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CHAPTER 19: TRANSFORMING THE WEST, 1865–1890
Multiple Choice
1. Pueblo society was noted for its __________.
A) nomadic hunting and herding of sheep
B) intensive agriculture and unified community goals
C) reliance on living in small, isolated clans
D) hunting of buffalo on the Great Plains
2. Why did the Northwest foster rich and complex Indian societies?
A) religious beliefs that encouraged subjugation
B) cooperative relationships with white settlers
C) abundant resources
D) cool weather that led to less farming and more cultural development
3. Which statement best describes the cultures of the tribes that lived throughout the West?
A) Most tribes had a difficult time surviving without the benefits of technology.
B) Village Indians were having a difficult time living within the balance of nature.
C) The tribes shared the same rituals in regions from the Mississippi to the Pacific.
D) A wide spectrum of tribes had successfully adapted their lives to a variety of environments.
4. A common element among all tribes of the West was their __________.
A) belief that nature was to be shared and not privately owned
B) use of teepees as an efficient living unit
C) nomadic wandering, which relied on searching for dietary supplements
D) belief in the same gods
5. What event started a huge influx of whites into Indian territory?
A) the discovery of gold in Indian territories
B) the passage of the Homestead Act
C) the Sand Creek Massacre
D) the Battle of the Little Bighorn
6. The leader of the Sand Creek Massacre, John Chivington, was __________.
A) a veteran hero of the Battle of Gettysburg
B) sent by President Lincoln to negotiate with the Sioux
C) an advocate of assimilation and coexistence
D) a Methodist minister
7. The Treaty of Fort Laramie __________.
A) was negotiated in 1879
B) required the United States to abandon routes traveling through Sioux territory
C) was a major defeat for the Sioux
D) was respected by both sides for nearly three decades
8. Which statement about the Sand Creek Massacre is true?
A) The brutal attack included the killing of women and children.
B) Many white Westerners expressed outrage over the killings.
C) The fighting began when Indians attacked a mining town.
D) The Cheyenne were killed because they were war-like.
9. Although the Fort Laramie Treaty created several years of peace, eventually __________ violated the treaty terms
A) the Sioux
B) the Northern Pacific Railroad
C) U.S. troops
D) Mormon pioneers
10. An American force commanded by George A. Custer was overwhelmed during the Battle of __________.
A) the Little Bighorn
B) the Rosebud
C) Wounded Knee
D) One Hundred Slain
11. The Sioux were finally defeated __________.
A) after their defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
B) due to their inexperience in battle situations
C) as a result of Crazy Horse’s failed offensive at the Battle of Rosebud
D) because they had to divide up their forces to hunt for food
12. It took 5,000 U.S. troops to capture 36 Apaches led by __________.
A) Sitting Bull
B) Crazy Horse
C) Geronimo
D) Black Kettle
13. What statement best describes General Philip Sheridan’s views on Indian resistance?
A) “There would be no conflict without the stubborn nature of the Indians.”
B) “Looking at the situation, how could anyone expect the Indians to react in any other way?”
C) “The American military has always tried to avoid conflict with Indians.”
D) “It is easy to defeat the Indians because they do not fight with honor or bravery.”
14. One of the reasons that whites destroyed the buffalo herds was __________.
A) buffalo were disruptive to cattle ranchers
B) they could sell buffalo hide at very high prices
C) buffalo were seen as obstructions to railway traffic
D) the government believed the Indians would survive better with fewer buffalo
15. Which state or territory had the greatest percentage of its area as Indian reservation land in the mid-1890s?
A) Wyoming
B) Oklahoma
C) Oregon
D) Nebraska
16. Effects of the Dawes Act included __________.
A) more Indian land being owned by whites
B) the widespread conversion of Indians to Christianity
C) a sharing of natural resources between whites and Indians
D) an immediate attack by the Sioux against the U.S. army
17. Many white reformers believed that Indians should __________.
A) be left to live in their traditional ways
B) not be taught to speak English
C) be assimilated by teaching them to be Christians
D) never have to accept the concepts of capitalism
18. What happened at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1890?
A) The Dawes Act was signed by representatives of the Sioux.
B) Red Cloud addressed his tribe for the final time.
C) Geronimo was captured after eluding the army for two years.
D) At least 200 Sioux men, women, and children were slaughtered.
19. In the 1970s, official investigations labeled Bureau of Indian Affairs attempts to force Indians to adopt white
culture a(n) __________.
A) “near-total success”
B) “qualified success”
C) “endeavor with mixed results”
D) “near total failure”
20. Today, Native Americans rank __________ on most measures of economic well-being.
A) at the bottom
B) as just below average
C) as just above average
D) at or near the top
21. Which of the following factors resulted in many Indian deaths on the Great Plains?
A) the spread of smallpox
B) starvation caused by decimation of the corn crop
C) Indians always refusing to move to new land
D) the Indians’ lack of experience with English weapons
22. The first large gold rush in the Rocky Mountains occurred in __________.
A) the northern mountains of California
B) the southern hills of Montana
C) the mountains of Colorado
D) northwestern Oregon
23. The last gold rush came in 1874 in the mining camp of __________.
A) Boise
B) Gold Hill
C) Deadwood
D) Virginia City
24. The population of western mining towns was overwhelmingly __________.
A) male
B) rich
C) Chinese
D) English
25. Which statement about prostitutes in mining towns is true?
A) Many prostitutes came from affluent homes.
B) As men came to control the vice trade, many prostitutes suffered alcoholism and violence.
C) Many women chose prostitution because it was lucrative.
D) Most prostitutes were able to save enough to buy small homes or businesses.
