America - Factual Knowlegd Flashcards

1
Q

How many people did a territory need to become a state

A

60,000

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2
Q

Which country did American defeat to win the SW in 1848

A

Mexico

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3
Q

What is Manifest Destiny

A

The American belief that it was God’s will that they inhabit the continent from east to west.

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4
Q

How did Mountain men encourage future travellers to go west

A

Told stories, developed trails, drew maps, had articles written about them etc.

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5
Q

Name one way the Donner Party and other pioneers encouraged further development

A

Letters back to the east, stories covered in Dime novels, newspapers and journals.

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6
Q

Give four reasons why te Mormons were persecuted in the East

A

Religious beliefs such as polygamy, economic success such as buying up land and setting up banks, blamed for 1837 economic crisis, anti-slavery, Joseph Smith wanting to become president, growing numbers.

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7
Q

What was the perpetual immigration fund

A

all expenses paid journey for new Mormon recruits

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8
Q

When was gold discovered in California

A

24th January 1848

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9
Q

Name 5 different ethnic groups that went west for gold

A

Chinese, Eastern Anglo Americans, Mexicans, Europeans, Freed Slaves

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10
Q

In what year did the Cali become a state as a result of the gold rush

A

1850

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11
Q

Give 5 different entrepreneurial jobs that developed as a result of the Gold Rush.

A

prostitution, gambling, tool shops, b and bs, saloons (pub), bridge tolls, ferries, food, Levis jeans

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12
Q

Why were the Sioux nomadic?

A

followed the buffalo

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13
Q

Why was the tipi the perfect shelter for the Sioux? 2 reasons

A

Easy to take up and down quickly, easy to transport, used resources available (buffalo skin), cool in summer and warm in winter.

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14
Q

Why did the Sioux practise polygamy?

A

Braves lost in hunting/war. Distinct gender roles (e.g. men hunted) meant that women and children of dead braves/warriors would be looked after.

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15
Q

What did the Sioux usually go to war over?

A

Horse theft.

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16
Q

Why did the Sioux scalp their enemies?

A

As trophies from battle, but mainly to ensure that their enemies soul escaped and did not go into the afterlife.

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17
Q

Did the Sioux own land?

A

No, they believed that the land and all of the world’s creatures belong to the Great Spirit.

18
Q

How did a chief get his position?

A

Chosen by the council, elders, warrior society and medicine men for bravery and wisdom. Not inherited (from their father) or elected.

19
Q

Why did the Sioux and American government find it difficult to negotiate who owned the Plains?

A

Americans believed in owning land, but the Sioux did not.

20
Q

What was the Bureau of Indian Affairs?

A

A government department with agents sent to learn about the Sioux and help make decisions regarding how to deal with the Indians.

21
Q

What did the Indian Removal Act of 1830 set up?

A

A ‘Permanent Indian Frontier’ in the western part of America (past the Mississippi). Removed Indians from the fertile farming lands of the south-east to the harsh western plains.

22
Q

When was the first Fort Laramie Treaty passed?

A

1851

23
Q

Name TWO terms of the first Fort Laramie treaty.

A

Sioux promised not to attack settlers on the trails to California and allowed the building of roads and forts and the US Government promised to protect Sioux hunting areas and pay the Sioux an annual subsidy (money).

24
Q

Who supported the ‘exterminator’ solution to the Indian problem?

A

westerners (miners, homesteaders) and the army.

25
Q

What was the Homestead Act, 1862?

A

160 acres of free land. If you could farm successfully in 5 years, the land was yours.

26
Q

Why did the government want settlement on the Great Plains? (two reasons)

A

Unify America (especially after the start of the Civil War between the North and South), defeat the Sioux, deal with overcrowding (immigration) and high land prices in the eastern states.

27
Q

Give 2 reasons why the Transcontinental Railroad was built 1863-1869?

A

Unite USA east to west, support western settlement, encourage trade.

28
Q

How did the government pay the Railroad builders (Union Pacific and Central Pacific)?

A

Government grants after 40 miles of track built and 12,000 acres of land for every 1 mile of track built. (Companies could then sell land to settlers).

29
Q

Which railroad company had to deal with Sioux attacks?

A

Union Pacific (from the east to the west across the Plains)

30
Q

Why did the Sioux attack the railroad?

A

Cut through buffalo hunting grounds, brought more settlers out west.

31
Q

The first Sioux war is known as the Cheyenne War, 1863-67. What caused it?

A

Some Cheyenne Sioux refused to live on reservations and attacked railroad, settlers, miners, ranchers etc.

32
Q

Why was Sandcreek (1864) a ‘massacre’?

A

700 soldiers of the Colorado militia attacked mostly women, children and elderly (warriors were hunting) Sioux in camp at Sandcreek. There is evidence that Black Kettle (chief) flew a US flag over the village and that there were attempts by the Sioux to surrender, but the soldiers butchered them anyway. There is evidence that Colonel Chivington ordered the massacre and that Sioux bodies were mutilated by the soldiers afterwards.

33
Q

What were the terms of the Second Fort Laramie Treaty, 1868? (name 3)

A

The government withdrew soldiers from the forts (and the Sioux burned them down), the Great Sioux Reservation was created, no non-Indians were allowed to enter this land

34
Q

Name two results of the Mountain Meadow Massacre.

A

1858 - Mormons were pardoned and US Army stationed in Utah. Bad publicity for the Mormons. Mormons struggled to convince USA to let Utah join as a state. Did not join until 1896 and had to ban polygamy.

35
Q

How did Slavery cause the American Civil War 1861-65?

A

Although there were many differences between the north and the south, slavery was the underlying cause. The north had no need for slavery, whereas slaves were fundamental to the southern economy. Northerners were becoming anti-slavery. Mainly, they did not want slavery to spread to the new Western states. The south resented the north’s lack of support or understanding. This all comes down to the slavery issue.

36
Q

How did the 1860 Election cause the American Civil War 1861-65?

A

Nobody expected the Republican Abraham Lincoln to win, but the Democrats split in half (those who wanted to stay in the union and those that wanted to leave). As a result, Lincoln won. He did not want to ban slavery, only stop it spreading, however many Republicans were anti-slavery and the south was worried about a Republican government. South Carolina was the first to leave the union as a result.

37
Q

How did Secession cause the American Civil War 1861-65?

A

South Carolina and then Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas voted to leave the Union and become the Confederacy. Lincoln would not let them leave and sent troops to Fort Sumter. Other southern states, such as Virginia, were not happy Lincoln sent troops so joined the Confederacy as well. The southern army attacked northern troops, starting the war.

38
Q

The 1850 Compromise allowed California to join as a free state, but in exchange for what?

A

The Fugitive Slave Act meant that Northern states must return any escaped slaves to the south.

39
Q

What was the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act and how did it contribute to the war?

A

The US government decided to let new states such as Kansas and Nebraska vote on whether they wanted to be slave or free. This caused tension between the north and the south as each side sent in supporters to ‘convince’ people to vote one way or the other. There was even fighting!

40
Q

Give 3 reasons why the southern economy was more badly affected than the north.

A

The south was agricultural, when men went off to fight plantations failed and profits were lost. The north had a navy and blocked trade to the south, this caused inflation and food shortages. The north had the benefit of factories and the US government treasury whereas the south struggled for funding, especially as they were unable to trade their cotton and tobacco due to the disruptions of war and the north had railroads, whereas what the south had were destroyed by northern troops.