WE statistics

Question 1

What percentage of Americans lived west of the Appalachians by 1840?

Answer 1

Nearly 50%

Question 2

By the 1900 census, what percentage of the U.S. population lived west of the Appalachians?

Answer 2

0.68

Question 3

How many miles did the Lewis and Clark expedition chart?

Answer 3

4,000 miles

Question 4

How many miles did Major Stephen Long travel in his expeditions?

Answer 4

Over 26,000 miles (70,000 km)

Question 5

How much land was acquired in the Louisiana Purchase (1803)?

Answer 5

828,000 square miles (2.1 million km²)

Question 6

What was the cost per acre of the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 6

Less than 3 cents per acre

Question 7

How much land was finally acquired in the Gadsden Purchase (1853)?

Answer 7

54,000 square miles (140,000 km²)

Question 8

By 1819, how many states were there, and how were they divided on slavery?

Answer 8

22 states (11 free, 11 slave)

Question 9

How much land did the U.S. gain through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)?

Answer 9

500,000 square miles (800,000 km²), or about 2/5 of the U.S.

Question 10

How much did Erie Canal freight costs drop per tonne/mile after 1825?

Answer 10

From 19 cents to 2 cents

Question 11

How much land per 1.5 km of track was granted for transcontinental railways?

Answer 11

12 km² on either side

Question 12

How much did states contribute in land and funding for railways?

Answer 12

$200 million and 19 million hectares

Question 13

How many acres were granted under the Homestead Act (1862)?

Answer 13

160 acres (65 hectares)

Question 14

Under the Timber Culture Act (1873), how many trees had to be planted?

Answer 14

40 acres (16 hectares) within 10 years

Question 15

How many acres were allowed under the Desert Land Act (1877)?

Answer 15

640 acres (260 hectares) if irrigated in 2 years

Question 16

How many people arrived due to the California Gold Rush (1848–49)?

Answer 16

300,000 settlers

Question 17

How much did wheat production increase from 1865 to 1900?

Answer 17

From 1.2 billion to 7 billion litres

Question 18

What was the population growth in Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota (1860–1900)?

Answer 18

Grew from under 1 million to over 7 million

Question 19

What were longhorn cattle prices in the West vs. East?

Answer 19

West: $3–$4/head; East: $30–$40/head

Question 20

How many cattle were driven north from Texas in 1871?

Answer 20

700,000 (peak year)

Question 21

How many cowboys worked the Plains?

Answer 21

About 40,000

Question 22

How many cattle were in Colorado in 1880 (up from 0)?

Answer 22

791492

Question 23

How many sheep were in the West by 1900?

Answer 23

25 million

Question 24

How much did the number of steamboats on the Mississippi rise from 1817 to 1836?

Answer 24

From 17 to 361

Question 25

How many miles of canals were there in 1816 vs. 1840?

Answer 25

100 miles in 1816; 3,000 miles in 1840

Question 26

How long did the Pony Express take to deliver mail across the Plains?

Answer 26

10 days

Question 27

By what year was over half of the U.S. rail track west of the Mississippi?

Answer 27

By 1900, over 139,000 km of track

Question 28

What percentage of homesteaders successfully proved up their claims?

Answer 28

0.4

Question 29

How many Kansas homesteads were repossessed (1889–1893)?

Answer 29

11000

Question 30

How much did U.S. farm production grow between 1869 and 1899?

Answer 30

It doubled

Question 31

How much did U.S. manufacturing value grow (1869–1899)?

Answer 31

Increased six-fold

Question 32

What was the U.S. population in 1869 vs. 1899?

Answer 32

38 million (1869) to 92 million (1899)

Question 33

How many formerly enslaved people moved to Kansas in 1879?

Answer 33

40000

Question 34

When was the transcontinental telegraph completed?

Answer 34

1861

Question 35

When did Union Stockyards open in Chicago?

Answer 35

1865