Louisiana State University - HIST 2055

Chapter 14 Manifest Destiny

TRUE/FALSE

1)William Henry Harrison died one month after his inauguration as president.

2. John Tyler favored Henry Clay’s American System.

3. There were more than 200 different Indian tribes west of the Mississippi River in 1840.

4. The Great Plains were virtually devoid of a human presence until the Spaniards introduced the horse and the gun.

5. California rancheros often worked Indians to death on their vast estates.

6. Indians seldom attacked wagon trains.

7. The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty banned white settlers from the northern plains.

8. Members of the Donner party engaged in cannibalism when stranded on their way to California.

9. Christopher “Kit” Carson was one of the most famous and knowledgeable of the mountain men.

10. The United States annexed California during Tyler’s presidency.

11. President Andrew Jackson wanted to purchase California primarily because of the gold discoveries there.

12. Henry Clay was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1844.

13. James K. Polk was known to supporters as “Young Hickory.”

14. California’s Bear Flag Republic lasted about ten years.

15. Zachary Taylor’s decisive victory at the Battle of Buena Vista led to an immediate Mexican surrender.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. As president, William Henry Harrison:
   1. merely followed the orders of Henry Clay
   2. tried to slow American migration to the West
   3. was able to fulfill most of the Whig economic platform
   4. brought a completely different background to office than Andrew Jackson
   5. died after only a month in office

2. William Henry Harrison:
   1. was the last president elected from the Jacksonian Democratic party
   2. developed a close association with Henry Clay during his presidency
   3. led the fight to annex Texas
   4. was the first president to be assassinated
   5. was elected more on his military record than for his stand on the issues

3. John Tyler could be called an Old Republican in that he:
   1. morally opposed slavery
   2. believed in the Jeffersonian ideals of limited government and states’ rights
   3. worshipped the Founding Fathers
   4. believed all property owners should have the vote
   5. supported Clay’s program of economic nationalism

4. President Tyler infuriated Henry Clay by vetoing his bill in support of:
   1. Texas annexation
   2. higher tariffs
   3. Indian removal
   4. pensions for veterans
   5. a new national bank

5. Which leader is described as a president without a party?

1. 1. William Henry Harrison
   2. Sam Houston
   3. James K. Polk
   4. John Tyler
   5. Henry Clay

6. The Creole incident:
   1. strained relations between the United States and France
   2. involved the British freeing American slaves after they mutinied and escaped
   3. involved the seizure and destruction of an American steamboat at Niagara Falls
   4. was solved almost single-handedly by Henry Clay
   5. was caused when Congress reopened the African slave trade

7. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 settled a U.S.–British dispute over:
   1. free trade
   2. boundary lines
   3. fishing rights
   4. slavery
   5. damages during the War of 1812

8. When editor John L. O’Sullivan wrote of “manifest destiny,” he meant that American westward expan- sion:
   1. would end the current depression
   2. required war against the British
   3. was sanctioned by God
   4. would end sectional arguments over slavery
   5. would lead to global domination

9. The Plains Indians encountered by Americans migrating westward:
   1. subsisted on their crops of corn, beans, and squash
   2. knew no warfare until the coming of the white man
   3. found abundant natural resources in their native forests
   4. were highly dependent on horses and buffalo
   5. were eager converts to Christianity

10. The majority of Spanish-speaking people in the Southwest lived in:
    1. Arizona
    2. California
    3. Utah
    4. New Mexico
    5. Texas

11. The Americans known as “mountain men” who blazed western trails were:

1. 1. army scouts
   2. missionaries
   3. mountain climbers
   4. horse traders
   5. fur trappers

12. Large-scale American emigration to the Oregon Country:
    1. began in earnest in the early 1840s
    2. started as a result of rumors of gold discoveries
    3. was greatly hampered by hostile Indians
    4. was usually along a southern route, through Texas, New Mexico, and California
    5. was halted by an outbreak of smallpox

13. Spain began to settle California in 1769 to protect it from the encroachment of the:
    1. British
    2. Americans
    3. French
    4. Indians
    5. Russians

14. Spanish missions established in California:
    1. sought to turn Indians into hard-working Christians
    2. respected Indian language and culture
    3. taught Indians the value of religious freedom
    4. increased Indian life expectancy by increasing their food supply
    5. received practically no support from the government in Mexico

15. Rancheros:
    1. were the small farms that the Mexican government allowed American settlers to own in California
    2. usually used Indians as slaves
    3. was a spicy cheese-and-potato dish favored by Santa Anna’s soldiers
    4. was the derogatory name American settlers used to refer to native Mexicans in Texas
    5. were operated by Franciscan priests sent from Mexico City

