Westward Expansion — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The Santa Fe Trail connected Missouri to Santa Fe in present-day New Mexico.
The answer is "Santa Fe." The Santa Fe Trail was a major trade route used by merchants to haul goods between Missouri and the city of Santa Fe in present-day New Mexico.
2. Texas became part of the United States in the year 1845.
The answer is "1845." After nearly a decade as an independent republic, Texas was annexed and officially became the 28th U.S. state in 1845.
3. The Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The answer is "Hidalgo." Signed in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War and forced Mexico to give up a huge stretch of land known as the Mexican Cession.
4. After the war with Mexico, the U.S. gained land that became California, Nevada, and Utah.
The answer is "Utah." The Mexican Cession included territory that eventually became the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of several other western states.
5. The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 added land in southern Arizona and New Mexico.
The answer is "Purchase." The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 bought a strip of land from Mexico so the U.S. could build a southern railroad route to the Pacific.
6. John C. Fremont explored western lands and earned the nickname The Pathfinder.
The answer is "Fremont." John C. Fremont mapped routes through the Rocky Mountains and the West, earning the nickname "The Pathfinder" for his detailed exploration reports.
7. Many settlers believed it was their God-given right to expand to the Pacific.
The answer is "God-given." The idea of Manifest Destiny held that Americans had a God-given right and duty to spread across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
8. The Mormon pioneers settled near the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah.
The answer is "Lake." Brigham Young led the Mormon settlers to the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, choosing a remote desert valley where they could practice their religion freely.
9. Brigham Young led the Mormon settlers on their journey west.
The answer is "Young." After the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young became the leader of the Mormon Church and guided thousands of followers westward to Utah in the late 1840s.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
→ ended the Mexican-American War
trade route to New Mexico
Santa Fe Trail
→ trade route to New Mexico
led Mormon settlers to Utah
Gadsden Purchase
→ added southern Arizona land
added southern Arizona land
Brigham Young
→ led Mormon settlers to Utah
ended the Mexican-American War
Correct matches: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo → ended the Mexican-American War; Santa Fe Trail → trade route to New Mexico; Gadsden Purchase → added southern Arizona land; Brigham Young → led Mormon settlers to Utah.