gilded age

Question 1

where were 2 boarding schools established

Answer 1

pennsylvania & virginia

Question 2

result of boarding schools

Answer 2

gave NA better opportunities to get jobs

Question 3

where did some NA find employment (due to boarding schools)

Answer 3

• indian agency offices
• interpreters/scouts for army

Question 4

limitation of boarding schools

Answer 4

education often limited

Question 5

what was partial self-determination for NA removed by

Answer 5

1871 indian appropriations act = congress took control

Question 6

how did some NA benefit from reservations

Answer 6

• opportunity to receive better healthcare (given disease rate, life expectancy etc.)
• opportunity to establish farming communities
• allowed tribal life to continue = perpetuated their culture & sense of belonging

Question 7

example of tribe which benefitted from reservation policy

Answer 7

= navajo tribe

• more than 22,000 lived in 1900 compared to 8,000 in 1868
• built up large flocks of sheep/goat (15,000 to 1.7 million)
• acreage of land increased from ~4 million t 10.5 million acres

Question 8

traditional way of life of NA

Answer 8

• nomadic
• worshipped nature
• own tribal laws/government
• own language
• own culture/ceremonies

Question 9

how were tribal customs/beliefs removed by the government to ‘americanise’ NA

Answer 9

• education
• reservation policy
• forced conversion to christianity
• farming (dawes act)

Question 10

describe the policy of westward expansion

Answer 10

• creation of railways
• belief in ‘manifest destiny’ = demonstrated one-sided attitude of federal government

Question 11

homestead act

Answer 11

= 1862

• implanted white settlers onto great plains (gave 160-acre plot if farmed for 5 years)

Question 12

consequence of homestead act 1862

Answer 12

brought 20,000 more white settler colonists onto plains

Question 13

removal act

Answer 13

= 1830

• forcibly removed tribes from alabama, georgia, florida, tenessee & virginia onto plains in oklahoma

Question 14

how much land did the government grant between 1850-71

Answer 14

~155 million acres

Question 15

pacific railway act

Answer 15

= 1862

• further interventions onto land

Question 16

consequence of land loss to white settler colonists

Answer 16

buffalo herd disrupted = became dependent on government

Question 17

what right did NA lose after 1871

Answer 17

right to determine what happened to their land

Question 18

how many NA remained in 1900 from original 240,000 inhabiting plains in 1860

Answer 18

100,000

Question 19

examples of NA becoming unsatisfied/hostile towards government

Answer 19

• 1864 sand creek massacre = showed NA were powerless against settlers
• 1890 massacre at wounded knee

Question 20

consequence of reservation policy

Answer 20

• forbid polygamy
• forbid herbal remedies
• abolished tribal laws
• ended communal living
• ended powers of tribal chief
• sent children to off-reservation boarding schools

Question 21

what was the land like on reservations

Answer 21

• often unsuitable for farming/infertile = NA became dependent on food supplies from government
• often failed to appear, so many starved

Question 22

what did many NA die from on reservations

Answer 22

• starvation
• disease
• unable to adjust to way of life

Question 23

what were NA referred to as

Answer 23

‘wards of the state’ = lost freedom & denied civil rights (didn’t pay tax)

Question 24

why were reservations extremely harsh

Answer 24

indian agent appointed by BIA (bureau of indian affairs) often corrupt & failed to deliver aid when necessary = many died from famine/disease

Question 25

dawes severality act

Answer 25

= 1887 - divided reservations into allotments to further assimilate NA - land given to male head of family = ignored matriarchal system of many tribes (eg. iriquois, cherokee) - undermined NA belief that land couldn't be owned as belonged to all creatures - opportunity to become landowners/citizens as paid tax but land often infertile/unable to farm so gave to white settlers (= more land lost) -

Question 26

how much land did NA have in 1887 compared to 1934

Answer 26

1887 = 138 million acres 1934 = 47 million acres

Question 27

what tribes were initially exempt from the dawes act

Answer 27

'five civilised tribes'

Question 28

what ended the exemption of the 'five civilised tribes' from the dawes act

Answer 28

1898 curtis act

Question 29

what happened when the 'five civilised tribes' attempted to unsuccessfully oppose the 1898 curtis act

Answer 29

NA lost further 2 million acres of land

Question 30

what did NA become dependent on to survive

Answer 30

= government subsidies - insufficient - cut further when government faced other demands

Question 31

example of government cutting subsidies to NA due to other demands

Answer 31

meat subsidies to lakota stopped late 1880s as government had other financial demands during period of economic decline

Question 32

examples of treaties between NA and government which resulted in NA losing land

Answer 32

- fort laramie treaty 1851 - fort wise treaty 1861 - medicine lodge treaty 1867 - fort laramie treaty 1868

Question 33

how many treaties were negotiated and signed between the US government (by US commissioners) & tribal leaders 1777-1868

Answer 33

~368

Question 34

example of reservation created by treaty

Answer 34

1868 fort laramie treaty created great sioux reserve

Question 35

cherokee nation v. hitchcock

Answer 35

= 1902 - challenged congress's right to deny them their rights to live according to their laws

Question 36

lone wolf v. hitchcock

Answer 36

= 1903 - gave government right to revoke all treaties made with NA - stated they were an 'ignorant and dependent race', who weren't citizens of the USA & thus, had no rights

Question 37

consequence of congress overruling muskogee convention

Answer 37

= 1905 - opened 2 million acres of former indian land to white settlement

Question 38

overall, the gilded age...

Answer 38

- period demonstrated decline in autonomy & freedoms of NA - forced off land & handicapped in terms of expressing beliefs/customs - subject to assimilation - subjugated & lack of unity = government continued oppressive policies