Westward Expansion Facts Flashcards
What is a Frontier?
Unsettled, unexplored or undeveloped area ( uncharted territory)
What type of people had settled in the West?
Miners, ranchers and farmers
What is the Comstock Lode?
In 1859, miner Henry Comstock discovered a huge deposit of gold and silver in western Nevada that is now called the Comstock Lode. This lured thousands of people in the West and mining became a big business in the West, but it was really dangerous to do.
Boomtowns
Communities that grew suddenly when a mine opened; Woman who worked and lived in the boomtowns helped turn mining camps into successful, permanent towns.
Cattle Kingdom
Many ranchers raised cattle in the late 1800s and they used an open range of land to care for the huge herds of cattle and that land has once been occupied by Plains Indians and buffalo herds.
The Cattle Boom and the End of Cattle Kingdom
As the cattle business boomed, ranchers faced lots of competition between one another for an open range of land. Then in 1874, the invention of barbed wire allowed westerners to fence off large amounts of land cheaply. The competition between farmers, large ranchers and small ranchers all led to wars and fights for land. Making matters worse in 1885 and 1886, disaster struck and the huge herds had eaten most of the prairie grass and severe winters caused thousands of cattle to die, and many ranchers were ruined financially.
Cowboys, Cattle Drive and the Chisholm Trail
- The workers who took care of the ranchers’ cattle were known as cowboys.
- One of the cowboys’ most important tasks was the cattle drive, where cowboys herded cattle to the market or Northern Plains for grazing.
- The Chisholm Trail was one of the earliest and most popular routes for cattle drives.
Transcontinental Railroad
A railroad that would cross the continent and connect the east to the west. The transportation of goods would be easier to accomplish through this and the government made profit out of this.
The Making of the Transcontinental Railrooad
The Union Pacific and the Central Pacific were the two sides that had to be completed of the Transcontinental Railroad. They had to meet at Promontory, Utah and they had faced many challenges. The Central Pacific side had to face constructing in the mountains and in the cold weather. The Chinese workers were given the hardest labor and had very little pay. The Union Pacific had to suffer through the harsh weather of the Great Plains. It was completed in 1869.
Animals that the Plain Indians Relied On
Buffalo and Horse; They used these animals for everything and to survive.
Treaty of Fort Laramie
The first major treaty between the U.S. government and Plains Indians to avoid disputes.
Reservations
Areas of federal land set aside for Native Americans
Treaty of Medicine Lodge
Most southern Plains Indians agreed to live on reservations and some didn’t due to the amount of significance the land was to them, which led to wars.
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Sioux forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeated Custer and his troops of 254 scouts. This was the Sioux’s last major victory.
Massacre at Wounded Knee
U.S. army shot and killed about 150 Sioux near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. This was the last major incident on the Great Plains.
