American West

Question 1

2 Factors of the Oregon trail?

Answer 1

-Forts for protection

-A fixed route to follow which increased safety

Question 2

Factors of manifest destiny?

Answer 2

Inspired god fearing Christians to head west for a better life

Opportunities for a better life

God was on their side

Question 3

Factors of The California gold rush

Answer 3

The poor seeked wealth and fortune

Unlimited amounts of gold

Creation of gold mining towns encouraged migration

Question 4

Why do the Mormons succeed?

Answer 4

1. Brigham young was an excellent organiser- built winter camp along route
2. Split up into groups led by strong leaders
3. Set an advance party to go ahead to build winter huts. Also marked route
4. Advance party built first houses/towns.
5. Set up fund to cover cost of People’s journey further attracting visitors.

Question 5

Why did the Donner party fail?

Answer 5

1. Took short cut which apparently took 2 weeks off journey
2. They ascended into the Sierra Nevada mountains
3. 4 Wagons broke
4. Too cold/ blizzards
5. They left too late
6. Dead weight slowed them down

Question 6

How did the permanent indian frontier cause tension between Indians and settlers?

Answer 6

Deterred migration

Guaranteed Indian rights

Question 7

How did the first fort Laramie treaty cause tension between settlers and whites?

Answer 7

Building of army posts on Indian land

Railroad surveyors on Indian land

Indians became dependant on Americans.

Question 8

How does the Indians appropriations act cause tension?

Answer 8

Couldn’t live their nomadic lifestyle

Ended the permanent Indian frontier

Question 9

What factors made the pacific railroad act easier?

Answer 9

Government support for building railroad

Took land from Indians which made settlement easier and safer

Question 10

Factors of the completion of the transcontinental railroad

Answer 10

Speedy journey headset west and through plains

No taxes for 5 years encouraging settlement

Question 11

Features of the homestead act

Answer 11

Offers 160 acres of land if farmed it for 5 years
Poverty stricken workers offered a chance to start afresh
Took 20 million acres from Indians

Question 12

New technology for farming

Answer 12

Barbed wire- safer for plants so don’t get trampled on
Steel plough- ploughs through crops quicker and more durable
Dry farming- after heavy rain farmers immediately plough land so dust covers surface this preserved moisture

Question 13

Features of the timber and culture act

Answer 13

Offered another 160 acres of planted 5 acres of trees
Lead to 20000 acres of land being planted with trees
Act didn’t require people to live on land

Question 14

How did Joseph McCoy help grow the cattle industry?

Answer 14

Created cow town Abeline

Encouraged cattle drives on the plains

Question 15

How did Charles Goodnight help the growth of the cattle industry?

Answer 15

First cattle trail from Texas to the new populations in the west

Drove cattle north and sold to Indians

Increased price of cow from 5 dollars to 10 dollars

Question 16

How did John Illif help the development of the cattle industry?

Answer 16

Became first person to locate cattle on the plains

Realised cattle could survive the winter on the great plain (open range)

Question 17

How did the railroads damage the Indian way of life?

Answer 17

Fences around railroad land stopped buffalo hunting for Indians

200 million acres of land taken from Indians

Indians couldn’t cross white land

White hunters on plains

Question 18

How did the cattle industry damage the Indian way of life?

Answer 18

Cattle and buffalo competed for grass on the plains

Army often conflicted with plains Indians to protect cowboys

Question 19

How did gold prospecting damage the Indian way of life?

Answer 19

Gold miners often murdered Indians as there was gold on the land

New diseases brought over by miners which killed Indians

Killed buffalo for food

Question 20

How did the reservations damage the Indian way of life?

Answer 20

Government often lied and broke promises

Very far away from tribal land

Had to stay in one place

Corrupt

Question 21

How did government policy destroy the Indian way of life?

Answer 21

Supported Americans to hunt buffalo which ruined nomadic lifestyle

Supported reservations

Supported railroad

Question 22

How did the second fort Laramie treaty damage the Indian way of life?

Answer 22

Ended red cloud war

Built more reservations

Question 23

What causes little crows war?

Answer 23

Poor conditions of reservations (starvation)

Broken promises of government

Indians felt betrayed

Led to over 700 soldiers and settlers being killed and the Indian survivors were put on even worse reservations

Question 24

What caused the sand creek massacre?

Answer 24

Gold miners on Indian land

Broken promises of government- lied about a peaceful meeting

Didn’t move out of land

Question 25

What causes red clouds war?

Answer 25

Broken promises

Trespassing

Started building forts along Bozeman trail

Gold discovery on Indian land

Question 26

What did the red clouds war lead to?

Answer 26

2nd fort Laramie treaty

Indian victory

Killing of 80 soldiers

Question 27

Why did the cattle industry on the plains decline?

Answer 27

Demand for cows went down making it harder to sell them

Ran out of grass(overgrazing)- the grass couldn’t grow therefore cattle owners had to pay for other food

3 really cold winters( died of starvation or froze)

Question 28

Why did the exodusters not succeed?

Answer 28

Racism

Lack of supporters

Poor quality land

40,000 migrants on plains

Question 29

Why was the 1893 Oklahoma land rush important?

Answer 29

All Indians forced onto reservations

Closed off Indian frontier ( barrier between Indians and settlers land)