American West Flashcards
2 Factors of the Oregon trail?
-Forts for protection
-A fixed route to follow which increased safety
Factors of manifest destiny?
Inspired god fearing Christians to head west for a better life
Opportunities for a better life
God was on their side
Factors of The California gold rush
The poor seeked wealth and fortune
Unlimited amounts of gold
Creation of gold mining towns encouraged migration
Why do the Mormons succeed?
- Brigham young was an excellent organiser- built winter camp along route
- Split up into groups led by strong leaders
- Set an advance party to go ahead to build winter huts. Also marked route
- Advance party built first houses/towns.
- Set up fund to cover cost of People’s journey further attracting visitors.
Why did the Donner party fail?
- Took short cut which apparently took 2 weeks off journey
- They ascended into the Sierra Nevada mountains
- 4 Wagons broke
- Too cold/ blizzards
- They left too late
- Dead weight slowed them down
How did the permanent indian frontier cause tension between Indians and settlers?
Deterred migration
Guaranteed Indian rights
How did the first fort Laramie treaty cause tension between settlers and whites?
Building of army posts on Indian land
Railroad surveyors on Indian land
Indians became dependant on Americans.
How does the Indians appropriations act cause tension?
Couldn’t live their nomadic lifestyle
Ended the permanent Indian frontier
What factors made the pacific railroad act easier?
Government support for building railroad
Took land from Indians which made settlement easier and safer
Factors of the completion of the transcontinental railroad
Speedy journey headset west and through plains
No taxes for 5 years encouraging settlement
Features of the homestead act
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
New technology for farming
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
Features of the timber and culture act
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
How did Joseph McCoy help grow the cattle industry?
Created cow town Abeline
Encouraged cattle drives on the plains
How did Charles Goodnight help the growth of the cattle industry?
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
How did John Illif help the development of the cattle industry?
Became first person to locate cattle on the plains
Realised cattle could survive the winter on the great plain (open range)
How did the railroads damage the Indian way of life?
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
How did the cattle industry damage the Indian way of life?
Cattle and buffalo competed for grass on the plains
Army often conflicted with plains Indians to protect cowboys
How did gold prospecting damage the Indian way of life?
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
How did the reservations damage the Indian way of life?
Government often lied and broke promises
Very far away from tribal land
Had to stay in one place
Corrupt
How did government policy destroy the Indian way of life?
Supported Americans to hunt buffalo which ruined nomadic lifestyle
Supported reservations
Supported railroad
How did the second fort Laramie treaty damage the Indian way of life?
Ended red cloud war
Built more reservations
What causes little crows war?
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
What caused the sand creek massacre?
Gold miners on Indian land
Broken promises of government- lied about a peaceful meeting
Didn’t move out of land
What causes red clouds war?
Broken promises
Trespassing
Started building forts along Bozeman trail
Gold discovery on Indian land
What did the red clouds war lead to?
2nd fort Laramie treaty
Indian victory
Killing of 80 soldiers
Why did the cattle industry on the plains decline?
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)
Why did the exodusters not succeed?
Racism
Lack of supporters
Poor quality land
40,000 migrants on plains
Why was the 1893 Oklahoma land rush important?
All Indians forced onto reservations
Closed off Indian frontier ( barrier between Indians and settlers land)
