Social Studies · US history: Westward expansion
Westward Expansion Quiz
The Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush and the railroads.
- 🎓 Grades 5–8
- 🌎 Social Studies
- ❓ 20 questions
Play with this set
Pick a game: the questions load straight in
Opens on your board, ready to play in teams. No student devices needed.
Questions 20 questions
Answers stay hidden until you show them, so this page is safe on the projector.
Which land deal in 1803 doubled the size of the United States?
- A Alaska Purchase
- B Gadsden Purchase
- C Oregon Treaty
- D Louisiana Purchase
From which country did the US buy the Louisiana Territory?
- A Britain
- B Mexico
- C France
- D Spain
Which president made the Louisiana Purchase?
- A Abraham Lincoln
- B Andrew Jackson
- C Thomas Jefferson
- D George Washington
Who led the Corps of Discovery to explore the West?
- A Columbus and Magellan
- B Hudson and Cabot
- C Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett
- D Lewis and Clark
Which trail did many pioneer families take to the Pacific Northwest?
- A Silk Road
- B Freedom Trail
- C Appalachian Trail
- D Oregon Trail
What did pioneers often travel in?
- A Hot-air balloons
- B Airplanes
- C Covered wagons
- D Trains only
What was the belief that the US should stretch from coast to coast called?
- A Manifest Destiny
- B Common Sense
- C The Monroe Doctrine
- D The Golden Rule
Gold was found in 1848 in which territory?
- A Texas
- B Oregon
- C California
- D Florida
What were people rushing to California in 1849 called?
- A Pilgrims
- B Forty-niners
- C Minutemen
- D Redcoats
In what year was the first transcontinental railroad completed?
- A 1849
- B 1869
- C 1803
- D 1901
Where was the golden spike driven to finish the railroad?
- A Chicago, Illinois
- B Promontory Summit, Utah
- C Denver, Colorado
- D San Francisco, California
Which 1862 law gave settlers free land if they farmed it for five years?
- A Indian Removal Act
- B Missouri Compromise
- C Stamp Act
- D Homestead Act
Which fast mail service used horse riders in 1860–1861?
- A Telegraph Post
- B Pony Express
- C Overland Rail
- D Prairie Mail Run
What invention quickly ended the Pony Express?
- A The telegraph
- B The radio
- C The airplane
- D The telephone
Which canal, opened in 1825, linked the Great Lakes to the Hudson River?
- A Suez Canal
- B Panama Canal
- C Erie Canal
- D Ohio Canal
Which frontiersman helped blaze the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap?
- A John Smith
- B Daniel Boone
- C Paul Revere
- D Lewis Cass
On the treeless prairie, many settlers built houses from…
- A Bamboo
- B Sod (blocks of earth and grass)
- C Ice
- D Bricks shipped from Europe
Texans fought for independence from Mexico at the Alamo in what year?
- A 1865
- B 1776
- C 1812
- D 1836
Which Missouri town was a starting point for the Oregon Trail?
- A Seattle
- B Boston
- C Denver
- D Independence
Which group was forced west along the Trail of Tears?
- A The Mormons
- B The Pilgrims
- C The forty-niners
- D Cherokee and other Southeast nations
More question sets