26. The male-dominated nature of mining towns made __________ popular businesses.
A) churches
B) saloons
C) dry goods stores
D) horse farms
27. Which group suffered from the most prejudice in mining towns?
A) native-born whites
B) Irish-Americans
C) German Americans
D) Chinese Americans
28. Which of the following statements is true about the typical mining town?
A) Populations were more female than male.
B) Churches were very prevalent among local businesses.
C) Personal violence was less common than collective acts of violence.
D) As towns developed, local agriculture and transportation decreased.
29. Mining eventually became a corporate operation because __________.
A) individual miners left the region because of conflict with Indians
B) Indians sold their native lands to mining capitalists
C) massive capital investment in equipment was conducive to financial success
D) ethnic disputes destroyed unity in old mining towns
30. The development of mining technology resulted in __________.
A) less use of skilled labor
B) much higher wages for mine workers
C) economic depression in the West
D) fewer deaths on the job
31. Poor conditions for miners resulted in __________.
A) management offering higher wages to immigrant workers only
B) widespread unionization movements by miners
C) a collapse of the industry’s financial foundation
D) a return to small-scale prospecting enterprises
32. Violence and conflict often erupted between miners and mine owners due to __________.
A) the lack of law enforcement in the West
B) the refusal of owners to use court injunctions
C) the practice of hiring native-born labor
D) conditions caused by the industrialization of mining
33. The increase in railroad building and mining helped to accelerate the development of what industry?
A) steel
B) lumber
C) shipping
D) cotton
34. Which of the following qualified as a cow town?
A) Madison
B) St. Louis
C) San Antonio
D) Cheyenne
35. The Chisholm Trail was used to __________.
A) make it easier for pioneers to enter California
B) move the Sioux to government-run reservations
C) ship mining deposits to the East
D) drive cattle northward
36. Joseph McCoy made an important decision when he __________.
A) decided to counterattack Sioux forces near Wounded Knee, South Dakota
B) invested large amounts of capital to mine ore in Colorado
C) established a northern shipping point for cattle in Abilene, Kansas
D) sponsored passage of the Dawes Act
37. How was the Cattle Kingdom’s growth linked to urban easterners?
A) The food needs of urban areas in the East aided the economic growth of the West.
B) Small urban investment fueled the Cattle Kingdom’s growth.
C) The expansion of the shipping industry helped transport meat throughout the United States.
D) Cowboys often made fortunes in ranching and then retired to the eastern cities.
38. El Paso, Texas, became a major town when it __________.
A) emerged as a mining town that was inexpensive and cheap
B) served as a military outpost in conflicts with the Navajos
C) was discovered that huge gold reserves were located near its border
D) built upon its existence as a center of shipping for cattle
39. The corporate cattle boom collapsed because __________.
A) the industry never succeeded in attracting foreign capital
B) law enforcers could never stop the persistent stealing of cattle
C) corporations overstocked ranges, which caused ecological disaster
D) cowboys refused to work on corporate-owned ranges
40. Which group was not associated with the “cowboys”?
A) African Americans
B) Irish-Americans who left urban areas in the East
C) Mexican-Americans
D) former Confederates who did not return home after the Civil War
41. The right to “maverick” cattle meant __________.
A) allowing cattle to freely graze on private land
B) killing your neighbor’s cattle in a dispute
C) putting your own brand on unmarked animals
D) selling cattle only to white men
42. In the Southwest, many Hispanics herded __________ on communal pastures.
A) cattle
B) goats
C) horses
D) sheep
43. The Homestead Act __________.
A) promised freedom from taxation for middle-class landholders in the West
B) guaranteed free acres of land to citizens who farmed the land for five years
C) actually had the effect of slowing white settlement in the West
D) gave away far more land to common people than had been given to railway companies
44. Farming in the West __________.
A) had very similar conditions to the family farm of the East
B) failed to become a major aspect of local economies
C) was stimulated by the fact that most settlers received their land for free
D) required a much larger scale of farming to achieve success
45. Railway companies encouraged settlers to come to the West __________.
A) because they could not find laborers to build rail lines
B) so they would grow food that could be transported on rail lines
C) because they wanted to distribute free land to new settlers
D) so that Christianity could become the official religion in state constitutions
46. Which statement would have most likely been said by a member of Las Gorras Blancas?
A) “We must coexist with white property-owners if we are to prosper.”
B) “Retaining Hispanic titles to great tracts of land is our greatest accomplishment.”
C) “We raid at night, if needed, to stop the Anglo encroachment on our land.”
D) “We denounce the portion of our heritage that is Indian.”
47. Many farmers of the Great Plains turned to growing wheat because __________.
A) the market for corn and cotton no longer existed
B) farmers in the East had a monopoly on all other products
C) it was more resistant to drought than corn
D) the government subsidized small farmers’ efforts to grow it
48. In the 1880s, western farmers were plagued by severe drought and __________.
A) protective trade barriers established by several foreign nations
B) consistent victories by Indians on the Great Plains
C) swarms of grasshoppers and mice that destroyed crops
D) an increase in wheat prices that weakened their markets
49. A lack of timber caused a shortage of fencing that was finally solved by __________.
A) the invention of barbed wire
B) less rigid concepts of private property
C) military patrols of land boundaries belonging to small farmers
D) a reliance on free-range farming
50. In California and Colorado, farmers used __________ to irrigate their land.
A) wells
B) streams
C) rain water
D) sprinklers
Essay Questions
51. What role did the mining industry play in migration to the West? What social trends and conflicts emerged as a
result of this expansion of mining into the West?
52. Compare and contrast the lives of women in the working class of the industrial Northeast with the lives of
pioneer women of the Great Plains. If you had to choose, which life would you have preferred?
53. How did railroads shape the settlement and development of the West? Give examples of the positive and
negative effects of rail lines spreading from coast to coast.
