Challenges of the West
What type of climate made farming difficult in the Great Plains?
Hot summers, cold winters, little rainfall
What tool helped farmers cut through tough sod?
Steel Plow
What law gave settlers free land if they farmed it for 5 years?
Homestead Act
What did the Homestead Act offer settlers?
160 acres of land
What happened to many Indigenous people’s ancestral lands?
They were forcibly removed
They needed trees to build their houses and other structures.
What technology helped pump underground water for crops and animals?
Windmill
Name one economic reason people moved west.
Farming, mining, starting businesses, ranching
What group received land and money to build railroads?
Railroad companies - Union and Central Pacific
What did the U.S. government often break with Indigenous tribes?
Treaties
What are two types of storms that you can experience on the Great Plains?
Dust storms and Tornadoes
What invention allowed settlers to fence land without wood?
Barbed Wire
What transportation innovation made travel faster and easier?
Transcontinental Railroad
What was the goal of laws that divided tribal lands?
To force Indigenous people to farm
Name one violent conflict between the U.S. and Indigenous people
Battle of Little Bighorn or Wounded Knee
Name two physical features that made travel difficult in the Western half of the United States
Mountains and deserts
What type of house was built when wood wasn’t available?
Sod House
Why did immigrants move west?
Jobs and land opportunities
Who built the Transcontinental Railroad?
Irish, Chinese immigrants, freed African Americans, Civil War veterans
What animal’s decline hurt Plains tribes?
Buffalo
How did rivers and railroads influence western settlement?
They made transportation and trade safer, faster and easier
Dry farming is a method in which farmers grow crops using moisture from...
The soil
What personal reasons motivated people to move west for a fresh start?
Adventure, freedom, gold, a new start, technology
How did the Transcontinental Railroad help the U.S. military?
Moved troops and supplies faster
Name one way Indigenous communities showed resilience
Preserved languages, maintained tribal identity, passed down traditions