American West Dates Flashcards by Jack R

How many horses did the Hunkpapa Sioux have in 1870

3,500

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Indian Removal Act, date and describe

28th May 1830

Forced Indians to move west of the Mississippi River Over 46,000 moved

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Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, date and describe

30th June 1843
Sets out a frontier (border) between US and Indian territory
Stopped whites from settling on Indian lands
Prevented the sale of any guns or alcohol to Indians by white traders
The frontier was guarded

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The US victory in the Mexican-American war, date and describe

2nd February 1848
Gained territory such as california
Now meant that Indians were in the middle of US land

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Indian Appropriations act, date and describe

29th Feb 1851 Funded the moving of American Indians to reservations in modern-day Oklahoma

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Economic crash, date and describe

1837
Encouraged people to move westwards
Unemployment as high as 25% in some areas

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Oregon Trail first publicized, date and describe

1825 by Jedidiah Smith
First used by fur-trappers
Enabled large family groups to move westwards

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Transcontinental replaces Oregon Trail as the main method for traveling west, date

1869

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By 1846 how many people had migrated west along the Oregon trail?

5,000

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Gold rush, date and describe

April 1849
100,000 people left the east for California
Most unsuccessful

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Californias population in 1855

300,000

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The Donner Party, date and describe

1846
300 migrants led by the Donner brothers
Well equipped but a lot of elderly people
The group split at Fort Bridger in the Rocky Mountains
Both brothers decided to try the new shortcut
Lansford Hastings had not actually tried this route himself
The short cut took longer
By mid-October, the party had only reached the Sierra Nevada mountains
Livestock died and they were trapped
40 died, including George Donner

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When were the Mormons ordered to leave Illinois? Why?

1845 because they were receiving a lot of hate and rioters had murdered their leader Joseph Smith

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The Successful Mormon Migration, date and describe

1846-47
Mormons stayed at Omaha till Spring to avoid hard Winter
The advance party was well supplied with enough food for a year and a portable boat to help with river crossings
The advance party planted crops and found water sources
Young organized a count of all the Mormons before they left, finding 3,000 families and 2,500 wagons
Young consulted trail guides and the Mormons were divided into manageable groups
Young taught the migrants how to form their wagons into a circle to keep livestock safe, regular resting stops planned

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When did farmers in California and Oregon begin exporting grain to Europe? Why?

1850’s because they were producing so much wheat as the conditions were great for farming

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When did settlement begin on the great plains? Example

1850’s
New territories of Kansas and Nebraska opened up behind the permanent Indian Frontier
The US government opened them up for settlement

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Fort Laramie treaty, date and describe

1851
.Problems between the settlers and Indians meant the government had to step in and make a treaty
.Problems from the start as the Indians and government worked in different ways - each tribe was told to bring 1 chief to represent them, but they don’t work like this so some didn’t attend, they also tried to agree on boundries, but this isn’t how Indians use the land)
.The main terms were:
The government would protect Indians from white Americans
The government would pay them $50,000 a year if they kept to the terms
Indians would allow the government to build roads on their land
Plains Indians would end fighting between the tribes
Indians would permit railroad companies to enter their lands safely
.Treaty failed as Indians kept fighting and migrants did not stick to the trail

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Famine in China, date and consequence

1952

Increased migration of Chinese from 2,000 in 1851 to 20,000 in 1852

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San Fransisco Crimewave, date and describe

1851

Unemployment and racist crimes increased

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Vigilantes in San Francisco, date and describe

1851

Ordinary citizens who punished criminals came about

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American Civil War, date and describe

1861
Southern states left the US which led to the Civil War
1865
The Union defeated the Confederacy

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The Homestead Act, date and describe

May 1862
Made plots of land smaller and more affordable
Plots were 160 acres
Cost $10 to register a claim
They had to live on the land and work on it
If after 5 years they had built a house and planted 5 acres of crops they could pay $30 (proving up) and own their homestead

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How many acres of land had been ‘proved up’ by 1884?

13 million acres

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How many acres of government land had successfully become homesteads in 1878?

