Native Americans & The Wars for the West
What are reservations?
Area set aside for Native Americans
What was the number 1 cause of death for cowboys?
being dragged by their horse (or falling off)
What were the towns called that sprouted up quickly, and disappeared just as quickly, wherever mines were establish?
Boomtowns
What type of farming became popular in the West due to the lack of water?
Dry farming
What is the name of the battle known as "Custer's Last Stand"?
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Chief Joseph is best known for his...
Surrender speech
What was the main job of a cowboy?
driving cattle across the Great Plains
Where was the Comstock Lode discovered? What was found?
Nevada; silver
Who were Exodusters?
African Americans who moved West in hopes of facing less segregation and discrimination, and for more work opportunities.
The Long Walk forced which tribe to walk 300 miles to a reservation in NM/AZ?
Navajo
Lieutenant Custer insisted that the Sioux give up their reservation land in the Black Hills of the Dakotas because...
Gold had been discovered there
The cowboys borrowed many of their techniques from Mexican ranch hands called...
vaqueros
Which railroad employed 1000s of Irish immigrants?
Union Pacific
Provide 2 details about the houses of the early settlers in the Great Plains
used grass bricks to make walls
used wood, grass, and sod for roofs
"soddy" was the name for the first homes of settlers
leaky, damp, dark
used strips of turf
many animals had to live in them during cold winter months
Who was the Sioux leader that ambushed and killed 81 American cavalry troops?
Crazy Horse
Who was the chief of the Lakota?
Sitting Bull
What was the name for public land on which ranchers grazed large herds? What year did this officially end?
open range
1890
What were some of the effects of the development of the railroad? (Provide at least 2)
- opened the West to greater settlement
- provided the ability for supplies and goods to be moved quickly and efficiently
- created a new market for both the railroad itself and growing businesses to share their products/goods
What natural elements made farming in the west so difficult?
sod and dirt was hard to break through
harsh seasons
Which treaty was the first major treaty between the Plains Indians and the U.S. government negotiating land rights?
The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851 - round 2 in 1868).
Which treaty resulted in most southern Plains Indians moving to reservations?
The Treaty of Medicine Lodge
Which cattle trail goes from San Antonio, Texas to Abiliene, Kansas?
Chisolm Trail
What was the Golden Spike?
The point where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads connected to work together to expand the railroad from the East coast to the West coast.
What was the Oklahoma Land Rush?
- the last large migration West
- allowed settlers to take previously owned Native American land
What were the government's intentions in creating reservations? (3 answers)
- set aside land for their own purposes (Mining, ranching etc.)
- encourage settlers to move West without fear of opposition
- contain the NA to one area to make them easier to control
The Massacre at Wounded Knee was so important because it...
was the last major battle between the government and the Plains Native Americans
crushed the spirit of resistance within many Native American tribes
The Cattle Kingdom became so popular because of the demand for beef in which region of the U.S.?
East/east coast
What the Morill Act do? (Provide at least 1 specific example)
- granted more than 17 million acres of federal land to the states
- required each state to sell land and use the money to build colleges to teach agriculture and engineering
How did the Homestead Act encourage settlers to move West in the 1860s? (Provide at least 1 specific example)
- provided 160 acres of free land to people who promised to live there for 5 years.
- granted government owned land to small farms
- encouraged immigrants and citizens alike to move out West
What invention ended the open range?
barbed wire