Lesson 1
In what year did the Louisiana Purchase occur?
1803
Western communities that grew suddenly when a mine opened.
Boomtowns
These two animals were essential to the Plains Indians' culture.
Buffalo and Horse
What was the most significant goal of the National Grange during the 1870’s
Regulation of railroads
Why did most people travel on the Oregon Trail?
1. For farming, land, and the weather
2. They were escaping their problems in the East
3. For fur trapping and trade
Why was Louisiana Purchase important to the growth of the U.S.?
It roughly doubled size of U.S.
How did Joseph McCoy's building of cattle pens affect the cattle trade?
It allowed longhorn cattle to be shipped to eastern markets.
This battle against Sioux forces was the worst defeat of the U.S. Army on the Great Plains.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn
What was the goal of the Free Silver Movement?
backing paper currency with silver
What is the main reason people traveled the Santa Fe Trail?
Search of markets for new goods and to trade with Mexico
Who was tasked with exploring the new Louisiana Territory?
Lewis and Clark
Why was the Cattle Kingdom important?
It provided food supply for a growing population in the East.
Who was a Sioux leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn?
1. Crazy Horse
2. Sitting Bull
What was one of the goals of the Populist Party?
government ownership of communications and railroads
What was the main reason people were traveling on the Mormon Trail?
To find religious freedom in an isolated location.
How did Sacagawea help Lewis and Clark?
She was a translator, guide, worked with Indian relations
Which trail was the most famous for cattle drives?
Chisholm Trail
What event is considered the last major incident between the U.S. Army and Native Americans on the Great Plain?
Massacre at Wounded Knee
What was the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889?
Native American land went to white settlers for free
What Act did Congress pass to increase the amount of silver purchased for coinage?
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
What was the main thoroughfare for settlers heading West through the Appalachians?
Wilderness Road
What 3 things contributed to the end of the cattle kingdom?
1. Competition
2. Invention of Barbed Wire
3. Overgrazing - loss of grasslands
Which Native American tribe was forced to go on the Long Walk?
Navajo
Why did the frontier cease to exist after the 1890’s?
All of the areas in the west had by this time been settled
Term used for when the money supply grows more slowly than the population.
deflation
Fur traders and trappers who moved west were known as this.
Mountain Men
What were 3 effects of the transcontinental railroad?
1. more manufactured goods shipped to the West
2. more raw materials shipped to the East
3. faster transportation between regions
How did the Dawes General Allotment Act try to end traditional influences on Native Americans?
by dividing reservation lands into individually owned plots
The Great Plains became known as what?
the breadbasket of the world
A social and educational organization for farmers.
The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry
Which economic activity brought the first Americans to the West?
fur trading
Name the two different immigrants who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad.
1. Chinese
2. Irish
How did the Homestead Act of 1862 help to settle the West?
it encouraged settlers to move west by offering free land.
What led to the fall of farm incomes?
More farms and greater productivity led to overproduction and lower prices.
What Act gave federal land to states to sell in order to fund college to teach agriculture and engineering?
Morrill Act
Term coined by writer John O'Sullivan in 1845 that was based on the idea that Americans could build a new, better society founded on democratic principles.
Manifest Destiny
What were 4 serious challenges for companies building the Transcontinental Railroad?
1. Crossing mountain ranges
2. Facing snowstorms and harsh weather
3. Attacks by Native American war parties
4. Getting food and supplies to the workers
What treaty recognized Native American claims to the Great Plains. It allowed the United States to build forts and travel across Native American lands.
Treaty of Fort Laramie
The Populist Party supported who in the presidential election of 1896?
William Jennings Bryan
What decade did the frontier cease to exist in the United States
1890s