Ch 18 Flashcards
frontier
an undeveloped area
Comstock Lode
Nevada gold and silver mine discovered by Henry Comstock in 1859
boomtown
a Western community that grew quickly because of the mining boom and often disappeared when the boom ended
cattle drive
a long journey on which cowboys herded cattle to northern markets or better grazing lands
Cattle Kingdom
an area of the Great Plains on which many ranchers raised cattle in the late 1800s
Chisholm Trail
a trail that ran from San Antonio, Teas to Abilene, Kansas, established by Jesse Chisholm in the late 1860s for cattle drives
Pony Express
a system of messengers that carried mail between relay stations on a route 2,000-miles long in 1860 and 1861
transcontinental railroad
a railroad system that crossed the continental United States; construction begain in 1863
Treaty of Fort Laramie
a treaty signed in Wyoming by the United States and northern Plains nations
Crazy Horse
Native American chief of Oglala Sioux, hetook part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, in which General Custerwassurroundedandkilled.Hewaskilled after surrendering and resisting imprisonment
reservations
federal lands set aside for American Indians
Treaty of Medicine Lodge
an agreement between the US government and souther Plains Indians in which the Indians agreen to move onto reservations
Battle of Little Big Horn
“Custer’s Last Stand”; battle between U.S. soldiers, led by George Armstrong Custer, and Sioux warriors, led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, that resulted in the worst defeat for the U.S. Army in the West
buffalo soldiers
African American soldiers who served in the cavalry during the wars for the west
George Armstrong Custer
American army officer in the Civil War, he became a Native American fighter in the West and was killed with his troops in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull
American Indian leader who became the head chief of the entire Sioux nation, he encouraged other Sioux leaders to resist government demands to buy lands on the Black Hills reservation
Geronimo
Chiricahua Apache leader, he evaded capture for years and led an extraordinary opposition struggle against white settlements in the American Southwest until his eventual surrender
Long Walk
a 300-mile march made by Navajo captives to a reservation in Bosque Redondo, New Mexico, that led to the deaths of hundreds of Navajo
Massacre at Wounded Knee
the U.S. Army’s killing of approximately 150 Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota; ended U.S.-Indian wars on the Plains
Dawes General Allotment Act
legislation passed by Congress that split up Indian reservation lands among individual Indians and promised them citizenship
Ghost Dance
a religious movement among Native Americans that spread across the Plains in the 1880s
Sarah Winnemucca
Paiute Indian reformer, she was an actiist for Indian rights and lectured specifically about the problems of the reservation system
Joseph
Native American chief of the Nez Perce group, he became involved in a war with the US Army when his people were removed to a reservation in Idaho
Homestead Act
a law passed by Congress to encourage settlement in the West by giving government-owned land to small farmers
Morrill Act
a federal law passed by Congress that gave land to western states to encourage them to build colleges
dry farming
a method of farming used by Plains farmers in the 1890s that shifted focus from water-dependent crops to more hardy crops
Exodusters
African Americans who settled western lands in the late 1800s
sodbusters
the name given to Plains farmers who worked hard to break up the region’s tough sod
Annie Bidwell
American pioneer activist, she worked for social and moral causes and for women’s suffrage
National Grange
a social and educational organization for farmers
deflation
a decrease in money supply and overall lower prices
Populist Party
a political party formed in 1892 that supported free coinage of silver, work reforms, immigration restrictions, and government ownership of railroads and telegraph and telephone systems
William Jennings Bryan
American lawyer and Populist politician, he favored free silver coinage, an economic policy expected to help farmers. He was a Democratic nominee for president in 1896 and was defeated by William McKinley
