Westward Expansion Crossword Puzzle

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Across
  1. 4. formal giving up of land, often through a treaty (e.g., Mexican Cession).
  2. 6. set aside by the United States government for Native Americans.
  3. 7. A large group of covered wagons traveling together for safety.
  4. 8. farmer on the Great Plains who had to break through thick sod to farm.
  5. 11. person who is among the first to settle in a new area.
  6. 14. that is under the jurisdiction of the United States but is not yet a state.
  7. 15. extreme limit of settled land beyond which lies wilderness.
  8. 16. law that allowed citizens to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land out West for a small fee.
  9. 17. 1803 purchase of vast land from France for $15 million, which doubled the size of the US.
  10. 18. 19th-century belief that the United States was destined by God to expand across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
  11. 19. long, organized journey made for a specific purpose, such as the Lewis and Clark expedition.
  12. 20. train system that connected the eastern and western coasts of the United States.
Down
  1. 1. who flocked to California in 1849 in search of gold.
  2. 2. wire fencing that changed the West by allowing farmers to fence in land on the treeless plains.
  3. 3. movement of settlers and the United States government into the American West, particularly between 1787 and 1860.
  4. 5. hired hand who managed cattle, particularly on long drives.
  5. 9. device that sent messages over long distances using electricity, which made communication faster.
  6. 10. A major 2,000-mile wagon route that allowed thousands of settlers to travel to the West.
  7. 12. community that experiences sudden and rapid growth in business or population, usually near a mining site.
  8. 13. add or take over new land, such as the annexation of Texas.