Chapter 26 - The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution, 1865 Flashcards
Indian Territory
Present day Oklahoma; American Indians in the SE were forced to move there in the 1830’s
Sioux
Native Americans in the Dakotas. Massacred Custer at Battle of Little Bighorn. Many were later massacred at Wounded Knee in 1890; Moved from the great lakes; transformed into nomadic traders and deadly buffalo hunters
Great Sioux Reservation
The place where native americans were promised to be left alone with food and clothing by the federal government if they gave up their ancestral land. It was all a lie.
Tenth Cavalry
a unit of the US army, African-American personnel on the frontier (one of the original “Buffalo Soldiers”)
George Armstrong Custer
colonel and fought against Native Indians, wrote that Fetterman massacre “awakened a bitter feeling toward the savage perpetrators”, announced that he had discovered gold in the Sioux reservation, led the Seventh Cavalry: Americans wanted revenge for his humiliation
Bozeman Trail
an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868
Sitting Bull
Native american chief who inspired the Sioux tribes to fight against the american policies by uniting together in their struggle for survival on the Great plains.
Battle of Little Bighorn
1876 Battle in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory where Custer’s Seventh Cavalry was massacred when they attempted to suppress the Sioux and return them to their reservation. Crazy Horse led the Sioux in battle, and killed every one of Custer’s men. The Indians were later pursued over the plains and crushed in a series of battles.
Chief Joseph
Leader of Nez Perce. Fled with his tribe to Canada instead of reservations searching for Sitting Bull. However, US troops came and fought and brought them back down to reservations where he surrendered his men.
Buffalo Bill Cody
employed by the Kansas Pacific, and killed over 4,000 animals in 18 months
Helen Hunt Jackson
children’s author from Massachusetts; wrote A Century of Dishonor (about the government ruthlessness in Indian dealings) and Ramona (a love story of injustice to the California Indians); inspired sympathy for them
Ghost Dance
Spiritual revival in 1890 by Indians that would lead to the massacre at Wounded Knee
Battle of Wounded Knee
A battle between the U.S. Army and the Dakota Sioux, in which several hundred Native Americans and 29 U.S. soldiers died. Tensions erupted violently over two major issues: the Sioux practice of the “Ghost Dance,” which the U.S. government had outlawed, and the dispute over whether Sioux reservation land would be broken up because of the Dawes Act. Ended the Indian Wars
Dawes Act
dissolved many tribes as legal entities, wiped out tribal ownership of land, and set up individual Indian family heads with 160 free acres. If the Indians behaved like “good white settlers” then they would get full title to their holdings as well as citizenship. The Dawes Act attempted to assimilate the Indians with the white men; remained Indian policy until the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
Carlisle Indian School
1879 Government funded Indian school to educate and civilize the Natives; paid for by the proceeds of the Dawes act where indian lands were sold for railroads
Indian Reorganization Act
“Indian New Deal” 1934 partially reserved the individualistic approach and belatedly tried to restore the tribal basis of Indian life, Government legislation that allowed the Indians a form of self-government and thus willingly shrank the authority of the U.S. government. It provided the Indians direct ownership of their land, credit, a constitution, and a charter in which Indians could manage their own affairs.
Pike’s Peak
a mountain peak in the Rockies in Central Colorado where gold and silver were discovered…this led to a mad rush in the direction of this area; “59ers” “Pikes-Peakers”
Comstock Lode
the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, which became bustling centers of fabulous wealth
Silver Senators
the Treasury injected the silver issue into American politics, representing the West, using influence to promote the interests of the silver miners
Long Drive
Process in which Texas cowboys would drive herds of cattle thousands strong over the plains until they reached a railroad terminal, such as Dodge City, Abilene, or Cheyenne. Barbed fences slowed down this process.