Indigenous Cultures
Early Tennessee
Growth and Movement
Civil War and Reconstruction
Key Vocabulary
100

Which Cherokee leader created a written language for his people?

Sequoyah

100

What city served as Tennessee’s first capital?

Knoxville

100

What law forced many Cherokee people to relocate west?

Indian Removal Act of 1830

100

Which group was frequently targeted by the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction?

Formerly enslaved African Americans

100

What word means the movement of people from one place to another?

Migration

200

Which Indigenous culture is known for building large ceremonial mounds?

Mississippian culture

200

What mountain passage helped settlers travel into Tennessee?

Cumberland Gap

200

What road helped settlers travel west despite the Proclamation of 1763?

Wilderness Road

200

Which organization provided food, shelter, education, and legal assistance to formerly enslaved people?

Freedmen’s Bureau

200

What word means the effect or result of an event?

Consequence or impact

300

How did the Archaic people adjust when large animals became less available?  

They hunted smaller animals, gathered more types of food, and developed specialized hunting methods.

300

Why did settlers create the Watauga Compact?

To create self-government and help settlers work together for safety.

300

How did James K. Polk’s ideas influence United States expansion?

His expansionist ideas encouraged the United States to gain additional western territory, including Oregon.

300

Why were Middle and West Tennessee more likely to support the Confederacy?

These regions had larger enslaved populations and economies that depended more heavily on slavery.

300

What word describes the traditions and way of life of a group?

Culture 
400

What details show that the Chickasaw valued strong military traditions?

They were skilled hunters and warriors, formed strategic alliances, and held ceremonies connected to hunting and warfare.

400

What did the Battle of the Bluffs teach settlers about protecting their communities?

Forts and organized defense strategies were necessary for protection.

400

How did William Blount help the Southwest Territory move toward statehood?

He organized the territory, supported settlement, and helped prepare Tennessee for statehood.

400

What did the battles in Tennessee reveal about controlling the state during the Civil War?

It created a new state constitution and restored Tennessee’s government after Reconstruction.

400

What word means to change in order to survive or meet new conditions?

Adapt

500

How were Cherokee government, agriculture, religion, and trade connected to their way of life?

The Cherokee farmed fertile land, lived in organized towns, made decisions through councils, respected nature, and traded with other groups.

500

Name three challenges settlers faced while establishing the Cumberland Settlements.

Limited supplies, harsh winter weather and dangerous rivers, and attacks from Indigenous groups defending their land.

500

Explain how the Cumberland Gap and Wilderness Road worked together to encourage westward settlement.

Cumberland Gap provided a natural passage through the mountains, while Wilderness Road gave settlers a route through that passage.

500

How did the Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1870 affect the state after the Civil War?

Tennessee was strongly contested and could not be easily controlled by either side.  

500

What is the difference between resistance and consequence?

Resistance means opposing or fighting against something. A consequence is the result of an action or event.

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