American History Final Exam

Reconstruction

14th Amendment to the Constitution passed by Congress in 1866 - Made law in 1868. Gave full citizenship to all people born in U.S. States. States had to ratify before re-entering the Union. Tennessee did first.

We do not know exactly how many slaves escaped from their owners using the Underground Railroad (it was secret right?) but the reading mentions that a judge in 1855 made a reasonable estimate of that number the South had lost by the year 1855. What was that estimated number?

60,000 Slaves

The University of Oklahoma has as their mascot name "The Sooners". Explain what a "Sooner" was.

A sooner was a settler who slipped into Oklahoma before April 22, 1889.

According to your text, what three reasons were given that would justify the fact railroad companies hired white hunters to slaughter millions of buffalo on the plains?

A. After the Civil War, however, American hunters hired by the railroads began slaughtering the animals to feed the crews building the railroads. B. The railroad companies also wanted to prevent the giant herds of buffalo from blocking the trains. C. Starting in 1872, hunters targeted buffalo to sell the hides back East.

In what two ways was the Dawes Act going to eliminate these perceived weaknesses?

A. Break up reservations B. End identification with a tribal group

What were the two things the runaway slaves had to deal with that made their freedom not as joyful as they thought it would be?

A. Canada was a foreign land to African Americans where - although slavery was illegal - prejudice against blacks was common. B. In addition the joy of liberty was tempered by the pain of being separated from loved ones who were often left behind in slavery.

What 3 reasons did the text book give you to explain why the desired results of Dawes Act were not achieved?

A. Many Native Americans had little training. B. Many Native Americans had little enthusiasm. C. Like homesteaders, they often found their land to small to be profitable, and so they sold it.

The Homestead Act was a law passed by the federal government in 1862 and its purpose was to encourage settlers to head west. Under the law each settler would receive 160 acres of "free" land if they did 2 things. What were those 2 things settlers had to do?

A. Pay a $10 filing fee B. Live on the land for five years

Provide for me the 3 factors or reasons that brought settlers to the Plains region.

A. Railroads made the journey west easier and cheaper. B. New laws offered free land. C. Finally, above-average rainfall in the late 1870's made the land better suited to farming.

What were the two weaknesses whites thought Native American culture had?

A. The lack of private property B. The nomadic tradition

According to your text, what 5 factors led to changes in the lifestyle of the Native Americans?

A. The movement of whites onto their lands B. The slaughter of the buffalo C. U.S. army attacks D. The reservation policy E. Change also came from reformers who wanted to absorb Native Americans into white culture.

Civil War

After the war, and following President Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, Southerners watched anxiously to see how the United States might act against them. When they were not severely punished, they pushed to regain as much power over former slaves as possible.

Up to this point in time in our nation's history women had not been given the same rights as men. In looking at the Homestead Act , women were still discriminated against but at the same time they weren't and had the same rights as men. Explain how this could be.

Although married women could not claim land, single women and widows had the same rights as men - and they used the Homestead Act to acquire property. In Colorado and Wyoming, for example, 12 percent of all those who filed claims were women.

What did the U.S. government do or not do that led to the battle at Little Big Horn?

An 1868 treaty was supposed to bring peace, but tensions remained and erupted in more fighting. This time the conflict arose over the Black Hills of the Dakotas. The government had promised that "No white person or persons shall be permitted" to settle on the Black Hills. However, the hills were rumored to contain gold, and white prospectors swarmed into the area. The Sioux protested against the trespassers. Instead of protecting the Sioux's rights, the government tried to buy the hills.

According to your text, what is the definition for the word "Reservation"?

An area of public lands set aside for Native Americans

Civil War

By war's end, millions of children had been orphaned or had seen their fathers and brothers disabled for life.

Sacramento

California

Which country was the final destination for the slaves who told their personal stories in the reading?

Canada

Why did most pf the cattle drives from Texas heading north begin in the spring time?

Cattle drives left Texas in the spring, when there was enough grass along the way to feed the cattle.

List the 5 other Native American tribes that were also located there.

Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache

In what future state did the Sand Creek Massacre occur?

Colorado

What is the name of the Sioux leader who lead the attack on the U.S. military in Wyoming and Montana area that would become known as the Fetterman Massacre?

Crazy Horse

List for me 3 words that describe the Native American culture and list for me 3 words that describe your feelings about the actions taken by the U.S. government in the conflict with Native Americans.

Culture: Unique, Family, and Nomadic; Actions Taken: Selfish, Greedy, and Possessive

In what territory was the reservation for the Sioux located?

Dakota Territory

Independence of Texas

Despite losing the Alamo, the Americans eventually won independence for Texas in 1836.

