Linking East and
West
What is Morse Code and who
invented it?
A code of dots and dashes
to send messages over
wires; Samuel Morse
Why did Samuel F.B. Morse’s first
telegraph message cause so much
excitement?
The telegraph was the
quickest way to send a
message at the time.
What item(s) do we currently have that
could be compared to the telegraph?
Cell Phones, internet, etc..
Why were people heading west?
To search for gold or new
places to settle
How did people make it West?
Sailing around South
America, railroads, wagons
What is the Transcontinental
Railroad?
A railroad that crosses a
continent
Who did the Union Pacific hire
to work on the railroad?
Former soldiers, freed AfricanAmericans and Irish immigrants
Define “prejudice”.
An unfair, negative opinion
that can lead to unjust
treatment
How were Chinese workers treated?
Paid less, given dangerous jobs
Where were both tracks joined?
Promontory Point, Utah
What were some affects of the
transcontinental railroads?
Easier for people and goods to
cross the country; increased
trade East and West
Life on the
Great Plains
Where are the Great Plains
located?
The middle of the United States
What is the Homestead Act
and when was it passed?
Offered 160 acres of land to adults who were U.S.
citizens or wanted to become citizens; 1862
Define “incentives”
When prices affect the
decisions made by people
What special offer did the Homestead
Act make to encourage settlement of
the Great Plains?
Citizens could get 160 acres of land by
making a small payment and farming the
land for five years
Compare farmland in the East and in
Europe to farmland on the Great Plains.
East= expensive; Europe= small; Great Plains=
large and less expensive
Describe the life of African
Americans after the
Reconstruction.
Poor; did not own any land; faced
prejudice and violence; attacked
and killed
What did African- Americans
do when they made it to the
west?
They started towns; made their own laws
Why did many African-Americans
who settled in Kansas call
themselves “Exodusters”?
They identified with the Israelites
who left Egypt to escape slavery
What weather did winter bring the
Great Plains?
Blizzards; bitter cold
Define “drought”
A long period with little or no
rain
What conditions on the Great
Plains were damaging to crops?
Drought, fires, grasshoppers
Why was life on the Great Plains so
difficult?
Settlers faced droughts, floods, hail, cold
winters, prairie fires and pests. Water and
wood were scarce.
Define “sod”
Grass-covered dirt held together
by a thick mass of roots
Why did many settlers on the Great Plains
build their first house from sod instead of
wood?
Wood was very scarce on the Great Plains and would
have been expensive to get, while sod was plentiful and
free.
Cattle
Ranchers
What did southwestern
farmers learn from vaqueros?
How to herd cattle on horseback
Define “demand”
The amount of something that people
want to buy at certain prices
Define “supply”
The amount of something that people
want to sell at certain prices
Why did cattle sell for a much higher
price in the North and East that in
Texas?
Demand was high and supply was low
in the North and East
The Chisolm Trail and
The Great Western Cattle Trail
• CHISHOLM TRAILThe Chisholm Trail was the major route that was used from 1867
to 1884 to move cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas. It
provided poor Texans with a way to make a living after the Civil
War.
• The Great Western Trail – The Great Western
Trail was less famous than the Chisholm Trail, but it lasted 2
years longer.
Define “railhead”
A town where railroad tracks begin or end
Why did Texas cattle ranchers want to
sell their animals in the East and North?
They could get better prices there because
demand was greater and the supply was lower
What were conditions like for
a cowhand on a cattle drive?
Cowhands spent long days on horseback ,
slept on the ground, and guarded the herd
against animals and thieves
What effect did barbed wire
have on the cattle drives?
Barbed wire fence blocked cattle
trails
Define “barbed wire”
Twisted wire with a sharp
barb, or point, every few
inches
Plains Indians
What did the U.S. government
want the Plains Indians to do?
• The government wanted the
Plains Indians to move to
reservations and become
farmers.
Why didn’t the Plains Indians want
to move to reservations?
• The Plains Indians did not want
to farm.
• They were nomads that moved
from place to place to find food.
• They hunted the buffalo on the
Great Plains.
What happened to Colonel Custer
and his men at the Battle of the
Little Big Horn?
• The soldiers attacked the
Lakota and Cheyenne while
trying to force them to move to
reservations.
• The Lakota and Cheyenne killed
all of Custer’s men and won the
battle.
What is the meaning of assimilate?
• Changing a group’s culture and
traditions so that it blends with
a larger group
How did the government try to
assimilate Native Americans?
• They made the Ghost Dance illegal.
• Children were forced to go to
school.
• They were forced to cut their hair.
• They were not allowed to speak
their native language or wear
traditional clothing.
• They were forced to become
farmers.