U.S history ch. 5

How did the Trans-continental railroad open up the West for settlement?

1. It provided a cheaper, faster means for people to reach the west. 2. Now people with less income seeking a new start on life could pick up and move west.

What was the role of the american frontier in 1893?

American social development has been continually beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American frontier.

What factors helped bring an end to the open range?

Dry summers, harsh winters, and overgazing of the land and barbed wire was very expensive.

Where did the Chisholm trail run?

From San Antonio, Texas through Oklahoma to Abilene, Kansas.

Why did the black hills become a contested territory between Native Americans and whites?

Gold had been discovered in sacred Native lands, a confrontation was inevitable.

What was the Government's policy toward Native American land?

In 1834, the government designated the Great Plains as one enormous reservation, but in the 1850s they changed their policy and created treaties that defined boundaries for each tribe.

How did the federal government encourage western settlement?

In 1862, congress passed the Homestead act, offering 160 acres of land free to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of the household.

Why was the destruction of the Buffalo so detrimental to the Native American way of life?

The Buffalo provided the Plains Indians with their main source of food, clothing, shelter, and food. The destruction of the Buffalo changed Native American life forever.

What was the Dawes Act and what goal did it seek to achieve?

The Dawes Act was the act that broke up the reservation system, gave parts of reservations to individual Native Americans, and abolished the tribal system. Its goal was to Americanize the natives.

What were the characteristics of the Plains Indians culture?

The Plains Indians united and planted crops and settled in small villages. Nomadic tribes gathered wild food and hunted buffalo. Both abided by trible law and produced tools and clothing.

What were the consequences of the battle of wounded knee?

The consequences involved the end of the Indians wars on the Great Plains, and resulted in the deaths of many elderly women and children.

Why did settlers continue to push westward?

The discovery of gold in the black hills of colorado.

What steps did the government take to preserve the nations dwindling open land space?

The government Yellowstone National Park and forced the railroad companies to give up their claims to massive pieces of land in the Great Plains.

How did the culture of white settlers differ from that of the Plains Indians?

The settlers believed that only land or starting a business would give them a steak in the country that the Native Americans had not improved the land, so they had forfeited their right to right.

How did the cowboy's life differ from the myth about it?

They are educated in business and run profitable businesses.

How did new inventions change farming in the west?

They made farm work faster, and made more grain available for a wider market.

What developments led to the rapid growth of the cattle industry?

cities (rapid growth) & chisolm trail.