Civil War

Emancipation began as soon as the war started.

What does the term "Open Range" mean?

Even though very large cattle ranches were found throughout the state, much of Texas was open range - which means it was not fenced or divided into lots.

Civil War

Far more men died of disease than from rifles.

What is the name of the leader of the Apache tribe that was located in the Southwestern part of the U.S.?

Geronimo

Using your inference skills, why do you think places like Colorado and Wyoming had such a high percentage of women (12%) filing for land claims under the Homestead Act?

I believe that places like Colorado and Wyoming had a such high percentage filing for land claims under the Homestead Act because many battles were taking place at this time, which lead to many deaths of men and widowed wives with no land.

Early America

In 1756 the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which taxed newspapers and other printed material.

Give an example of how that culture had an influence on the cattle herding industry?

In fact, cattle herding traditions began in the Spanish Southwest when Hispanic ranch hands, known as vaqueros, developed the riding, roping, and branding skills used by cowhands.

The Ghost Dance was a ceremony that celebrated a hopeful day in the future when there would be a disappearance of one thing and the return of another; what were these two things.

It celebrated the hopeful disappearance of settlers. It celebrated the hopeful return of buffalo.

Bleeding Kansas

John Brown and his followers, including his two sons, pulled five men from their beds in the proslavery settlement of Pottawatomie Creek, hacked off their hands, and killed them with broad swords.

Bleeding Kansas

John Brown was part of a group of volunteers marching up to the defense of Lawrence.

Abilene

Kansas

Dodge City

Kansas

Topeka

Kansas

What is the name of the Lakota Sioux leader who spoke out when the U.S. government tried to buy the Black Hills and what did this leader say?

Leader: Sitting Bull; He said: "I do not want to sell any land. Not even this much," he said, holding a pinch of dust.

Reconstruction

Lincoln and Congress set up freedmen's bereau in 1865 to help African Americans adapt to freedom.

Slaves in Texas headed to where?

Mexico

As the Plains and the west changed, which ethnic group in America was impacted by these changes the most?

Native Americans

Omaha

Nebraska

Civil War

New technologies played a critical role in the Civil War, and yet the war was very old-fashioned in some ways.

Based on the reading in the text, does it appear to you that there was ever a season or a time of year where the farmer on the Plains did not have to face hardships?

No

Did the Underground Railroad have a lot of organization?

No

Was the Dawes Act an improvement over previous government Native American policy in which Native Americans were physically removed from their land to the reservations? Explain.

No. The act called the breakup of reservations and an end to identification with a tribal group. Each Native American would receive a plot of reservation land. Reformers hoped that the native peoples would become farmers and, in time, American citizens. Some Native Americans succeeded as farmers or ranchers, but many had little training or enthusiasm for either pursuit. Like homesteaders, they often found their land too small to be profitable, and so they sold it.

Only Buffalo Roaming States and Territories

None

In which direction would most runaway slaves from the northern region of the South (The Upper South) go if they wanted to gain freedom?

North

Civil War

Northerners and Southerners thought a few battles would settle the conflict between the two regions, but the first battle, at Bull Run in Virginia in July 1861, was a fiasco for both sides.

Slavery existed in many states of our nation during this time period, but there was a small narrow band or strip of states that provided some safety to these escaped slaves. List those 6 states that made up that narrow band.

Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and New York

Using the map on page 126 in your text, in what current day state did the government place the reservations for the Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw?

Oklahoma

The way land was claimed by settlers in the Oklahoma Territory was different than how it was claimed in other parts of the Plains. Explain how the distribution of land happened there.

On the morning of April 22, 1889 - the official opening day - more than 10,000 people lined up on the edge of this land. At the sound of a bugle, the homesteaders charged across the border to stake out their claims. The eager boomers, as the homesteaders were called, discovered that some settlers had already slipped into Oklahoma. These "sooners" already claimed most of the best land. Within a few years, all of Oklahoma was opened to settlement.

Which 5 groups paid for advertising in an attempt to get settlers to move west?

Railroads, steamship companies, land speculators, western states, and western territories

Herding cattle from Texas on long cattle drives north was hing for a time and very profitable. What brought this "Cattle Kingdom" to end?

Ranching eventually began to replace the cattle drives, because ranchers were able to produce hardier, plumper cattle. The ranchers became rich when the cattle prices boomed. Then, as a result of too many cattle for sale on the beef market, cattle's prices fell, bringing an end to the "Cattle Kingdom."

Legend says the Underground Railroad got its name after a slave escaped and the owner of the slave couldn't find him; the owner thought the slave escaped on an underground what?

Road

Civil War

Secession took a long time to unfold, and slaver almost became a constitutional right.

