Read maps that show how borders and territory changed

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Maps in treaties

   The Southwest and Alaska, 1848 to 1868 (cards A to E). Card A, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Article V (Avalon Project): "The southern and western limits of New Mexico, mentioned in the article, are those laid down in the map entitled "Map of the United Mexican States, as organized and defined by various acts of the Congress of said republic, and constructed according to the best authorities. Revised edition. Published at New York, in 1847, by J. Disturnell," of which map a copy is added to this treaty, bearing the signatures and seals of the undersigned Plenipotentiaries." Card B, a summary in our words from the State Department's Office of the Historian: the two countries each claimed the Mesilla Valley after the war. On December 30, 1853, the United States agreed to pay $15 million for 45,000 square miles. The Senate ratified a revised treaty on April 25, 1854, that cut the payment to $10 million and the land to 29,670 square miles. The page says the land gave a route for a southern railroad, and that after the purchase "a new border dispute caused tension over the United States' payment". The treaty text on the Avalon Project is titled "December 30, 1853" and says "ten millions of dollars, of which seven millions shall be paid immediately upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, and the remaining three millions as soon as the boundary line shall be surveyed, marked, and established". Card C, a summary in our words from the State Department's Office of the Historian: Russia offered to sell Alaska in 1859, and the Civil War delayed the sale. On March 30, 1867, Secretary of State Seward agreed to buy it for $7.2 million. The Senate approved the treaty on April 9, President Johnson signed it on May 28, and Alaska was transferred on October 18, 1867. The page says that "permanent Russian settlers in Alaska never numbered more than four hundred." Card D, a summary in our words from the National Archives: "For less than 2 cents an acre, the United States acquired nearly 600,000 square miles." Opponents called the purchase "Seward's Folly" until 1896, when the Klondike gold strike convinced the harshest critics. The check for $7.2 million was issued on August 1, 1868. Card E, the Alaska treaty, Article III (Avalon Project): inhabitants who stayed, "with the exception of uncivilized native tribes, shall be admitted to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities of citizens of the United States." "The uncivilized tribes will be subject to such laws and regulations as the United States may, from time to time, adopt in regard to aboriginal tribes of that country." The treaty was made between Russia and the United States; Alaska Native peoples were not parties to it, and they live in Alaska today.

2. 1.

   Cards A and B: the treaty fixed New Mexico's limits by a named map, yet both countries claimed the Mesilla Valley. What would show if the map caused the dispute, Ari asks?

   • A later textbook map of the region, redrawn from the modern surveys
   • The signed copy of the map and the commissioners' survey notes, compared
   • The claims that the New Mexico governor alone made about the valley and its people
   • One more statement that the map was the cause of the whole dispute
3. 2.

   Card B: $15 million for 45,000 square miles, then $10 million for 29,670. How do the two prices per square mile compare, Bo asks?

   • About $333 and $337 per square mile, almost the same price for less land
   • About $15 million and $10 million, the totals paid under each version
   • About $333 and $33 per square mile, a much lower price in the revision
   • About $333 and $337, so the revision was a cut in the price paid to Mexico
4. 3.

   Card B: $10 million for 29,670 square miles. Card D: less than 2 cents an acre for Alaska. About how many times higher per acre was the Gadsden price, Esme asks?

   • About 28 times higher; a price per acre ignores the land's use and its people
   • About 280 times higher, since the comparison uses square miles and not acres
   • About 2.8 times higher, found by misplacing the decimal point in the long division
   • About 28 times higher, so Alaska was worth far less than the Gadsden land
5. 4.

   A student says: "The Gadsden treaty ended border tension between the two countries." How strong is that claim, given card B, Jun asks?

   • Weak: card B says the treaty did not set a border line on the map
   • Overstated: card B says a new dispute over payment followed the purchase
   • Strong: card B says the treaty created the southern border of the United States of today
   • Strong: the border has stayed in place since 1854 without change
6. 5.

   The treaty text on Avalon is titled "December 30, 1853" but names $10 million, while card B puts $15 million at that date. How should a reader treat this, Kira asks?

   • As proof that the treaty text was forged after the revision had been signed in 1854
   • Throw out both sources, since they cannot both be right about the date of the treaty
   • As proof that the United States paid $15 million, and later paid $10 million more as well
   • As a label mismatch: the text seems to be the revised treaty, so check the ratified one
7. 6.

   Card B's treaty pays $7 million at once and $3 million "as soon as the boundary line shall be surveyed." What does that suggest, Luz asks?

   • Mexico paid the United States the first $7 million to begin the survey
   • The money was tied to a survey, so the line had to be marked on the ground
   • The survey was finished before the first payment was made, so the line was exact
   • The money was paid in full on signing, with no condition of any kind
8. 7.

   Using card C, which order best describes how the Alaska purchase moved forward in 1867, Milo asks?

   • Agreement on March 30, Senate approval April 9, signing May 28, transfer October 18
   • Transfer on October 18, then Senate approval on April 9, then agreement on March 30
   • Signing on May 28, then the Klondike gold strike, then the agreement
   • The Civil War ended the sale in 1859, and Seward revived it in 1867
9. 8.

   Card C: agreed March 30, 1867, and transferred October 18, 1867. About how many days passed, and what does it suggest, Noah asks?

   • About 200 days, so the Senate delayed the treaty for months before approving it
   • About 200 days, enough for approval, signing and transfer in steps
   • About 20 days, since both dates fall in the same year
   • About 365 days, since the check was issued in 1868
10. 9.

    Card D says opponents called the purchase "Seward's Folly." What does that name show best, Pia asks?

    • Nothing, because a nickname given by critics is an insult and no more
    • That the Klondike gold strike was predicted by the critics in 1867
    • That the land had little value, since critics knew the territory well
    • How opponents saw the purchase, not what the land was worth
11. 10.

    Card C says permanent Russian settlers never numbered more than four hundred. What new evidence would show who lived in Alaska in 1867, Zee asks?

    • The reports sent back by the Russian officials about their own settlers there
    • A modern map labeled "Russian America" that shows the same claim
    • Records of the time by Alaska Native communities and other residents
    • One more statement that the land was empty before the sale