West Test Part 1 Flashcards
Define subsidy
a government provided financial aid or land grants
Define cattle drive
movement of herds of cattle on trails over great distances
Define transcontinental railroad
It’s a rail line that’s connected to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
What was a boomtown
It’s a town that quickly grows up around a mining center
Define cowtown
the end of cattle trails
How did the expansion of railroads help to create a successful cattle industry
cattle were sent to markets and people would pay for them a lot more
What attracted settlers to move to Kansas
land
How did the government encourage railroads to expand to the West
by providing land grants (subsiders) and government provided more than 130 million acres of land to railroad companies
What contributed to the end of the cattle drives
it ended because of small farms that became infected with something called Texas Fever, a small tick that carried diseases
Define homestead
a house on land that includes farm and land
Define sodbusters
farmers who developed new farming methods and tools
Which President authorized the building of the first transcontinental railroad starting in 1862
Abraham Lincoln
How did mining and railroads draw people to the West
Mining attracted people from chance to “strike it rich”. Railroads made the movement to the West easier and allowed supplies to be moved back and forth with greater ease
How did the expansion of railroads to the west change the United States?
The population in the West grew, which allowed states to develop and the country to expand. the landscape changed, resources were gained, time zones were created, etc
What was the Homestead Act
It gave up to 160 acres of land to any head of a family who paid a $10 filing fee and lived on the land for five years
What was the Oklahoma Land Rush
Oklahoma had free land and who ever got their first, got land… like a competition
What was the National Grange (a.k.a. The Grange)
The first larger farmers’ organization that was a network
Who was Fred Harvey
a businessman who started the first chain of restaurants. He set up restaurants along the Aitchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe rail line known as Harvey Houses
Define farm cooperative
a way for farmers to pool their money together to buy large amounts of supplies for less money
Define sooners
someone who sneaked into Oklahoma and claimed land before the Oklahoma Land Rush
List at least 3 difficulties faced by Kansas farmers in the late 1800s
the harsh weather conditions they had, economic depression, and not enough resources
Three different things that contributed to the end of the cattle drive
Laws that kept cattle drives out of the states… Texas Fever, farmers who fenced off their land with barbed wire so the cattle couldn’t ruin it, railroads that extended themselves to where the cattle were raised
How did the cattle industry begin
New railroads allowed ranchers to ship beef east
TRUE OR FALSE
Clearing trees was not a difficultly faced by Kansas farmers in the late 1800’s
true
What’s the intersection of a railroad and a cattle town called
cowtown
