Westward Expansion: Social & Cultural Development (College Board AP® US History): Flashcards
0Still learning
Know0
- FrontMigration Westward
Define Homestead Act (1862).
Was this flashcard helpful?
Cards in this collection (38)
Define Homestead Act (1862).
The Homestead Act offered settlers 160 acres of land at no cost if they lived on it for at least five years and improved it by farming or building.
What were the aims of the Homestead Act?
The Act aimed to stimulate migration, grow the economy, and encourage agricultural development.
Define sodbusters.
Sodbusters were Great Plains farmers, named for the difficulty of plowing dense, compact soil.
What environmental challenges did Great Plains settlers face?
Settlers faced extreme weather, pests, limited natural resources, and a lack of materials for building homes.
Why did many settlers abandon their homestead claims?
A lack of farming experience led many settlers to abandon their claims.
Define boomtown.
A boomtown was a town that sprang up rapidly around mining camps after gold or silver was found, and often declined just as quickly once the resources ran out.
Why did ranching become a major Western industry?
Demand for beef increased across the country.
Define vaqueros.
Vaqueros were Mexican cowboys who helped drive cattle herds.
True or False?
A cowboy's work matched its romanticized image.
False.
The reality of a cowboy's work was lonely and dangerous.
The Trail ran from San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas.
The Chisholm Trail ran from San Antonio, Texas, to Abilene, Kansas.
Which Kansas towns became centers of the cattle trade?
Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge City became centers of the cattle trade.
Why did the long cattle drives come to an end?
Barbed wire limited open grazing, and railroad expansion let cattle be loaded closer to ranches.
What motivated people to move West?
People sought a new start and escape from debt and poverty, independence through land ownership, and self-sufficiency through farming.
Define reservation system.
The reservation system was a federal policy to control and relocate Indigenous populations onto specific, designated areas of land.
Why were the bison herds wiped out?
The herds were wiped out by overhunting by settlers for hides and sport, and by intentional efforts to undermine Indigenous self-sufficiency.
How did the destruction of the bison herds affect Indigenous communities?
It led to starvation and dependence on government provisions.
True or False?
The Dawes Act (1887) marked the official creation of reservations.
False.
The Indian Appropriations Act (1851) marked the official creation of reservations. The Dawes Act later divided reservation land into individual allotments.
What were reservations intended to do?
Reservations were intended to limit the movement of tribes, ending their nomadic way of life, separate tribes from White settlers, and assimilate Indigenous peoples into White culture.
What was the purpose of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)?
It aimed to establish boundaries for tribal lands and promote peace, but the US government failed to honor it.
What triggered the Sioux Wars?
The discovery of gold in the Black Hills (1874-1875) brought miners and settlers onto Sioux lands.
The Battle of (1876) was one of a series of conflicts between the US Army and the Sioux nation.
The Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) was one of a series of conflicts between the US Army and the Sioux nation.
What was the outcome of the Sioux Wars?
The Sioux were defeated and forced onto reservations.
Define Ghost Dance Movement.
The Ghost Dance Movement was a religious movement among Plains tribes, particularly the Lakota Sioux, whose followers believed it would recall dead ancestors, rid the land of settlers, and reclaim their culture.
What happened at Wounded Knee in 1890?
Federal troops killed hundreds of Lakota Sioux, many of them women and children, marking the end of major Indigenous resistance on the Plains.
Define Dawes Act (1887).
The Dawes Act (General Allotment Act) aimed to dissolve tribal land ownership by dividing reservation land into individual allotments, and to assimilate Indigenous peoples.
What happened to reservation land left over after allotment?
Excess land was sold to settlers, causing a significant loss of tribal land.
How could Indigenous people become US citizens under the Dawes Act?
They could become citizens by accepting land allotments and adopting European-American farming practices and culture.
Apart from land loss, how did the Dawes Act affect tribes?
It undermined tribal unity and communal land ownership and increased dependence on the federal government.
What did the US Census Bureau declare in 1890?
The US Census Bureau declared the end of the frontier.
Why was the closing of the frontier a turning point in US history?
It signaled the end of westward expansion.
In , historian Frederick Jackson Turner published his Frontier Thesis.
In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner published his Frontier Thesis.
Define Frontier Thesis.
The Frontier Thesis was Frederick Jackson Turner's argument that the frontier had been vital in shaping American qualities and values.
Which American qualities did Turner say the frontier had shaped?
Turner said the frontier had shaped self-reliance, ingenuity, and resourcefulness.
According to Turner, what opportunity had the frontier given Americans?
The frontier had given Americans a fresh start and the ability to reinvent themselves.
What did Turner fear the closing of the frontier would mean?
He feared the loss of a key element of the American spirit and of the nation's cultural traits.
Why did some historians praise the Frontier Thesis?
Some praised it for capturing the essence of American history.
True or False?
Critics said Turner's Frontier Thesis overstated the roles of Indigenous peoples, immigrants, and women.
False.
Critics said the Frontier Thesis ignored the roles of Indigenous peoples, immigrants, and women.
How did Turner's ideas affect American identity?
Turner's ideas reinforced the belief in expansion as a key part of American identity.
Sign up to unlock flashcards
or