16. John A. Sutter:
    1. was the captain of the Creole
    2. intrigued with the British for control of Oregon
    3. established the trading post that became Sacramento
    4. negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty for the United States
    5. became the most famous western explorer

17. By the late 1820s, American ships had begun to arrive in California seeking especially to acquire:
    1. Indian slaves
    2. gold
    3. milk and honey
    4. cow hides and tallow
    5. beaver pelts

18. After Mexico gained its independence in 1821, the Santa Fe Trail established vigorous commerce between New Mexico and:
    1. California
    2. New Orleans
    3. Missouri
    4. Oregon
    5. Texas

19. By the 1830s, there was so much commercial activity between Mexico and St. Louis that the Mexican silver peso had become:
    1. inflated
    2. the new currency of the South
    3. hard to find
    4. the primary medium of exchange in Missouri
    5. replaced by paper money

20. Most of those who traveled westward in wagon trains:
    1. made it from Missouri to California in a month
    2. traveled in family groups
    3. were attacked by Indians
    4. turned back due to the hardships
    5. were headed for California’s gold fields

21. With the onset of the California gold rush in 1849, Plains Indians, led by the Cheyenne:
    1. used this as an excuse to attack pioneers out West
    2. saw this as an opportunity to gain great wealth for their tribes
    3. passively gave up their land claims out West
    4. seized the opportunity to supply buffalo meat and skins to the white pioneers
    5. agreed to move onto reservations

22. The stranding of the Donner party in 1846 resulted in:
    1. no survivors
    2. government regulation of the western trails
    3. the discovery of a shorter route to California
    4. rampant cannibalism
    5. annihilation by the Indians

23. John Charles Frémont:
    1. was a famous mountain man
    2. rescued the Donner party
    3. led the largest wagon train along the Oregon Trail
    4. established the first sizable American settlement in California
    5. became famous for his western explorations

24. Mexico obtained its independence from:
    1. France in 1807
    2. Spain in 1807
    3. Spain in 1836
    4. the United States in 1821
    5. Spain in 1821

25. Most of the American settlers in Texas went there because of:
    1. furs
    2. gold and other mineral deposits
    3. cheap cotton lands
    4. trading opportunities with the Indians and the Mexicans
    5. legal problems in the United States

26. The Mexican ban on American immigration to Texas:
    1. was ineffective
    2. halted the flood of immigrants to the area
    3. went into effect in 1820
    4. was necessary because Americans in Texas already numbered almost half the Mexican population there
    5. caused the United States to break diplomatic relations with Mexico

27. In the 1820s, Stephen F. Austin:
    1. led a revolt against the dictator, Santa Anna
    2. encouraged thousands of Anglos to settle in Texas
    3. helped Mexico win independence from Spain
    4. became a leading expansionist politician
    5. succeeded in annexing California

28. At the Battle of the Alamo:
    1. Texans secured their independence
    2. the Mexicans won a costly victory
    3. Santa Anna showed his strategic brilliance

1. 4. the defenders were bombarded into surrender
   5. William B. Travis and Jim Bowie were taken prisoner

29. At the Battle of San Jacinto:
    1. Sam Houston showed his military genius
    2. the Texans won a costly victory
    3. Mexico recognized Texas independence
    4. Santa Anna was captured
    5. William B. Travis and Jim Bowie were taken prisoner

30. Sam Houston’s contribution to Texas independence was his:
    1. defeat of the Mexican army at San Jacinto
    2. leadership of the U.S. soldiers who came to Texas
    3. successful defense of the Alamo
    4. leadership of the Texas government during the revolt against Mexico
    5. service as ambassador to the United States

31. Congress voted to annex Texas:
    1. when Texas promised to end slavery and enter the Union as a free state
    2. after Mexico agreed to sell it
    3. between Polk’s election and his inauguration
    4. over the opposition of President Tyler
    5. because Texas threatened to remain independent

32. The Republic of Texas:
    1. at first shied away from annexation by the United States
    2. drafted a constitution emancipating its slaves
    3. was recognized by President Andrew Jackson early in his administration
    4. developed trade relations with Britain and France
    5. was on the verge of becoming a world power

33. According to Henry Clay, annexation of Texas:
    1. was “dangerous to the integrity of the Union”
    2. should wait until the people in Texas asked the American government to take control of the area
    3. was “the manifest destiny of the American republic”
    4. should have the support of all members of the new Republican party
    5. was essential to the health of the American economy

