Westward Expansion Reading Passages
Reading Results
Americans Move West: The Oregon Trail
This engaging history passage explores the Oregon Trail and the westward movement of Americans in the 1800s. Students wi...
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Life as a Pioneer Family
This history reading passage explores the daily life of a pioneer family as they moved west and settled on new land in A...
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Building Log Cabin Homes
This engaging history reading passage explores the process and significance of building log cabin homes in the early Ame...
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Cowboys and Cattle Drives
This engaging U.S. History reading passage introduces students to the world of cowboys and cattle drives, a key part of ...
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The California Gold Rush and Forty-Niners
This reading passage explores the California Gold Rush and the brave people known as the 'Forty-Niners.' Students will l...
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Boomtowns Spring Up Out West
This engaging passage explores the exciting rise of boomtowns in the American West during the 1800s, focusing on the Gol...
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The Transcontinental Railroad Built
This passage explores the inspiring story of the Transcontinental Railroad, a major achievement in U.S. history. Student...
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Life in a Frontier Town
This passage explores the daily life and challenges faced by people living in a frontier town in the early United States...
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Stagecoaches and the Pony Express
This engaging U.S. history reading passage introduces students to the exciting era of stagecoaches and the Pony Express ...
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Homestead Act: Free Land for Settlers
This engaging history reading passage explores the Homestead Act and its impact on American settlers moving west. Studen...
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Dangers on the Oregon Trail
This reading passage explores the many dangers faced by pioneers on the Oregon Trail, one of the most significant journe...
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Women's Hard Work on the Frontier
This reading passage explores the important role of women on the American frontier. Students will learn how women faced ...
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Manifest Destiny: Coast to Coast
This engaging U.S. history reading passage explores Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion of the United States. St...
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The Texas Revolution and the Alamo
This engaging history reading passage introduces students to the Texas Revolution and the Battle of the Alamo, key momen...
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Mexican-American War and New Territory
This passage explores the Mexican-American War and the new territory gained by the United States. Students will learn ab...
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Native Americans Lose Their Lands: The Trail of Tears
This reading passage explores the story of the Trail of Tears, focusing on the experiences of Native Americans as they l...
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Broken Treaties and Forced Removal
This passage explores the history of broken treaties and forced removal of Native Americans in the United States. It hig...
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Manifest Destiny: American Expansion
This engaging U.S. history reading passage explores the concept of Manifest Destiny and its impact on American expansion...
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Indian Removal Act 1830: Andrew Jackson Policy
This U.S. History reading passage explores the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and President Andrew Jackson's policy toward N...
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Trail of Tears 1838
This rigorous history reading passage explores the causes, events, and consequences of the Trail of Tears, focusing on t...
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Cherokee Nation v Georgia
This detailed reading passage explores the pivotal Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v Georgia (1831), a turning point ...
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Sequoyah: Cherokee Written Language
This passage explores the life and achievements of Sequoyah, the Cherokee silversmith and inventor who created the Chero...
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Black Hawk War 1832
This comprehensive U.S. History reading passage examines the Black Hawk War of 1832, a pivotal event in Native American ...
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Texas Independence 1836
This rigorous U.S. history reading passage analyzes the Texas Independence movement of 1836 and the heated debate over s...
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Battle of the Alamo 1836
This rigorous history reading passage examines the Battle of the Alamo (1836) within the broader context of the Texas Re...
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Mexican-American War 1846-1848
This rigorous U.S. history reading passage invites students to analyze the causes, motivations, and consequences of the ...
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Wilmot Proviso Explained
This rigorous U.S. history reading passage explores the Wilmot Proviso, a proposed law designed to prevent the spread of...
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848
This reading passage examines the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War and ...
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Mexican Americans After 1848
This history reading passage, "Mexican Americans After 1848: Rights Denied," examines the complex experiences of Mexican...
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Oregon Trail Challenges
This engaging history reading passage examines the challenges and complexities of westward migration along the Oregon Tr...
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Donner Party Tragedy 1846
This rigorous U.S. history reading passage explores the tragic journey of the Donner Party in 1846 along the Oregon Trai...
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California Gold Rush 1849
This engaging U.S. history reading passage examines the causes, motivations, and consequences of the California Gold Rus...
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Chinese Immigration During Gold Rush Era
This history reading passage explores the causes, experiences, and consequences of Chinese immigration during the Gold R...
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Gold Rush Environmental Impact
This history reading passage explores the environmental destruction caused by the Forty-Niners during the California Gol...
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Mormon Migration West
This engaging U.S. history reading passage explores the Mormon migration west in the 1800s, focusing on the search for r...
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Compromise of 1850
This engaging U.S. history reading passage explores the Compromise of 1850 and the heated debate over slavery in new Ame...
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Fugitive Slave Act Opposition
This passage examines the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the complex challenges of its enforcement in the Northern Unite...
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Underground Railroad: Escape to Freedom
This passage explores the life and impact of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, focusing on the causes, motiva...
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Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
This engaging history reading passage examines the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, a pivotal moment in American history tha...
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Bleeding Kansas 1854-1859
This rigorous history reading passage explores Bleeding Kansas, the violent conflict from 1854-1859 over the issue of sl...
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John Brown Abolitionist Debate
This rigorous U.S. history reading passage explores the controversial figure of John Brown, analyzing whether he should ...
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Transcontinental Railroad 1869
This passage explores the construction and impact of the Transcontinental Railroad completed in 1869, a transformative e...
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Railroad Workers: Chinese and Irish Labor
This passage explores the experiences and contributions of Chinese and Irish laborers who built the transcontinental rai...
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Buffalo Slaughter Impact
This passage examines the systematic slaughter of buffalo in the 19th century and its devastating impact on Native Ameri...
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Homestead Act 1862
This informative U.S. history reading passage examines the Homestead Act of 1862, a pivotal law that transformed the Ame...
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Exodusters Moving West 1870s
This engaging history reading passage explores the migration of African Americans known as the Exodusters, who moved wes...
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Cowboys in American West
This engaging U.S. history reading passage examines the complex and diverse history of cowboys in the American West. Stu...
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Battle of Little Bighorn 1876
This reading passage explores the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, a pivotal event in U.S. history. Students will analy...
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Wounded Knee Massacre 1890
This rigorous U.S. history reading passage examines the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, a pivotal and tragic event in Nat...
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Dawes Act 1887: Breaking Up Tribal Lands
This comprehensive history passage explores the Dawes Act of 1887, a pivotal law that broke up tribal lands and reshaped...
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