Reconstruction 1862 - 1877 Flashcards
1
Q
Economic Acts during reconstruction
A
- Homestead Act 1862: Encouraged white settlement on the plains by offering 160 acres per family for 5 years of farming
2
Q
Impact of the Homestead act on Native Americans
A
- By 1887 NA land ownership had decreased to 150 million acres
- Forced many NA onto reservations with poor land
3
Q
How did Westward expansion impact Natives economically?
A
- destruction of the buffalo population by white hunters
- NA relied on buffalos for their economy leading to starvation and dependency on government aid
4
Q
How did the US government politically control NA’s
A
- placed NA under federal control
- signed treaties that were often broken
- established the reservation system which limited tribal autonomy
5
Q
What was the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty
A
- Signed by tribes and aimed to relocate NA to reservations
- Many NA tribes refused to settle permanently leading to further conflitcs
6
Q
How did the US army enforce NA polices
A
- US military was deployed to enforce treaties and suppress resistance
- e.g. 1864 Sand Creek Massacre saw over 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho killed, many of whom were women and children
7
Q
How did forced assimilation affect NA culture
A
- moved to reservations
- poor-quality land with little
- affected NA tribal culture through the use of boarding schools
8
Q
What was the purpose of NA boarding schools?
A
- assimilate NA children by removing them from their culture and adopting US customs
- speaking NA languages was banned and children were punished for practicing traditions
