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How the Nation Gained Its Land is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how each territory became part of the United States, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.5.3-5. It prints 6 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 16 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

How the Nation Gained Its Land

D2.Geo.5.3-5

NameDate

Match each territory to how it was gained, then answer the questions.

1.Draw a line from each territory to how it was gained.
  • The Mexican Cession, 1848
  • Alaska, 1867
  • Florida, 1819
  • Texas, 1845
  • A.Given up by Spain in the Adams-Onis Treaty
  • B.Bought from Russia
  • C.Taken from Mexico in the treaty that ended the Mexican-American War
  • D.Annexed after nine years as an independent republic
2.Many people at first called the purchase of Alaska a mistake. What was later found there?
  • A.Gold, and much later oil
  • B.Tobacco fields
  • C.Cotton plantations
3.What did many Americans in the 1840s mean by Manifest Destiny?
  • A.The belief that the nation was meant to spread to the Pacific
  • B.A law that banned moving west
  • C.A plan to give land back to Native nations
4.Who already lived on the land of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803?
  • A.Only French soldiers
  • B.No one at all
  • C.Many Native nations, such as the Osage and the Lakota
5.What did the overthrow of Hawaii's queen in 1893 take from Native Hawaiians?
  • A.Their own independent government
  • B.A war debt to France
  • C.A seat in the British Parliament
6.The Louisiana Purchase roughly doubled the size of the country. Who was president?
  • A.George Washington
  • B.Thomas Jefferson
  • C.Abraham Lincoln

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How the Nation Gained Its Land

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The Mexican Cession, 1848 — C (Taken from Mexico in the treaty that ended the Mexican-American War) 2. Alaska, 1867 — B (Bought from Russia) 3. Florida, 1819 — A (Given up by Spain in the Adams-Onis Treaty) 4. Texas, 1845 — D (Annexed after nine years as an independent republic)
  2. 2.Gold, and much later oil
  3. 3.The belief that the nation was meant to spread to the Pacific
  4. 4.Many Native nations, such as the Osage and the Lakota
  5. 5.Their own independent government
  6. 6.Thomas Jefferson

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.