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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What role did the granite rock have in constructing dwellings?

2. What lured emigrants to California in 1849 in 1850?

3. How did the native Americans help the snow shoers?

4. How did Mary Murphy's first husband treat her?

5. What happened to the dogs that were traveling with the group?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the members of the Donner Party interact when they reached California?

2. What happened to the members of the Reed family?

3. How many people were stuck camping near the lake, and how many people went off to find help nine days before Christmas?

4. What was happening to the group morale?

5. How many rescue teams were there, and what did they find?

6. How did Virginia inadvertently help the world hear about what happened to the Donner Party?

7. How did the Donner party story affect emigrants traveling West?

8. What complications did the group which later became known as Forlorn Hope face?

9. Why couldn't all the survivors get rescued at once?

10. What did the Miwok Indians do to help them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did the descendants of the Donner Party feel about their relatives? What reputations did they have to live down?

Essay Topic 2

What disrupted James Reed's attempt to put together rescue teams? How did he manage to eventually get help?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the political situation in the United States when the Reeds decided to go to California. Where did the United States officially end and who had control of California?

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This section contains 626 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample