Manifest Destiny: Expanding America
This worksheet covers key concepts and events related to Manifest Destiny in U.S. History for 8th grade students.
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Manifest Destiny: Expanding America
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Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability.
1. What term describes the 19th-century belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable?
American Exceptionalism
Manifest Destiny
Westward Expansion
Monroe Doctrine
2. Which of the following was a major cause of the Mexican-American War?
Dispute over the Oregon Territory
Texas annexation and border disputes
The purchase of Alaska
Conflict with Native American tribes
3. The idea of Manifest Destiny was first coined by journalist in 1845.
4. The Louisiana Purchase, acquired from in 1803, significantly expanded the United States' territory.
5. The forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands to Indian Territory is known as the .
6. The concept of Manifest Destiny only applied to land expansion within North America.
True
False
7. Briefly explain how the acquisition of the Oregon Territory contributed to the idea of Manifest Destiny.
8. Describe two major impacts of westward expansion on Native American populations during the era of Manifest Destiny.
9. Examine the map below showing U.S. territorial expansion. Identify and label at least three significant territorial acquisitions that exemplify the concept of Manifest Destiny.
Match each event or figure with its correct description.
10. James K. Polk
a. Leader of the Mormon migration to Utah
11. Gold Rush
b. U.S. President during the Mexican-American War
12. Brigham Young
c. Event that led to a rapid increase in California's population