Answer to Question 1
These acts essentially froze Chinese immigration and inclusion in place by making Chinese immigrants permanent aliens, excluded from obtaining U.S. citizenship.
These acts practically legalized racial discrimination and separated Chinese men from returning to their wives or even from starting new families in the United States. Other outcomes the instructor may have covered during lecture are the increase in commercial human smuggling due to this act, the formation of isolated Chinese ethnic communities (Chinatowns), and the increase of the Japanese population in the United States, with many Japanese eagerly filling the niches in American society once filled by Chinese.
Answer to Question 2
The text implies that the arid lands to the west of the 100th meridian were more difficult to settle and homestead compared to the more humid east.
Death's-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia lachesis), an old bleached specimen still showing the classic
neck, head and brain
Sumatran Tiger Fewer than 400, Indonesia and Texas Ocelot Fewer than 250, southern United States, ...
Ten Leading Causes of Death in the United States, 2010.
Prevalence of Food Insecurity in the United States
Household Income in the United States by Quintiles, 2009