Westward Expansion

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: Lewis and Clark

• Westward Expansion describes the mass migration of people from the eastern part of the United States to the West during the 1800s.
• Manifest Destiny was a term that implied that the Christian God had ordained that America should expand across the North American continent.
• Lewis and Clark were appointed by President Jefferson to explore the new land in the West.
• The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the United States and France for a large section of land west of the Mississippi River.
• Sacajawea was a Native-American woman who aided Lewis and Clark on their expeditions.

Lesson 2: Reasons for Migrating West

• People traveled to California in search of gold.
• People of the Mormon religion settled Salt Lake City in Utah to escape religious persecution.
• The Homestead Act granted free land to pioneers who moved west.

Lesson 3: Transportation Routes

• Wagon trains were groups of wagons that traveled together in a line.
• The Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869, stretched from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California. It was a safer, faster, and more efficient way to transport people and goods to the West.
• The first successful steamboat was invented by John Fulton, who is known as the "father of steam navigation."
• Steamboats were steam-powered boats that could travel quickly on a river. They revolutionized travel and trade during the late 1700s and early 1800s.
• The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, allowed for the transportation of people and goods from the Hudson River to Lake Erie.
• The National Road was a federally funded highway 620 miles long that started in Maryland and went through parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

Lesson 4: Wagon Ride

• Most pioneers used wagons to carry their supplies and food across the country to Oregon or California.
• Mules and oxen pulled the covered wagons across the country.

Lesson 5: On the Oregon Trail

• Sickness, firearm accidents, crossing flooded rivers, contaminated water, and Native Americans all threatened the survival of the emigrants.
• The Oregon and California Trails were the most often traveled trails to the West Coast.

Lesson 6: Life in a New Land

• Most settlers bypassed the Great Plains in favor of California or Oregon because water and trees were scarce on the Great Plains.
• Railroad developers, settlers, and land speculators fought over land in the West.

Final Project: Westward Ho! Game

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