Westward Expansion Flashcards
Why did railroad companies hire immigrants?
Immigrants worked long hours for low pay.
What were some of the things the Plains Indians used the buffalo for?
Food, clothing, shelter
How did the Homestead Act encourage people to move west?
It offered free land to those willing to farm it.
Lode
Rich vein of gold or silver.
Vigilante
Self-appointed crime fighter.
Transcontinental Railroad
One that stretches across a continent from coast to coast.
Subsidy
Financial aid or a land grant from the government.
How did news of the Comstock Lode affect the west?
Prospectors migrated west in search of gold and silver.
Why were Texas Longhorns popular in the commercial market?
They required little food and water when traveling long distances.
What were the terms of the Fort Laramie treaty?
Land would be reserved for Native Americans forever and they would receive tools, domestic animals, and money.
What was the name given to people who sneaked into Oklahoma before the land rush to stake out the best land?
Sooners
How did Congress help railroad companies?
By giving them a subsidy-financial aid or land grant.
Where did cow hands learn their skills from?
Mexican vaqueros
What were some of the problems that settlers encountered on the mining frontier?
Pollution in streams, cutting down of forests, few ever got rich.
What was the most significant economic impact of the transcontinental railroad?
Expanding trade nation wide
Sod house
House built of soil held together by grass roots.
Why did cowtowns develop?
Cattle were held in pens near rail lines, and towns with dance halls, saloons, hotels, restaurants, and stores catering to cowhands sprang up.
How did mining encourage the growth of towns in the west?
Merchants and traders followed miners into new areas to sell them goods they needed.
Vaquero
Spanish and Mexican cowhands who herded cattle. American cowands learned about riding, roping, and branding from vaqueros.
Cow towns
Towns where cattle drives ended. Usually found near rail lines. Cattle were held in pens until they could be loaded onto trains.
What promises to the Native Americans did the government break?
Promises to protect Native American hunting grounds, promises that land reserved for them would be theirs forever.
Why did Settlers and Plains Indians come into conflict?
Settlers ignored treaties protecting Indian lands.
How did the Cattle Kingdom begin?
Cattle ranches were set up on the Great Plains by the Spanish and Mexicans before the arrival of settlers from the U.S. After the Civil War, the demand for beef increased, and Texas ranchers began rounding up and driving the cattle to meet it.
