Write your answer choices on a piece of paper, then click on the "Answer Key" button at the end to check and grade your test.

1. What belief below is described by the phrase “Manifest Destiny,” as that phrase was used
in the early 1800s? 

  A. The nation should make itself an example to the rest of the world.
  B. The nation should end slavery, or face a terrible conflict at some point.
  C. The nation was destined to play a big role in world affairs.
  D. The nation should expand westward to the Pacific Ocean. 

2.  What was the impact of the cotton gin on slavery in the Southern states?

  A. It greatly reduced the overall demand for slaves in the South.
  B. It greatly increased the overall demand for slaves in the South.
  C. It had no real impact on slavery in the South.
  D. The cotton gin increased calls for the abolition of slavery.

3.  Which president was responsible for pushing the United States to obtain the area called
the Louisiana Purchase?

  A. George Washington
  B. Thomas Jefferson
  C. James Madison
  D. Andrew Jackson

4.  Where did the explorers Lewis and Clark go on their famous trip to the West?

  A. along the Santa Fe trail to what is now southern California
  B. generally along the Missouri River to what is now Oregon
  C. across the Rockies to what is now the area of San Francisco, California
  D. along the route called the Old Spanish Trail to what is now New Mexico

5.  Which of these is NOT true of The War of 1812?

  A. It was fought against Great Britain.
  B. The White House was burned during an attack on Washington.
  C. It gave us our National Anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner.”
  D. America gained large new territories in the peace treaty. 

6.  Which of these lists best describes the technological developments in the “Transportation Revolution”
of 1800-1860 in the United States?

  A. better roads, canals, steamboats, and steam railroads
  B. better roads, canals, steamboats, but not steam railroads
  C. better roads, canals, steam railroads, but not steamboats
  D. better roads and canals, but no steam powered transportation 

7.  Daniel Boone is best known for promoting the settlement of which two present day states?

  A. Michigan and Ohio
  B. California and Oregon
  C. Texas and New Mexico
  D. Tennessee and Kentucky

8. The Industrial Revolution in America had its first and largest impact in which geographical
area of the country?

  A. the North
  B. the South
  C. the Midwest
  D. the West

9.  Andrew Jackson’s presidency - the “Age of Jackson” - is famous in American history for:

  A. steadily improving relations with Native Americans (Indians)
  B. the addition of new territories to the U.S. 
  C. the rising importance of the “common man” in the political system
  D. good relations between the North and South

10.  The National Road was built by the federal government to improve transportation:

  A. from Maryland west to the Ohio River and the area that today is called the Midwest
  B. from New York City and Albany west to Buffalo
  C. from Virginia west to Kentucky
  D. from Detroit, Michigan, west to Chicago, Illinois

11.  Where is the famous geographical feature called the Cumberland Gap that played such an
important role in the westward expansion of the U.S.?

  A. in the western part of New York State, between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
  B. in the western part of Virginia, where it meets Kentucky and Tennessee
  C. in Mississippi, near Natchez
  D. in Idaho, on the Snake River near Fort Boise

Use the map shown here to answer questions 12 through 15

12.  What is the area marked G called by historians?

  A. The Old Northwest
  B. The Old Southwest
  C. The Louisiana Purchase
  D. The Oregon Territory

13.  How was the land area marked N obtained by the U.S.?

  A. It was purchased from Mexico after the Mexican War. 
  B. It was the Louisiana Purchase from France.
  C. It was obtained by treaty from Spain after the American Revolution.
  D. It was obtained as a result of negotiations with Great Britain and Canada.

14. How did the area marked L become part of the U.S.?

  A. It was purchased from Mexico in the early 1800s.
  B. It was one of the original 13 states at the end of the Revolution.
  C. It was obtained from Spain.
  D. It was obtained as a result of the War of 1812.

15.  Which area on the map is known to historians as the Mexican Cession?

  A. the area marked J
  B. the area marked K
  C. the area marked M 
  D. the area marked N

16.  What bodies of water were directly connected by the Erie Canal when it opened in 1825? 

  A. Lake Erie and the Hudson River
  B. Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
  C. Lake Erie and Lake Superior
  D. Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River

17.  The Oregon Trail ended near present day Portland.  Which city below is usually considered
its starting point?

  A. Santa Fe, New Mexico
  B. Sacramento, California
  C. Salt Lake City, Utah
  D. Independence, Missouri

18.  What river forms the southern border of Texas?

  A. the Snake River
  B. the Columbia River
  C. the Rio Grande
  D. the Red River

19.  When was the California Gold Rush?

  A. 1814 
  B. 1825
  C. 1849
  D. 1852

20.  What was the “Trail of Tears”?

  A.  another name for the Natchez Trace
  B.  another name for the California Trail
  C. the path the Cherokee were forced to take to move west of the Mississippi
  D. the name for the path taken by Andrew Jackson to New Orleans in the War of 1812.
 
 
 

Copyright 2001, 2004 by David Burns
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