Chapter 16: Conquering a Continent Flashcards
transcontinental railroad
A railway system that spanned the continent, connecting the East and West coasts of the United States and facilitating westward expansion.
protective tariff
A tax on imported goods designed to protect domestic industries by making foreign products more expensive.
Treaty of Kanagawa
A treaty signed in 1854 between the United States and Japan, opening Japanese ports to American ships and establishing diplomatic relations.
Burlingame Treaty
An 1868 treaty between the United States and China that promoted Chinese immigration to the U.S. and guaranteed the rights of Chinese immigrants.
Munn v. Illinois
A Supreme Court case in 1877 that upheld the regulation of grain elevator rates by the state of Illinois, supporting state regulation of private industry.
gold standard
A monetary system in which the value of a country’s currency is directly tied to a specific amount of gold.
Crime of 1873
A term used to criticize the Coinage Act of 1873, which demonetized silver and led to economic and political controversy.
Homestead Act
An 1862 law that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers in exchange for a small fee and a commitment to improve the land.
Morril Act
An 1862 law that provided federal land grants to states for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges, known as land-grant colleges.
land-grant colleges
Institutions of higher education established under the Morrill Act with a focus on agriculture, science, and engineering.
Comstock Lode
A rich deposit of silver ore discovered in Nevada in the 1850s, leading to a mining boom in the region.
Long Drive
The cattle herding and trading journey from Texas to railheads in Kansas during the late 19th century.
“rain follows the plow”
A belief in the 19th century that increased settlement and cultivation of land would lead to more rainfall in previously arid regions.
Exodusters
African American migrants who left the South for the Great Plains in the late 19th century seeking economic opportunity and freedom from racial oppression.
Yellowstone National Park
The first national park in the United States, established in 1872 to protect its unique natural features.
U.S. Fisheries Commision
A federal agency established in 1871 to study and manage fisheries resources in the United States.
Sand Creek massacre
A brutal attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment in Colorado in 1864 by U.S. forces, resulting in the deaths of many Native American civilians.
Fetterman massacre
A battle in 1866 during Red Cloud’s War in which a U.S. Army detachment was ambushed and defeated by Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.
Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock
A Supreme Court case in 1903 that upheld the federal government’s authority to unilaterally abrogate treaties with Native American tribes.
Dawes Severalty Act
A law passed in 1887 that authorized the break-up of tribal lands and the allocation of individual land parcels to Native American families.
Battle of Little Big Horn
A battle in 1876 in which Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated General George Custer’s U.S. Army detachment.
Ghost Dance movement
A spiritual and cultural revival movement among Native American tribes in the late 19th century, seeking to restore traditional ways of life.
Wounded Knee
The site of a tragic confrontation between the U.S. Army and Lakota Sioux in 1890, marking the end of armed Native American resistance in the West.
