Key Vocabulary
A person who tries in an unofficial way to prevent crime
Vigilante
A political and spiritual leader of the Sioux warriors who destroyed General George Armstrong Custer's force in the famous battle of Little Big Horn
Sitting Bull
What does the act offer farmers?
160 acres in the West for free
The process of becoming a part, or making someone become a part, of a group, country, society, etc.
Assimilation
Union cavalry officer in the American Civil War and a U.S. commander in wars against Native Americans over control of the Great Plains
General George Custer
What did farmers have to do to get the land?
Farm it for 5 years and clear it
A grant or gift especially of money
Subsidy
A soldier in the American Civil War and later fought in armed conflicts against Native Americans on the Great Plains
Richard Pratt
What problems did farmers face?
Dry plains
An alternative shelter when wood or stone was scarce
Soddy/Soddies
Someone who goes to live and grow crops on land given by the government, especially in the past
Homesteaders
What 3 groups of people became Homesteaders and moved west to take advantage of the Homestead Act?
Homesteaders, Farm Families, Farmer Slaves
A great athlete that worked to bring Native American representation to the public eye
Jim Thorpe
What was the purpose of the Homestead Act?
To encourage farmers to move west