Environment
Why did white settlers attempt to destroy the bison?
They wanted to destroy the Plains Indians' main source of food, shelter, clothing, and weapons.
Explain how Hawaii came into U.S. possession.
White sugar planters overthrew the Hawaiian queen and formed their own government, then the U.S. annexed them.
Name 5 examples of foods/other goods that originated in the Old World and were brought to the New World in the Columbian Exchange.
Chickens, cows, pigs, diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza...), enslaved people, oranges, lemons, carrots, coffee, sugarcane, apples, wheat, barley, rice...
How did the Navajo code-talking system work?
There were two systems: the first system was an alphabet in which English letters were represented by Navajo words that were translations of words starting with that letter; the second system for specific military vocabulary was just a translation of those terms into Navajo.
It provided Native Americans with American citizenship, but it was done without their consent and took away their recognition as sovereign, independent entities.
Name the 3 sisters crops.
Corn, beans, squash
The Navajo because their language was very difficult for outsiders to learn and almost no non-Navajo people knew it.
Name 5 examples of foods/other goods that originated in the New World and were brought to the Old World in the Columbian Exchange.
Chocolate, peanuts, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, pineapples, avocados, chili peppers, turkeys...
Why were indigenous children sent to boarding schools? What did they experience there?
They were separated from their families, sometimes by force, in order to destroy their Native identity and culture. They experienced physical and sexual abuse, disease, and isolation.
What was the Dawes Act? What was its goal?
The Dawes Act took any Native land that was not physically occupied and gave it to the government, who sold it to white settlers. The goal was to dismantle Native land and open up the west to more white settlement.
Explain how the 3 sisters crops supported each other.
Corn provided a tall, strong stalk that the beans could grow up; beans provided the soil with nitrogen; squash grew large leaves that protected the beans from the sun
Why were the 5 civilized tribes removed from their land? Where were they deported to?
Gold was discovered on Cherokee lands, while other lands were desired for white settlement and the Seminole lands in Florida had been a haven for runaway slaves. They were deported to "Indian Territory" in Oklahoma.
Where did the ancestors of the first Native Americans originate and how did they come to the Americas?
They originated in Asia and entered Alaska via the Bering land bridge.
What are conditions like today on Indian reservations?
They are among the poorest parts of the U.S., with few jobs, poor health care, poor infrastructure, drug and alcohol abuse, and violence. They are often not located on tribes' original lands and are almost always only a fraction of their original lands.
What was the Termination Era? What was its goal?
The Termination Era was a period in which the federal government began encouraging Native people to leave reservations and move to cities, then dissolving the reservations when their populations declined too much. The goal was to eliminate the government's obligations to Native tribes.
Name one piece of environmental legislation passed in the U.S. and its consequences.
Clean Air Act -- strict limits to greenhouse gas emissions and fines for violators
Clean Water Act -- strict limits on pollutants in water sources and fines for violators
Endangered Species Act -- protected endangered species from hunting or habitat destruction and fines or jail time for violators
Name the 5 "civilized tribes" and explain why they were called that by the Americans.
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole. They converted to Christianity, spoke English, wore Western clothes, used written languages, and held slaves.
Describe one peaceful act of indigenous resistance to American domination.
What did the Indian Removal Act do?
It authorized the government to buy out Indian land and force Indians off of it and onto "Indian Territory", starting with the Cherokee
Explain the Dust Bowl and its main causes.
The Dust Bowl was a period of intense drought and dust storms in the Midwest in the 1930s. It was caused by poor farming techniques like monocultures followed by periods of drought.
Name the 6 tribes of the Iroquois Confederation and which tribe joined the confederation later.
Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga, Tuscarora (joined later)
Describe one violent act of indigenous resistance to colonization.
Tecumseh's Confederacy, Tuscarora War, Pontiac's Rebellion