Why People Moved West is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on the reasons people moved west, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.7.3-5. It prints 2 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.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Why People Moved West
D2.Geo.7.3-5
NameDate
Draw a line from each event to how it drew people west.
1.Draw a line from each one to its match.
The Homestead Act, 1862
Cattle drives after the Civil War
Gold at Sutter's Mill, 1848
The Oklahoma land run, 1889
A.Drew hundreds of thousands of gold seekers to California
B.Offered 160 acres of public land to settlers who farmed it for five years
C.Settlers raced to claim land in Indian Territory
D.Cowboys drove herds north to railroad towns in Kansas
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Manifest Destiny, 1845
The Oregon Trail, 1840s
The Exodusters, 1879
The Comstock Lode, 1859
A.Black families left the South for Kansas to escape violence and own land
B.Led families about 2,000 miles to farmland in the Pacific Northwest
C.A huge find of silver that brought miners to Nevada
D.The belief that the nation was meant to stretch across the continent
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.7.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Why People Moved West
Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. The Homestead Act, 1862 — B (Offered 160 acres of public land to settlers who farmed it for five years) 2. Cattle drives after the Civil War — D (Cowboys drove herds north to railroad towns in Kansas) 3. Gold at Sutter's Mill, 1848 — A (Drew hundreds of thousands of gold seekers to California) 4. The Oklahoma land run, 1889 — C (Settlers raced to claim land in Indian Territory)
2.1. Manifest Destiny, 1845 — D (The belief that the nation was meant to stretch across the continent) 2. The Oregon Trail, 1840s — B (Led families about 2,000 miles to farmland in the Pacific Northwest) 3. The Exodusters, 1879 — A (Black families left the South for Kansas to escape violence and own land) 4. The Comstock Lode, 1859 — C (A huge find of silver that brought miners to Nevada)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.7.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.