The American West - unit 2 chapter 1/2

Question 1

What two acts were passed in 1862 and what were there aims?

Answer 1

1. The Homestead Act: an act aimed at settling the West with Individual farms, owned and worked by free men and women
2. The Pacific Railroad Act: an act aimed at developing connections between the new lands of the West and the northern industrial cities

Question 2

Give a positive impact of railroads?

Answer 2

They connected western territories with the East and intergrated them into the USA (manifest destiny)

Question 3

Describe the purpose of a windmil during the period, and give an advantage and disadvantage of it?

Answer 3

Purpose
- to pump water out of the land to help farmers irrigate the land
Pro
- water could be pumped out of quite deep wells
Con
- Not strong enough to pump water out of quite deep wells

Question 4

What was the Timber Culture Act (1873)

Answer 4

An act that allowed a homesteader to claim a further 160 acres of land if they promised to plant trees (for timber) on a quarter of it

Question 5

What was a negative impact of the railroads?

Answer 5

As population increased due to railroads, so did crime

Question 6

What were negative impacts of the civil war?

Answer 6

1. resulted in the creation of a criminal gang called ‘The Reno gang’
2. resulted in lawlessness

Question 7

Why did the Texan cattle industry grow after the civil war?

Answer 7

After the civil war, beef was in great demand

Question 8

Why was abilene a good place to keep cattle?

Answer 8

1. There was grassland all the way from Kansas, which cowbys could use to bring the herds north (through Chisolm trail specifically)
2. Cattle could be loaded onto railroad trucks at the railhead at Abilene and shipped from there to chicago

Question 9

What did McCoy do to keep Cattle safe?

Answer 9

He purchased 450 acres of and and built large stockyards where the cattle could be safely kept