Chapter 17 Flashcards
(22 cards)
Manifest Destiny
the phrase, coined by journalist John O’Sullivan, which came to stand for the idea that white Americans had a calling and a duty to seize and settle the American West with Protestant democratic values.
Exodusters
a term used to describe African Americans who moved to Kansas from the Old South to escape the racism there.
Homestead Act
- allowed any head of household, or individual over the age of twenty-one—including unmarried women—to receive a parcel of 160 acres for only a nominal filing fee
- recipients were required to do in exchange was to “improve the land” within a period of five years of taking possession.
Which of the following does not represent a group that participated significantly in westward migration after 1870?
A. African American “Exodusters” escaping racism and seeking economic opportunities
B. former Southern slaveholders seeking land and new financial opportunities
C. recent immigrants from Northern Europe and Canada
D. recent Chinese immigrants seeking gold in California
B. former Southern slaveholders seeking land and new financial opportunities
Which of the following represents an action that the U.S. government took to help Americans fulfill the goal of western expansion?
A. the passage of the Homestead Act
B. the official creation of the philosophy of Manifest Destiny
C. the development of stricter immigration policies
D. the introduction of new irrigation techniques
A. the passage of the Homestead Act
What specific types of hardships did an average American farmer not face as he built his homestead in the Midwest? A. droughts B. insect swarms C. hostile Indian attacks D. limited building supplies
C. hostile Indian attacks
sod house
a frontier home constructed of dirt held together by thick-rooted prairie grass that was prevalent in the Midwest; sod, cut into large rectangles, was stacked to make the walls of the structure, providing an inexpensive, yet damp, house for western settlers
bonanza farms
large farms owned by speculators who hired laborers to work the land; these large farms allowed their owners to benefit from economies of scale and prosper, but they did nothing to help small family farms, which continued to struggle
Fence Cutting War
this armed conflict between cowboys moving cattle along the trail and ranchers who wished to keep the best grazing lands for themselves occurred in Clay County, Texas, between 1883 and 1884
Comstock Lode
the first significant silver find in the country, discovered by Henry T. P. Comstock in 1859 in Nevada
California Gold Rush
the period between 1848 and 1849 when prospectors found large strikes of gold in California, leading others to rush in and follow suit; this period led to a cycle of boom and bust through the area, as gold was discovered, mined, and stripped
Which of the following groups was not impacted by the invention of barbed wire? A. ranchers B. cowboys C. farmers D. illegal prostitutes
D. illegal prostitutes
The American cowboy owes much of its model to what other culture? A. Mexicans B. Indians C. Northern European immigrants D. Chinese immigrants
A. Mexicans
Indian Removal Act (1830)
- resulted in the famous “Trail of Tears”
- policy that forcibly removed many tribes of Indians in the eastern United States
First Treaty of Fort Loramie
- agreement established distinct tribal borders, essentially codifying the reservation system
- In return for annual payments of $50,000 to the tribes
- tribes stayed out of western settlers
Sand Creek Massacre
a militia raid led by Colonel Chivington on an Indian camp in Colorado, flying both the American flag and the white flag of surrender; over one hundred men, women, and children were killed
Second Treaty of Fort Laramie
moved the remaining Sioux to the Black Hills in the Dakota territory
Treaty of Medicine Lodge Creek
moved the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche to the “Indian Territory” (future Oklahoma)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
- LAST native American victory
- Custer foolishly attacked what he thought was a minor Indian encampment
- Sioux warriors—nearly three thousand in strength—surrounded and killed Custer and 262 of his men and support units
Battle of Wounded Knee
an attempt to disarm a group of Lakota Sioux Indians near Wounded Knee, South Dakota, which resulted in members of the Seventh Cavalry of the U.S. Army opening fire and killing over 150 Indians
Americanization
the process by which an Indian was “redeemed” and assimilated into the American way of life by changing his clothing to western clothing and renouncing his tribal customs in exchange for a parcel of land
Which of the following was not a primary method by which the American government dealt with American Indians during the period of western settlement? A. relocation B. appeasement C. extermination D. assimilation
B. appeasement
