Vocab & Key Terms
What term was used for farmers who worked tough sod on the Great Plains?
Sodbuster
What was usually the first thing to happen in a mining boomtown?
Merchants arrived
The Transcontinental Railroad connected what two parts of the United States?
East and West
What did Native Americans hope to gain by agreeing to stay in one place?
The right to be undisturbed
What trail was used to move cattle to railroads for shipping east?
Chisholm Trail or Goodnight Lovin Trail
What name was given to settlers who acquired free land from the government under the Homestead Act?
Homesteader
What usually happened second in a mining boomtown’s development?
Government officials replaced vigilantes
What were the two railroad companies that built the Transcontinental Railroad?
Union Pacific and Central Pacific
What treaty promised to protect Native American land “as long as the grass shall grow”?
Fort Laramie Treaty
What was the area called where ranching became a major business in the West?
Cattle Kingdom
What is land set aside for Native Americans to live on called?
Reservation
What event marked the end of most mining boomtowns?
The ore ran out
Leland Stanford
Which law tried (and failed) to turn Native Americans into farmers by giving them 160 acres of land?
Dawes Act
What led to the growth of the cattle industry in the West?
Railroads made it possible to ship beef to more markets
What was the name of the group of farmers who met for social and educational events?
Grange (or National Grange)
Many foreign immigrants in the West found work in which industry?
Railroad construction or mining
What major effect did the railroads have on the cattle industry?
They allowed cattle to be shipped to markets in the East
What 1890 battle marked the end of the era of Indian Wars?
Wounded Knee
Who were the low-paid laborers known for staying calm in the face of danger?
Cowhands
What term refers to a Mexican cowhand who influenced the American cowboy?
Vaquero
The discovery of gold and silver in the West led to the growth of what type of communities?
Boomtowns
Name a major effect of the Transcontinental Railroad on western settlement.
Encouraged people to move west
Transport goods more easily
In what battle were Colonel George Custer and all of his men killed?
Battle of Little Bighorn
What event helped ultimately bring an end to the Cattle Kingdom?
Harsh weather
Economic depression