homesteaders

Question 1

how much free land did the government offer homesteaders

Answer 1

160 acres

Question 2

extra land could be earned but how

Answer 2

planting trees

Question 3

homesteader’s houses where made out of what

Answer 3

sod blocks ( mud )

Question 4

what problem did dry land cause

Answer 4

hard for crops to grow

Question 5

what is dry farming

Answer 5

where land was ploughed after rain to trap moisture

Question 6

what crops was introduced by the Russians too suit the dry land on the plains

Answer 6

hard winter wheat

Question 7

what machine was used to break up roots and ease farming on the plains

Answer 7

a sod buster

Question 8

list 2 ways crops could be destroyed

Answer 8

stamped on by buffalos or extreme weather

Question 9

barbed wire was invented and was a cheap way to fence of farm land when was it invented

Answer 9

1874

Question 10

the opening of railroads made it easy for homesteaders how

Answer 10

allowed machinery to be transported onto the plains

Question 11

What were the 3 main reasons homesteaders moved West

Answer 11

Land, Civil War & The railraod.

Question 12

What was the Homestead Act & what year?

Answer 12

Gave families 160 acres of free land on the plains to farm - 1862

Question 13

Whose lands did the homesteaders take

Answer 13

The Plains Indians

Question 14

What 3 reasons did the Civil war cause Homesteaders to move West

Answer 14

Many People were uprooted by the war & sought a new start in the West.
Soliders who had left army now unemployed set up as farmers on the plains.
Many freed slaves moved West to escaper Racism in the South.

Question 15

What 3 ways did the railroad cause people to move West

Answer 15

Earliest homesteaders travelled by wagon but in 1869 Transcontinental railroad opened across the plains.
Helped to homesteaders to obtain equipment & supplies.
The railway company also sold off cheap land either side the railroad.

Question 16

What made living on the plains difficult

Answer 16

Extreme weather and lack of building materials made sheter a serious problem for homesteaders.
Lack of water and the sod houses could be dirty and disease ridden.

Question 17

Why was farming on the plains difficult

Answer 17

Many homesteaders could not afford the most fertile land.
The land was difficult to plough and traditional crops did not grow well in the dry soil.
Crops could be destroyed by extreme weather, wind, trampling by Buffalo or by huge clouds of grasshoppers.