34. The major factor that delayed Texas annexation until 1845 was:
    1. concern over Texas entering as a slave state
    2. fear of a possible Mexican attack on the United States
    3. Calhoun’s incompetence as secretary of state
    4. the desire of Texans to remain a republic
    5. Britain’s support for Texas independence

35. Future president James Buchanan, head of the Pennsylvania Democrats, declared that Martin Van Bur- en’s stance against annexing Texas would:
    1. help his presidential aspirations
    2. hurt his relationship with his fellow senators
    3. secure his nomination as the Whig candidate for president
    4. cost him his party’s nomination
    5. cause future generations to honor his political courage

36. In the election of 1844:
    1. both Clay and Polk enthusiastically supported Texas annexation
    2. Liberty party votes in New York cost Clay the White House
    3. Polk won a popular vote landslide
    4. Jackson supported his old rival, Henry Clay
    5. Polk’s greater experience in national office gave him a huge advantage over Clay

37. Polk’s nickname of “Young Hickory” most reflected his:
    1. association with Jackson and support for Jacksonian policies
    2. toughness in dealing with his enemies
    3. common origins in North Carolina
    4. relative youth for a presidential candidate
    5. enthusiastic support for territorial expansion

38. As president, Polk supported all of the following EXCEPT:
    1. acquisition of California
    2. tariff reduction
    3. restoration of the independent Treasury
    4. settlement of the Oregon boundary question
    5. internal improvements

39. The phrase “fifty-four forty or fight!” referred to:
    1. California
    2. Florida
    3. Oregon
    4. Texas
    5. Utah

40. Polk settled the Oregon boundary dispute with the British by:
    1. agreeing to a border along the 49th parallel
    2. paying the British $10 million to give up their claim
    3. sending the navy to back up the U.S. claim
    4. agreeing to a permanent joint occupation of the Pacific Northwest
    5. promising not to go to war with Mexico

41. Polk ordered Zachary Taylor to move his troops to the Rio Grande to:
    1. protect American settlers along the border
    2. provoke a Mexican attack
    3. persuade Mexico to sell California
    4. express his belief in Manifest Destiny
    5. win political support in the North

42. The Mexican War erupted when:
    1. Mexican and U.S. troops clashed north of the Rio Grande
    2. American settlers started a revolt in California
    3. the United States recognized Texas as independent
    4. Mexico insulted the U.S. ambassador and ordered him to leave the country
    5. Polk won the 1844 election

43. Among the most vocal opponents of the Mexican War was:
    1. Thomas O. Larkin
    2. John Slidell
    3. Abraham Lincoln
    4. John Tyler
    5. John L. O’Sullivan

44. California’s Bear Flag Republic:
    1. was controlled by Mexicans and Indians
    2. was quickly recognized by the British
    3. represented a California version of Manifest Destiny
    4. lasted only a month until American rule was established
    5. sent an expedition to capture Santa Fe

45. Early in the Mexican War, Polk grew most concerned over Zachary Taylor’s:
    1. poor grasp of military tactics
    2. refusal to fight the enemy
    3. possible ambitions as a Whig presidential candidate
    4. lack of control over his undisciplined soldiers
    5. habit of wearing an old and dirty uniform

46. The decisive victory in the war came with Winfield Scott’s capture of:
    1. Monterrey
    2. Veracruz
    3. Cerro Gordo
    4. Puebla
    5. Mexico City

47. As a result of his victories in Northern Mexico, the Mexican War made a national hero of:
    1. John C. Frémont
    2. Jefferson Davis
    3. Zachary Taylor
    4. Robert E. Lee
    5. Ulysses S. Grant

48. All of the following resulted from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo EXCEPT:
    1. the United States gained California
    2. the United States paid Mexico $15 million
    3. U.S. troops continued to occupy Mexico
    4. Mexico gave up all claims to Texas
    5. the United States gained New Mexico

49. Which of the following statements about the Mexican War is NOT true?
    1. It was America’s first successful offensive war.
    2. It gave many future Civil War generals valuable experience.
    3. Many more Americans died of disease than died in battle.
    4. The fighting lasted less than two years.
    5. It was one of the most unselfish wars in history.

50. The Mexican War contributed to all of the following EXCEPT:
    1. the strengthening of the Union
    2. the United States’ becoming a continental nation
    3. combat experience for future Civil War generals
    4. the creation of the Department of the Interior
    5. Mexico’s loss of much of its national territory

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