Vocabulary
What were the Great Plains?
Grassland extending through the west-central portion of the United States.
What was the Morrill Act?
it gave federal land to the states to help finance agricultural colleges,
When did the life of Native Americans begin to change?
once they acquired horses and then guns, they were able to travel farther and hunt more efficiently.
How much did both the Union Pacific and Central Pacific receive of public land?
10 square miles of public land for every mile of track laid in a state and 20 square miles of land for every mile of track laid in a territory.
What was the cause of farmers who were trapped in a vicious economic cycle?
Prices for crops were falling, and farmers often mortgaged their farms so that they could buy more land and produce more crops. Good farming land was becoming scarce, though, and banks were foreclosing on the mortgages of increasing numbers of farmers who couldn’t make payments on their loans.
What was the Treaty of Fort Laramie?
it was the Sioux agreeing to live on a reservation along the Missouri River, which was forced on the leaders of the Sioux in 1868.
What is the bonanza farm?
enormous single-crop spreads of 15,000–50,000 acres.
Why were people going Westward?
The discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858 drew tens of thousands of miners to the region.
What was another attraction of the Western land?
Its land.
What did the lack of competition among the railroads effect the cost?
It might cost more to ship grain from the Dakotas to Minneapolis by rail than from Chicago to England by boat.
What was the Dawes Act?
the right for the federal government to break up tribal lands by partitioning them into individual plots
What was the Grange?
the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization for farmers.
What did the Massacre at the Sand Creek cause?
The attack at dawn on November 29, 1864 killed over 150 inhabitants, mostly women and children.
What hardships did frontier settlers face?
droughts, floods, fires, blizzards, locust plagues, and occasional raids by outlaws and Native Americans.
What was the original purpose of Grange?
to provide a social outlet and an educational forum for isolated farm families.
What is the Battle of Wounded Knee?
the definitive end of Indian resistance to the encroachments of white settlers.
What is Populism?
the movement of the people.
What would Assimilation do?
a plan under which Native Americans would give up their beliefs and way of life and become part of the white culture.
Why were farmers becoming in debt?
Elaborate machinery was expensive, and farmers often had to borrow money to buy it.
What was the economic reforms by Populists proposal?
an increase in the money supply, which would produce a rise in prices received for goods and services; a graduated income tax; and a federal loan program.
What was the Homestead Act?
An offering of 160 acres of land free to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of the household.
What is Bimetallism?
a monetary system in which the government would give citizens either gold or silver in exchange for paper currency or checks.
When did cattle become big business?
As cattle ranchers opened up the Great Plains to big business, ranching from Texas to Kansas became a profitable investment.
What did the government create to protect the wilderness from the settlement?
In 1872, the government created Yellowstone National Park.
What caused the ending of the Populism movement?
The wining presidential election of William McKinley.