Important Flashcard
just click to get the definitions!
Chief Joseph
Leader of the Nez Perce tribe who
resisted the government in relocating
his tribe on a reservation
Dawes Act
1887 act which divided Indian lands among
families and granted US citizenship to
those who gave up
tribal ties
It also encouraged Native Americans to take
up farming rather than hunting. The
government wanted them to become more
American!
Granger Movement
Farmers in the west and south who
wanted to advance farming and
control the railroads & grain
elevators
Worked together to improved the
lives of farmers!
Homestead Act
1862 act which gave 160
acres to any settler who
farmed the land for 5
years
Indian Treaties
Agreements between the
government and the Indian
tribes
*usually ignored when gold was
to be found on Native American
land!
Little Big Horn
1876, battle site of the Sioux &
Cheyenne warriors and the U.S.
army led by General George
Custer
Reservations
Land where Native Americans
were forced to live by the
government
Steel Plow
A plow which could cut through
prairie soil, or sod
Transcontinental
Railroad
The first railroad which
connected the East Coast with
the West Coast
The Union Pacific and Central
Pacific Railroads met at
Promontory Point, Utah
Culture
Entire way of life developed by a
people
Wounded Knee
300 Native Americans
(Sioux/Lakota) were killed by
the army here after fleeing the
reservations as a result of
Sitting Bull's death
Cattle Drive
Herding and moving herds of
cattle, usually to railroad lines
Examples: Chisholm Trail,
Western Trail
Sodbusters
Late 1800's, farmers on the Great
Plains
*They had to use a steel plow to
break through the tough sod
Manifest Destiny
1800's, belief that Americans had
the right to spread across the
continent
Plains Indians
Used Buffalo for everything!
o tepees
o clothes
o food
o tools
*Hunters rather than farmers
True or False?
In 1851, Native Americans were given land
and told it would be theirs forever.
True! Plains Indians and Americans met at
Fort Laramie and signed a treaty that
granted the Plains Indians land. They left
the boundaries though to follow
buffalo…and Americans entered it when
anything of value was discovered…like
gold
True or False?
General Sherman was defeated at
the Battle of Little Big Horn.
False! General Custer was
defeated…General Sherman
burned Atlanta towards the end of
the Civil War. Two different
people!!!!!!!
True or False?
Professional hunters, like Wild Bill
Coty, killed millions of elk,
changing the way of life of the
Plains Indians.
False! Buffalo were killed!
True or False?
The Sioux or Lakota did the Creator
Dance to get a new world for
Native Americans near Wounded
Knee in 1889.
False! They did the Ghost Dance. It
made the Americans so nervous
that the army showed up and
ended up killing more than 300
Sioux – including Sitting Bull.
True or False?
The Dawes Act encouraged Native
Americans to be soldiers.
False! The Dawes Act encouraged
Native Americans to be farmers –
to assimilate (become more
American)
True or False?
The loss of the buffalo caused
Native Americans to be dependent
on the government for food.
True. Most tribes were pushed onto
reservations – there was no room
to hunt buffalo. The U.S.
government practically controlled
them.
Mining
Where did miners come from?
All over the world!
How did mining help the west grow?
Miners needed supplies, so people
moved to provide them with food,
clothing, and other materials. Boom
towns were created as a result.
Railroads Across the West
The Central and Union Pacific
Railroads met at:
Promontory Point, Utah
When they met the long stretch of
railroad was called:
The transcontinental railroad!
Railroad Across the West
Why did railroad companies have
trouble getting workers?
It was dangerous work! Low pay!
Companies ended up getting
immigrants to do the work.
Railroads Across the West
Positives
• Increased population of the West
• Linked the East and West
• Transport materials faster and cheaper
Negatives
• Helped destroy Plains Indians culture
(buffalo!)
• Pollution
Cattle Ranching
Ranches were located all
over the plains states!
Cowboys pushed the cattle
drives north from Texas,
south from Montana, and
east from Kansas to railroad
lines. From there the cattle
would be transported east to
proved beef for eastern
cities.
Cattle Drives
Problems on the drive:
Who has the right to water from
streams?
Barbed Wire
Cattle froze or got stuck in sudden
snowstorms
Thunderstorms might cause a
stampede
Farming on the Frontier
Problems farmers faced:
Overproduction! They produced too
much…so the price of
the produce went down.
The farmers could not
get out of debt!
Farming on the Frontier
Problems farmers faced:
Climate!
Snowstorms
Drought/Grass Fires
Swarms of Grasshoppers
Rain/Wind Storms
Sodbusters
Homesteaders had to use sod…or
soil packed together tightly with
roots.
They learned to use a steel plow to
cut through the sod.
They also built their homes out of it!
A homesteading family with all of their possessions.
http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndirs/exhibitions/pioneer/camera/46.htm
Farmers Unite!
Wanted to decrease the high prices
RR companies were charging to
ship grain.
Also wanted to start making a profit
on their crops!
Farmers Unite!
The farmers started the
Granger Movement – created a
National Grange that shared all
the farmer’s money and bought
supplies in bulk to share.
The members of the National
Grange also voted together to
improve the lives of frontier
farmers.
Getting the Government to
Help
Populist Party (political party for the
people)
-wanted the U.S. government to
force RR companies to lower rates
-pushed for silver mined out west to
be coined into money (free silver) –
that way farmers could get out of debt.
*Bad news! That might lower the value
of the dollar!