APUSH Terms Chapter 17
Reservations
Boundaries assigned by the federal government to Indian tribes to isolate them from white society
Wounded Knee Massacre
Custer caught Big Foot's band, a leader of Ghost Dancers, and took them to an army camp. A native fired and about 100 men, women, and children were killed.
Black Hills
A rush in this area from 1874-'76 occurred when an army under Col. George Armstrong Custer went to prove there was no gold in this area for the Sioux's sake but ended up finding massive amounts. Gamblers, miners, desperados, and prostitutes flocked to Deadwood, the camp.
National Reclamation Act/Newlands Act
Act from 1802 that set aside most proceeds from public land sales in 16 western states to finance irrigation projects in the states-dams, canals, irrigation systems were put in dry areas creating a "hydraulic" society rich in crops. (2 names)
Desert Land Act
Act that allowed 640 acres in arid states to be bought for $1.25 per acre if they were irrigated in 3 years. Employers used hired hands to gain large tracts of land-fraud. (1877)
Timber and Stone Act
Act that permitted anyone in CA, NV, OR, WA to buy up to 160 acres of forest for $2.50 per acre. The lumber companies used employees to file false claims. (1878)
Hatch Act
Act that supported agricultural experiment stations
Buffalo soldiers
African American cavalrymen on the western frontier
Sand Creek massacre
Also known as the Chivington massacre; 1864 Cheyenne and Arapaho asked for peace between white settlers. In November of 1864 Colonel John M. Chivington led his Colorado militia to attack Chief Black Kettle.
Foreign Miners Tax
Charged foreigners $20 monthly licensing fee which drove them out.
Chief Joseph
Chief of Nez Perce tribe of OR, he led his tribe on a courageous trek covering 1321 miles over 75 days to rebel against gov't policy after the Battle of Little Bighorn
Colonel John Chivington
Colonel who led his Colorado militia to attack Chief Black Kettle's army at Sand Creek
Ghost Dances
Created in 1890 to bring back Indian lands and cause the whites to disappear. Dances and rites from vision of Paiute Messiah, Wovoka.
Buffalo Bill Cody
Created the Wild West Show in 1883; Sitting Bull guest performer.
Peace Commission
Created to end the Sioux war in 1867: stopped construction of Bozeman Trail, ended causes that resulted in small reservations that isolated Natives, taught them how to farm, gradually civilized them
Charles Goodnight
Drew up rules governing behavior on the trail
Horace Greeley
Editor of the New York Tribune; in 1867 he told NYC's unemployed that they needed to go West and take some of the land the government/Uncle Sam owed them and that they wouldn't crowd anybody.
Zebulon Pike
Explorer who thought country beyond MS was uninhabitable
Comstock Lode
Gold and silver found by Henry T. P. Comstock.
Big Bonanza
Huge mineral spot more than 54 feet wide found by John W. Mackay and 3 partners
Pikes Peak
In 1859 mining strikes broke out near here and Carson River and sparked migrations; soon dried out.
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
In 1876, this colonel marched into the Black Hills of South Dakota, a section of the Sioux Indian reservation, and proclaimed this discovery of gold.
Joseph Glidden
Invented barbed wire
Indian Country
Land west of the Mississippi so named by the government
Sitting Bull
Led group of Sioux along with Crazy Horse to stop prospectors from swarming in to the Black Hills because of the Gold Rush of 1875. Also performed in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show of 1883
Crazy Horse
Led group of Sioux along with Sitting Bull to stop prospectors from swarming in to the Black Hills because of the Gold Rush of 1875
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Occurred when Custer marched his column of men deep into Sioux territory to stop possible uprising due to his claim to gold in the Black Hills. Custer came upon 2500 Sioux warriors at this place. The colonel and his men were killed and the Native Americans faced revenge from whites.
Carlisle Indian School
One of many schools Indian children were brought to to adjust to white culture
Vigilance committee
Organized by free blacks to protect fugitive slaves and thwart the slave-cathers
Chinese Exclusion Act
Pass by Congress it suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years
Indian Intercourse Act
Passed in 1834 this act prohibited any white person from entering Indian country without a license
Gold Rush of 1849
Sparked first movement West to CA and OR on the Overland Trail
Counting coup
Tactics Indians used to anger an enemy, they would touch the enemy's body with their hand or special stick
Great American Desert
Term coined by maps showing land beyond MS was unihabitable
Fetterman massacre
The Sioux opposed the development of the Bozeman Trail through their hunting grounds so they lured Captain William J. Fetterman into the wilderness, ambushed him, then killed his whole company
Dawes Severalty Act
The federal gov't enacted this act, which divided tribal lands into small distributable plots; each family got 160 acres, single people received 80 acres, kids got 40 acres and the surplus land was sold to whites; the money helped fund schools.
Oregon Trail
The great overland route that brought the wagon trains of American migrants to the West Coast during the 1840s.
Chisholm Trail
The most famous trail for shipping longhorn; it ran from S. TX through OK Territory to Ellsworth and Abilene, KS, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
Homestead Act
This act granted 160 acres to any family that would agree to farm it for at least five years (1862)
California Trail
Trail opened during the 1840s for overlanders heading for CA
Mormon Trail
Trail that led Mormons away from their religious persecution in the East to the west such as UT
Timber Culture Act
Tried to adjust Homestead Act of 1862 to west-allowed homesteaders to claim additional 160 acres if they planted trees on ¼ of the land within 4 years. Distributed 10 million acres, encouraged forestation, enabled expansion of bigger farms. (1873)