6 million

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The Pacific Railroad Act, date and describe

July 1862 Two companies Union Pacific and Central Pacific Union started in Omaha and built West, Central started in California and built east The Act extinguished the rights that any Plains Indians held to any land across that route Railroad companies used marketing to get people to settle on their lands, 10,000 Scandinavians settled in Nebraska and 60,000 Germans in Kansas

By 1880 how many acres had the railroad companies settled in the west?

200 million, more than the homestead act

New inventions before 1976

Still in development and not widely used

'Self-governing' windmill, date and describe

1854 | Pumped water out the ground

Steel blade windmills, date and describe

1870 | Stand up better in prairie winds but not powerful enough to pump up water from deep wells

Barbed wire, date and describe

1874 Used to fence off crops and livestock Not widely used until 1880 Early types were weak, rusted easily and expensive

Sulky Plough, date and describe

1975 Used to plow up the tough weeds and prairie grass on the Great Plains 50,000 sold within the first 6 years Walking plows were more widely used Early sulkies were unstable and could tip up

The Timber Culture Act, date and describe

1873 Allowed a homesteader to claim another 160 acres of land as long as the promised to plant trees on one-quarter of it Trees acted as a windbreaker for crops and provide settlers with timber for building houses

How many acres of land had been claimed under The Timber Culture Act by 1878?

16 million acres

Thomas Smith, date and describe

1870 Abilene hired him as the town marshall Banned guns and had a harsh reputation By November he was shot and killed with an axe

'Wild Bill' Hickok

April 1871 Abilene returned to lawlessness again until he was appointed as the town marshall He did little to enforce the law and was sacked

Reno Gang train robbery, date and describe

1866 They stole $16,000 from a train The gang was made up of Civil war deserters, con-men and thieves

Cattle Industry 1836

This is when Texas became independent from Mexico The Texan cowboys herded the cows on long drives to the north There were issues with Texas fever and quarantine laws

What was the cattle industry like after the civil war?

Longhorn cattle numbers boomed $40 for a cow in Chicago but only $5 in Texas Cattle would be driven to the north but Kansa farmers prevented them from going there due to Texas fever

Goodnight-loving trail, date and describe

1866 Established by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving New markets in the West near fort summer They made $12,000 in their first drive

Joseph McCoy, date and describe

``` 1867 Purchased 450 acres of land in Abilene Used as a transit point (first cow town) 100 railway cars would be loaded Chisolm trail used to get there By the end of 1867 35,000 cattle had been driven along the Chisolm Trail to Abilene ```

John Illif 1866

Bought land for a ranch near Denver

John Illif 1870

He had built up a huge herd on the Colorado plains, 26,000 | He became a millionaire selling beef to mining towns

John Illif 1872

Won a contract to provide beef to 7,000 Sioux reservation

Beef Bonanza

``` 1870 The west was desperate for beef It became the new way to get rich on the plains Large ranches and enormous cattle One consequence was cattle barons ```

Gold discovered in Montana, date and describe

1862 The quickest route was the Bozeman trail This led to Red Clouds war

President Grants 'peace policy', date and describe

1868 Aimed to calm tensions Replaced corrupt agents with religious men Ely Parker (an Indian) was made commissioner of Indian Affairs He said Indians should be treated as 'helpless and ignorant wards' Led to the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871, which made it easier for the government to take land

Little Crows war, date

1862

The Sand Creek Massacre, date

1864

Red Clouds war, date

1866-68

When were problems on the plain for homesteaders becoming more manageable?

1890's

Dry farming popular, date

1890's

all metal wind pumps developed, date

1880's

Fall for demand in beef, date

1880's

The great die up, date

1886-87

Exoduster movement, date and how many had moved to Kansas and Missouri by end of the year?

1879 and 40,000

Oklahoma land rush, date how many acres opened up in the first year?

8 million

When was Billy the kid alive?

1859-1881

Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral, date

1881

Johnson County war, date

1892

Battle of little big horn, date

1876

The wounded knee massacre, date

1890

The northern herd of buffalo killed off, date

1883

Special courts took away the power of the chiefs to judge and punish, date

1883

Chiefs courts replaced by US federal ones, date

1885

Dawes Act, date

1887

By what point had plains Indians lost half the land they held in 1887

1890

When did the Indian frontier close

1890