Abraham Lincoln signed this law in 1862 to encourage people to settle the western frontier. It promised 160 acres of land for only $18!
The Homestead Act
100
Before the Transcontinental Railroad, people had to travel in a _________ to get from Missouri to California.
Stagecoach, covered wagon
100
This was how cowboys transported cattle from Texas to the trains by this method.
Cattle drive
100
Define the word reservation.
a place the US government forced Native American people to live
100
The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad allowed people and goods to travel from coast to coast in as little as a _______.
a week
200
This was the MAIN purpose of the Homestead Act.
To expand out west, to settle the Great Plains
200
Explain how covered wagons would cross over rivers.
Remove the wagon wheels, then float the wagon across
200
This is why cattle drives profitable for Texas ranchers.
Cattle was sold for money to people in the eastern part of the country
200
How did westward expansion affect Native Americans?
they were pushed further and further west and onto reservations
200
This railroad company starting building in California and laid track east toward Missouri. They faced the challenge of building through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains.