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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 was James Reed's occupation?

2. What did Stanton recommend that the group do before crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains?

3. What was the first bit of trouble the Donner Party encountered?

4. What sight did Reed see as he rode ahead?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the note that Hastings left tell the travelers? Was his statement valid?

2. How did Charles Stanton helped the traveling party?

3. What happened to the oxen during the six days it took to get through the desert?

4. What was the Forty Mile Desert like?

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

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

7. What happened with Edward Breen?

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

9. What happened to Mr. Hardcoop?

10. What happened to the group as they reached near the summit of Sierra Nevada?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What did the travelers have to do to prepare for their journey, and how long did it take them?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Describe what the rescuers found when they came across the survivors. What condition were the people in? Use specifics.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 545 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample