.	will eventually surrender but only when they have to
b.	will fight to the end no matter what happens
c.	will escape as soon as they get the chance
d.	will keep fighting until reinforcements arrive

“It is time now for opposition to the annexation of Texas to cease, . . .

“Other nations have undertaken to intrude themselves into it, between us and the proper parties to the case, in a spirit of hostile interference against us, for the avowed object of thwarting our policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. . . .”

–John L. O’Sullivan, United States Magazine and Democratic Review, July 1845

75.

In this passage, O’Sullivan describes “manifest destiny” as the right of _____.

a.	Texas to become part of the United States
b.	the United States to expand its territory across North America
c.	other nations to oppose the actions of the United States
d.	New Mexico and California to become independent republics

“. . . But now, after reiterated menaces, Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil. She has proclaimed that hostilities have commenced, and that the two nations are now at war.
“As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country. . . .”

–President James K. Polk, message to Congress, May 11, 1846

76.

Which “act of Mexico herself,” referred to by President Polk in this passage, was the cause of war between the United States and Mexico?

a.	Mexico’s refusal to discuss the U.S. offer to buy California and New Mexico
b.	Mexico’s massacre of the Alamo defenders
c.	Mexican soldiers’ attack on General Zachary Taylor’s forces in a disputed border area
d.	Mexico’s refusal to honor the U.S. annexation of Texas

“. . . [W]hile [James Marshall] was giving directions to the workmen, having observed several similar glittering fragments, . . . he stooped down & picked one of them up. . . . His first impression was, that this gold had been lost or buried there, by some early Indian tribe—perhaps some of those mysterious inhabitants of the West, of whom we have no account, . . . We agreed not to mention the circumstance to any one . . .”

–John Sutter, account of the discovery of gold in California

77.

The events described in this passage took place in the _____.

a.	1820s	c.	1840s
b.	1830s	d.	1850s

“Robberies and murders were of daily occurrance. Organized bands of thieves existed in the towns and in the mountains.”

–a miner during the California Gold Rush

78.

In mining towns during the California Gold Rush, how was public order maintained?

a.	Vigilance committees of concerned citizens acted as police, judge, jury, and, when required, executioner.
b.	The police caught, tried, and then sent lawbreakers to federal prisons in New Mexico.
c.	To maintain order, U.S. marshals were assigned to the mining regions of California.
d.	Native American groups along with church officials caught, tried, and imprisoned lawbreakers.

“. . . The whole number of souls now on the road may be set down in round numbers at twelve thousand. From two to three thousand have disappeared from Nauvoo in various directions. . . . This comprises the entire Mormon population that once flourished in Hancock [County]. In their palmy days they probably numbered between fifteen and sixteen thousand souls, most of whom are now scattered upon the prairies, bound for the Pacific slope of the American continent.”

–Account of Mormon migration from the Sangamo Journal

(Springfield, Illinois), July 23, 1846

79.

Which statement best describes why the Mormons left Illinois?

a.	They were looking for better farmland.
b.	They wanted to settle where they could safely practice their religion.
c.	They sought to settle in a mild climate.
d.	They had split away from their leader Brigham Young.

“The whole of this small nation occupy themselves as usefully as the working bees of a hive.”

–a visitor to the Utah Territory in the 1850s

80.

What group does this quotation describe?

a.	the Gold Rush miners	c.	the Oregon Trail pioneers
b.	the Mormons	d.	the mountain men

81.

Under whose presidential administration was the United States at war with Mexico?

a.	Harrison	c.	Polk
b.	Tyler	d.	Taylor

82.

Based on the map, which of the following statements is incorrect?

a.	The Oregon Trail led to the town of Portland.
b.	The California Trail was more southerly than the Oregon Trail.
c.	The two trails separated in Independence, Missouri.
d.	The two trails separated near the Great Salt Lake.

83.

Based on the information, the population of San Francisco was how much greater in 1853 than it was in 1847?

a.	10 times	c.	100 times
b.	50 times	d.	more than 100 times

84.

Based on the information, which were the two largest immigrant groups in San Francisco in 1853?

a.	Americans & Germans	c.	French & German
b.	French & Chinese	d.	Spanish & Chinese

85.

What was the name of the pass the Mormons used to get through the Rocky Mountains?

a.	Snake River Pass	c.	South Pass
b.	Salt Lake Pass	d.	Rocky Mountain Pass

86.

Which states did the Mormon Trail pass through between Nauvoo and Salt Lake City?

a.	Illinois, Nebraska, Wyoming	c.	Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming
b.	Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska	d.	Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas

87.

What is the terminus, or endpoint, of all the migration routes to California shown on this map?

a.	New York City	c.	Panama
b.	San Francisco	d.	Nicaragua

88.

What is the southernmost location shown on the map of migration routes to California?

a.	Patagonia	c.	Strait of Magellan
b.	Panama City	d.	Cape Horn

Short Answer

“ . . .[Mountain men] either receive their outfit, consisting of horses, beaver traps, a gun, powder and lead, from trading companies, and trap for small wages, or else they act on their own account, and are then called freemen. The latter is more often the case. In small parties they roam through all the mountain passes. No rock is too steep for them; no stream too swift. Withal, they are in constant danger from hostile Indians, whose delight it is to ambush such small parties, and plunder them, and scalp them. Such victims fall every year. . . .”

–Adolph Wislizenus, a German traveler in the West

89.

	Why were the mountain men important in the settling of the western lands?

90.

	Based on the diagram, what was the largest single building in the Spanish mission?

91.

At the beginning of the 1800s, what four countries claimed rights to the Oregon country?

92.

What was the purpose of the Whitman mission?

93.

Why were canvas-covered wagons called prairie schooners?

94.

What did the campaign slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight” mean in the 1844 presidential election?

95.

What was the idea of Manifest Destiny?

96.

In 1830, Mexico issued a decree in an effort to stop what?

97.

Name three of the Texan leaders who died defending the Alamo.

98.

Who was named commander in chief of Texas forces by the new national government of Texas?

99.

What battle in the Texas War for Independence forced Santa Anna to surrender?

100.

Why did President Andrew Jackson refuse to annex Texas?

101.

The New Mexico territory contained all or part of what five present-day states?

102.

What was the name of the road that connected the Spanish missions in California?

103.

One cause of strained relations between the U.S. and Mexico was a boundary dispute that concerned what two rivers?

Essay

104.

Describe the divisions in U.S. society over the Mexican-American War.

105.

Where was the Oregon Country? What four countries claimed it? On what did they base their claims?