The remaining slaves in the Deep South headed to where?

Some slaves escaped to the Bahamas.

Some runaway slaves headed to the deep forests or swamps of the south. Describe how they would survive in these places. (shelter?food?)

Sometimes bands of runaways fled into the deep forests or swamps, where they established camps and built huts in which to live. Some grew their own food; others obtained it by raiding nearby farms.

Which culture had a strong influence on the cattle industry?

Spanish

Western Trail

Starts: Bandera; Goes Through: Colorado River, Brazos River, Red River, Arkansas River, and Dodge City; Ends: Ogallala

Goodnight-Loving Trail

Starts: Fort Concho; Goes Through: Pecos River, Arkansas River, Pueblo and Denver; Ends: Cheyenne

Sedalia Trail

Starts: Nueces River; Goes Through; Colorado River, Brazos River, Sabine River, Red River, and Arkansas River Ends: Sedalia

Transcontinental Union/Central Pacific Railroad

Starts: Sacramento, California; Ends: Chicago, Illinois

Chisholm Trail

Starts: San Antonio; Breaks into two parts; Both Sides Go Through: Colorado River, Brazos River, Red River, and Arkansas River; East Side Goes Through: Wichita; West Side Ends: Ellsworth; East Side Ends: Abilene

Both Cattle and Buffalo Roaming States and Territories

Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma Territory, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana

Reconstruction

The 15th Amendment was passed in 1869. It prohibits states and federal government from denying the right to vote to any male based on race, color or previous condition of servitude.

Independence of Texas

The American settlers fought the Mexican army in several battles including the Alamo.

What river separates Ohio and Kentucky as well as most of the free states from the slave states?

The Ohio

Why did many farmers on the Plains have to use a new farming technique called "Dry Farming?" Why couldn't they just farm using the same ways as farmers in the East?

The Plains could not be farmed by the methods of the 1860's. Most of the region had little rainfall and few streams for irrigation. Plain farmers, known as sodbusters, needed new methods and tools. One approach, called dry farming, was to plant seeds deep in moist ground. However, wooden plows could not penetrate the tough layer of sod. By the late 1870's, farmers could use the new lightweight steel plow that was better for digging into sod. Dry farming, however, would not produce large yields, and the 160-acre (65 ha) grants were too small. Most farmers needed at least 300 acres (121 ha) and advanced machinery to make a profit. Many farmers went in debt. Others lost ownership of their farms and then had to pay rent for the land.

Independence of Texas

The Republic of Texas lasted for nine years before becoming part of the United States in 1845.

Early America

The Treaty of Paris was passed in 1763, it finally halted the war and marked the end of France as a power in North America.

What was the greatest challenge farmers on the Plains faced?

The climate of the Plains

How did the end of Reconstruction contribute to the fact African Americans migrated to the Plains region, in fact by 1881, more than 40,000 African Americans had settled in Kansas.

The end of Reconstruction in 1877 had meant the end of federal protection for African Americans. Fearing for their safety in former slave regions, freed people sought land farther west. By 1881, more than 40,000 African Americans had migrated to Kansas.

Why was the Oklahoma Territory the last region on the Plains to be settled?

The last region of the Plains to be settled was the Oklahoma Territory, which Congress designated as "Indian Territory" in the 1830's. In 1889, after years of pressure from land dealers and settlers, the government Oklahoma to homesteaders.

Civil War

The men who would become the Confederacy's leaders, both political and military, had been leaders in the United States right up to the moment of secession.

Why was it easy for slave catchers to catch runaway slaves along this rive?

There were only a few suitable crossing points along this river, which made it easy for slave hunters to watch the river and search for their prey. The Ohio River was swift and deep.

Which 3 groups of people became cowhands?

Veterans of the Civil War, African Americans who moved west in search of a better life, and Hispanics

Only Cattle Roaming States and Territories

Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah Territory, and Arizona Territory

If you were a runaway slave from the deep south and you were from Arkansas, where would you go if you wanted to gain your freedom?

West to Native American Territory

Farmers needed steel plows rather than the traditional wooden plows to have a chance at success on the Plains; what other two tools did the farmers use in hopes of becoming successful farmers on the Plains?

Windmills and barbed wire

Civil War

Women were involved in every aspect of the war.

In your opinion, who had the harder life farming on the Plains, men or women? Explain.

Women. Men labored hard in the fields. Women often did the same work, but they also cared for the children, sewed clothing, made candles, and cooked and preserved food. When the men were away, women bore all responsibility for keeping the farm running.

What bloody event marked the end of the conflict between the U.S. government and the Native Americans?

Wounded Knee

Was trickery used by the federal government to get Native Americans to move to the reservations?

Yes