Westward Expansion
What law offered free land in the West to settlers who agreed to live on and improve the land?
The Homestead Act
What animal did many Native peoples of the Great Plains depend on for food, clothing, shelter, and tools?
Buffalo/American bison
What is the term for forcing a group to give up its traditional culture and adopt another culture?
Assimilation
What transportation system connected the eastern and western United States and made travel across the country faster and easier?
Transcontinental Railroad
Why were tipis useful for Native peoples living on the Great Plains?
They could be easily taken down, moved, and rebuilt.
What was the U.S. government trying to accomplish through the Dawes Act?
Assimilate Native Americans by encouraging/forcing them to give up traditional ways of life and adopt white American culture.
Give TWO reasons why Americans were motivated to move West during the 1800s.
Free land, farming opportunities, jobs/economic opportunities, easier transportation, new opportunities.
How did the destruction of the buffalo affect the traditional way of life of Plains Native Americans?
It took away an important source of food and materials and made it harder for Native peoples to maintain their traditional way of life.
How did the Dawes Act threaten Native American independence and traditional culture?
It broke up traditional Native lands and attempted to replace Native traditions and communal life with white American culture and individual land ownership.
Why did wars break out between Native Americans and U.S. settlers?
U.S. settlers ignored treaties protecting native lands
What was the name of land Native Americans were forced to live on?
Reservations
U.S. policies passed during this time were primarily concerned with what Native American possession?
Land.
Which parts of the United States were connected by the Transcontinental Railroad?
The East and West Coast
What was the significance of the Wounded Knee Massacre?
It ended the wars between the United States government and Native Americans.
How much land could you claim through the Homestead Act?
Up to 160 acres (quarter section)