Maps of the United States between 1789 and the 1850s show new towns clustered along rivers, lakes, and ocean coasts. Why did settlers choose those places?

By the 1820s steamboats were carrying cargo on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Why did steamboats help towns far upriver grow?

The Erie Canal, opened in 1825, joined the Hudson River to Lake Erie. What did that link let farmers in Ohio and western New York do?

Between 1825 and 1840 towns in western New York, such as Rochester and Syracuse, grew very quickly. What was the immediate cause of that growth?

Work on the National Road began at Cumberland, Maryland, in 1811 and reached the Ohio River at Wheeling by 1818. What did this federally funded road mainly do?

The Cumberland Gap is a natural pass through the Appalachian Mountains. Why did thousands of settlers heading for Kentucky in the 1790s travel through it?

In 1803 the United States bought the Louisiana Territory, which doubled the size of the country. Which country sold that territory to the United States?

Farmers in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys floated their crops downriver on flatboats. Why did the port of New Orleans matter so much to them?

In the 1840s members of Congress argued for offering free farmland in Oregon to families who would move there. Free land offered to attract settlers is an example of what?

Wagon trains on the Oregon Trail in the 1840s set out from Independence, Missouri. Where did most of those families finally settle?

James Marshall found gold at John Sutter's sawmill on the American River in California in January 1848. What happened across California over the next two years?

In the 1820s owners built large textile mills at the falls of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts, and the city of Lowell grew up around them. Why did they choose the falls?

After 1800 planters moved into Alabama and Mississippi and forced enslaved African Americans to move with them. What drew the planters to that region?

In the 1830s the United States government forced the Cherokee Nation and other southeastern nations off their homelands and onto land west of the Mississippi River. What is this forced move called?

Many states in the early 1800s put their capital in a small inland town instead of their busiest port city. What reason did lawmakers give for that choice?

California became a state in 1850, two years after gold was discovered there. What is the capital of California today?

Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's largest city, but the state government meets in a smaller city on the Susquehanna River. What is the capital of Pennsylvania?

Kentucky became a state in 1792 as settlers poured through the Cumberland Gap. What is the capital of Kentucky today?

Ohio became a state in 1803 as settlers poured into the Ohio River valley. What is the capital of Ohio today?

Once a state chose its capital city, it could never move the capital to another city.

In the early 1800s, land beyond the Appalachian Mountains drew many families west from the crowded eastern states. What made that land so attractive?

The Erie Canal opened in 1825, linking the Great Lakes to the Hudson River. How did this canal act as an incentive for settlement further west?

Lewis and Clark's expedition, which set out in 1804, explored the lands of the Louisiana Purchase and reached the Pacific Ocean.

In the East, years of farming had worn out much of the soil by the early 1800s. How did this push families to move west?

In the 1820s, the Mexican government offered inexpensive land grants to American families willing to settle in Texas. What effect did this incentive have?

Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California in 1848. The next year, thousands of gold seekers rushed there. What nickname were these gold seekers given?

Which vehicle, pulled by teams of oxen or horses, carried whole families and their household goods overland on trails such as the Oregon Trail?

A farmer near the Ohio River needed to send a one-time load of crops downstream to market and did not need the boat back. Which cheap, simple boat best suited this one-way trip?

In 1847, Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young settled near the Great Salt Lake, in a place where they hoped to practice their religion freely.

Canals such as the Erie Canal used a series of locks along their route. What was the purpose of a canal lock?

Which mountain passage, made famous by Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road, let thousands of settlers cross the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky?

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set up rules for settling the Northwest Territory. Which river valley did American settlers move into first as a result?

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, St. Louis, near where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi, grew quickly. Why was it called the Gateway to the West?

Santa Fe was founded by Spanish settlers around 1610, long before the United States existed, and later became a Mexican town. What does Santa Fe show about settlement in the Southwest?

Los Angeles began as a Spanish pueblo founded in 1781 and later became a town in Mexican California. What kind of place was a pueblo?

Houston is Texas's largest city, but the state capital is a smaller city further west. Which city is the capital of Texas?

By 1850, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois had all become states carved from the territory north of the Ohio River. What does this show about settlement patterns from 1789 to the mid-1800s?

New York's biggest city is New York City, but that is not where the state's government meets. What is the capital of New York?

A state's capital city is always that state's largest city.

Chicago is Illinois's largest city, but a smaller city elsewhere in the state serves as its capital. Which city is the capital of Illinois?