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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. Who possessed the west?

2. How fast was the Donner Party moving along the Humboldt?

3. Why didn't the Donner Party see other travelers?

4. What did Reed want out west?

5. How many miles would the cutoff save them?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of obstacles did people on wagon trains frequently have to face?

2. How many miles a day did the Donner Party plan to go, and what with their actual pace?

3. What happened to Mr. Hardcoop?

4. Why did each family have three wagons?

5. What was "The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California" like?

6. Why did some of the people in Springfield question James Reed's ideas?

7. How were tasks divvied up on the wagon train?

8. What was crossing the desert like?

9. What was the Forty Mile Desert like?

10. What did the families do in the evenings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Was Lansford Warren Hastings qualified to write his book? Why or why not? What did the man do for a living and what was he like?

Essay Topic 2

How did the journey to Independence, Missouri go, and what held them up? How did they feel about reaching the city?

Essay Topic 3

Describe in detail why James Reed was banished and what the team promised to his family. Then comment on how they treated the family in actuality.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 534 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample