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The American West 1840-1895 > 7 - The Homesteaders > Flashcards

7 - The Homesteaders Flashcards

1
Q

When was the Homestead Act passed?

A

1862

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2
Q

What act did the US government pass in 1862?

A

The Homestead Act 1862

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3
Q

What did the Homestead Act 1862 do?

A

Encouraged people to settle on the Plains by giving them 160 acres of free land providing they lived and farmed on it for 5 years.

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4
Q

How many acres of land did the Homestead Act 1862 grant?

A

160 acres

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5
Q

Under the Homestead Act 1862, how many years must you have lived on your 160 acres of land for in order to claim ownership rights to it?

A

5 years

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6
Q

When was the Timber Culture Act passed?

A

1873

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7
Q

What act did the US government pass in 1873?

A

Timber Culture Act 1873

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8
Q

What did the Timber Culture Act 1873 do?

A

Encouraged people to settle on the Plains by giving them 320 acres of free land providing they planted 40 acres of it with trees.

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9
Q

How many acres of land did the Timber Culture Act 1873 grant?

A

320 acres

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10
Q

Under the Timber Culture Act 1873, how many acres of your 320 acres of land must have been planted with trees in order to claim ownership rights to it?

A

40 acres

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11
Q

What were the 3 factors as to why the Homesteaders settled on the Plains?

A
  1. The actions of the US government
  2. The end of the American Civil War
  3. The construction of the transcontinental railroads
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12
Q

What was the 1st factor as to why the Homesteaders settled on the Plains?

A

The actions of the US government

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13
Q

When was the Desert Land Act passed?

A

1877

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14
Q

What act did the US government pass in 1877?

A

The Desert Land Act 1877

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15
Q

What did the Desert Land Act 1877 do?

A

Encouraged people to settle on the Plains by giving them 640 acres of free land in an area where a lack of rainfall was a particular problem.

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16
Q

How many acres of land did the Desert Land Act 1877 grant?

A

640 acres

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17
Q

Under the Desert Land Act 1877, where must your 640 acres of land have been in order to claim ownership rights to it?

A

In an area where a lack of rainfall was a particular problem.

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18
Q

What 3 acts did the US government pass in an attempt to make make millions of acres of free land on the Plains available for Homesteaders to settle upon?

A
  1. The Homestead Act 1862
  2. The Timber Culture Act 1873
  3. The Desert Land Act 1877
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19
Q

How many acts did the US government pass in an attempt to make millions of acres of free land on the Plains available for Homesteaders to settle upon.

A

3

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20
Q

What was the aim of the US government in passing 3 acts in 1862, 1873 and 1877?

A

To make millions of acres of free land on the Plains available for Homesteaders to settle upon.

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21
Q

What was the 2nd factor as to why the Homesteaders settled on the Plains?

A

The end of the American Civil War.

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22
Q

When was the American Civil War?

A

1861 to 1865

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23
Q

When did the American Civil War begin?

A

1861

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24
Q

When did the American Civil War end?

A

1865

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25
Q

What were the 2 sides in the American Civil War?

A
  1. The Confederacy

2. The Union

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26
Q

Which part of the US did the Confederacy occupy?

A

The south

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27
Q

Was the Confederacy supportive of the abolition of slavery?

A

No

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28
Q

Which part of the US did the Union occupy?

A

The north

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29
Q

Was the Union supportive of the abolition of slavery?

A

Yes

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30
Q

What was the American Civil War caused by?

A

Disagreements regarding the abolition of slavery, including whether it should be permitted in new states in the West.

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31
Q

True or False? - The events in the West did not contribute to the start of the American Civil War.

A

False - The events in the West had some effect on the start of the American Civil War. There was a disagreement as to whether new states in the West should be permitted to have slaves.

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32
Q

Who won the American Civil War?

A

The Union

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33
Q

What happened after the end of the American Civil War?

A

There were thousands of demobilised soldiers and their families looking for a fresh start in their lives.

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34
Q

How did the abolition of slavery influence people settling on the Plains?

A

There were many new, free black slaves who were looking for a new life.

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35
Q

What was the 3rd factor as to why the Homesteaders settled on the Plains?

A

The construction of the transcontinental railroads

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36
Q

Where did the transcontinental railroads link?

A

The East and the West.

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37
Q

When did the construction of the transcontinental railroads begin?

A

The 1860s

38
Q

How did the constitutions of the transcontinental railroads effect Homesteaders settling on the Plains?

A
  1. It improved transport for Homesteaders to the Plains

2. Land on either side of the railroad was sold by the railroad companies at low prices; this made land cheap.

39
Q

What pull actors were there pulling Homesteaders to emigrants to the Plains?

A
  1. Offer of free land
  2. Chance to start a new life
  3. Advertising by the railroad companies
  4. Letters home from those who had already gone West and were living successful lives
40
Q

What enabling factors allowed the Homesteaders to emigrate to the Plains?

A
  1. Transport was easy - railroad, wagon, riverboat or foot

2. The Indians were later cleared off the Plains, and were either confined to reservations of pushed further West.

41
Q

What push factors motivated European Homesteaders to emigrate to the Plains?

A
  1. Scandinavians wanted good farming land which was no longer available at home.
  2. The British, Irish, Russians and Germans wanted to escape poverty at home.
  3. Jews, Amish people and Mennonites were looking to escape religious persecution in Europe.
42
Q

What push factors motivated Homesteaders from eastern states to emigrate to the Plains?

A
  1. Demobilised soldiers and their families looking for a new start in life.
  2. Easterners wanting farming opportunities no longer available in the East.
43
Q

What push factors motivated Homesteaders from southern states to emigrate to the Plains?

A
  1. After the American Civil War, free ex-slaves were persecuted in the South. They wanted to escape persecution.
  2. Many southerners had lost their land and income during the American Civil War.
  3. Serious economic problems.
  4. Crop failures causing hunger.
44
Q

How many problems did the Homesteaders face on the Plains?

A

5

45
Q

What are the 5 problems which Homesteaders faced while living on the Plains?

A
  1. Dirt and disease
  2. Building materials
  3. Water shortages
  4. Extreme weather
  5. Fuel
46
Q

What problems did dirt and disease cause for Homesteaders?

A

The sod houses Homesteaders lived in were made of earth and were hard to keep clean. They harbored a range of pests including bed bugs, fleas, mice and snakes. It was easy for diseases to develop, particularly among young Homesteader children with developing immune systems.

47
Q

What did the Homesteaders who settled in the river valleys use for building materials?

A

Wood

48
Q

What problems did building materials cause for Homesteaders?

A

The only available building material for most homesteaders was earth. They used blocks of earth (sod) which made a warm house in the winter and a cool house in the summer. The problem with sod houses was that they were difficult to keep clean, causing problems with dirt and disease, and they were difficult to stop from leaking when it rained.

49
Q

What did the majority of Homesteaders make their homes from?

A

Sod - blocks of earth.

50
Q

How did the Homesteaders acquire sod bricks?

A

It was cut out of the ground either by hand or using a special plough.

51
Q

What 2 methods did the Homesteaders use to acquire sod bricks from the ground?

A
  1. Cut it out by hand

2. Cut it out using a special plough

52
Q

True or False? - The Homesteaders fitted windows and doors to their houses.

A

True

53
Q

What were the benefits of sod housing?

A

They were cheap to build, and were warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

54
Q

What problems did water shortages cause for Homesteaders?

A

In many parts of the Plains water was scarce. This made it difficult for people to wash themselves and their clothing.

55
Q

What problems did extreme weather cause for the Homesteaders?

A

The weather was hot in the summer and cold in the winter with little rainfall. There were fierce winds.

56
Q

What problems did fuel cause for the Homesteaders?

A

There was no wood to burn for fuel on the Plains. This meant that the Homesteaders had to use buffalo chips to burn for their cooking and heating.

57
Q

What are the 6 problems which the Homestaders faced when farming on the Plains?

A
  1. Water shortages
  2. Extreme weather
  3. Ploughing
  4. Protecting crops
  5. Growing crops
  6. Natural harazrds
58
Q

What problems did water shortages cause for the Homesteaders when farming on the Plains?

A

A lack of water could lead to a total failure of crops. There were no rivers or lakes to develop irrigation systems from. The alternative was to dig wells but this was expensive and gave no guarantee of finding water.

59
Q

What did the Homesteaders use for fuel?

A

Buffalo chips

60
Q

Why did the Homesteaders use buffalo chips for fuel?

A

There were no woods to provide them with wood to burn.

61
Q

Why could the Homesteaders not develop irrigation systems?

A

There was a lack of rivers and lakes on the Plains.

62
Q

What were the disadvantages of the Homesteaders building wells?

A

It was expensive and there was no guarantee of finding water.

63
Q

What problems did extreme weather cause for the Homesteaders when farming on the Plains?

A

Drought in the summer and cold in the winter could damage or destroy crops.

64
Q

What problems did ploughing cause for the Homesteaders when farming on the Plains?

A

The land needed to be ploughed as they had never been farmed before. The grasses were dense and tangled with roots. Ploughs needed constant repairs.

65
Q

What problems did protecting crops cause for the Homesteaders when farming on the Plains?

A

There was no fencing do stray cattle or buffalo could eat crops. It was also impossible to mark land boundaries and this caused disputes.

66
Q

What problems did growing crops cause for the Homesteaders when farming on the Plains?

A

The Homesteaders planted crops they had grown back in the East, South and Europe. These plants see not suited to the weather conditions on the Plains.

67
Q

What problems did natural hazard cause for the Homesteaders when farming on the Plains?

A

In the summer grass was dry and prairie fires could start. They were too big for people to fight and they destroyed crops. A plague of grasshoppers swept across the Plains 3 times. This destroyed hundreds of cornfields in a matter of hours.

68
Q

What were the 3 factors which determined the success of a Homesteader living on the Plains?

A
  1. The location of their land - Some land was less fertile than others.
  2. Adaptability - The Plains required Homesteaders to adapt their farming techniques.
  3. Weather
69
Q

What were the 7 solutions for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A
  1. Windmills
  2. Dry farming
  3. Growing a surplus
  4. Hard winter wheat
  5. Barbed wire
  6. Sod-buster
  7. Other machinery
70
Q

How were windmills a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

The lack of water was a major problem. In 1874 Daniel Halliday invented the self-governing windmill which pumped water from underground. It could be used night and day, and the Homesteaders could now clean themselves, clean their homes and irrigate their crops.

71
Q

What did Daniel Halliday invent in 1874?

A

The self-governing windmill

72
Q

When was the self-governing windmill invented by Daniel Halliday?

A

1874

73
Q

Who invented the self-governing windmill in 1874?

A

Daniel Halliday

74
Q

Who was Daniel Halliday?

A

Inventor of the self-governing windmill in 1874.

75
Q

How was dry farming a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

Farmers ploughed their land when here had been heavy rain or snow, leaving a thin layer of dust over the surface. This trapped and preserved moisture in the soil.

76
Q

How was growing a surplus a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

Using the money Homesteaders raised from selling their surplus they could buy better equipment and buy more crops, which further increased their surplus.

77
Q

How was hard winter wheat a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

Russian Homesteaders introduced hard winter wheat (Turkey Red wheat) which grew in similar climatic conditions to that on the Plains. These crops flourished.

78
Q

What is another name for hard winter wheat?

A

Turkey Red wheat

79
Q

What is Turkey Red wheat?

A

Another name for hard winter wheat.

80
Q

How was barbed wire a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

Invented by Joseph Gidden in 1874, it provided a cheap and effective solution to fencing and protecting crops.

81
Q

When was barbed wire invented by Joseph Gidden?

A

1874

82
Q

What did Joseph Gidden invent in 1874?

A

Barbed wire

83
Q

Who invented barbed wire in 1874?

A

Joseph Gidden

84
Q

Who was Joseph Gidden?

A

The man who invented barbed wire in 1874.

85
Q

How was sod-buster a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

Sod-buster was a string plough invented by John Deere. It could deal with tough grass and roots.

86
Q

What did John Deere invent?

A

The sod-buster plough.

87
Q

Who invented the sob-buster plough?

A

John Deere

88
Q

How was other machinery a solution for the Homesteaders to living and farming on the Plains?

A

New machinery developed in the 1880s included reapers, binders and threshers. These were affordable and easily transportable to the Plains. They increased the area that a Homesteader was able to farm and were well suited to the wide, open spaces.

89
Q

What were the 5 roles of women in Homesteader society?

A
  1. Making and washing clothes
  2. Preparing food
  3. Making household items, like soap and candles
  4. Farming and gathering fruit
  5. Shooting stray buffalo
90
Q

What conditions did women Homesteaders live in?

A

They had no social life due to the long distances between farmhouses, and when combined with the heavy workload they developed mental health problems.

The American West 1840-1895 (4 decks)

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