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The American West

Terms in this set (17)

Great American Desert
The "Great American Desert" received a new name, the Great Plains. This region consists of the area east of the Rockies: the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, a significant part of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana
Frederick Jackson Turner
Historian Turner claimed that the frontier had played a key role in forming the American Character.
Turner Frontier Thesis
Stated that frontier life created Americans who were socially mobile, ready for adventure, bent on individual self-improvement, committed to democracy and able to withstand difficult times to accomplish the American Dream...
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
Federal legislation that prohibited most further Chinese immigration to the U.S.
Exodusters
name given to African Americans who migrated from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late nineteenth century
Battle of Little Big Horn
In 1868, Lakota leaders agreed to the Fort Laramie Treaty, which created a large reservation. When the U.S. went against the treaty in 1874, tension escalated. The U.S. wanted to purchase the Black Hills from the Lakota but was rejected. Custer and his troops were defeated. But then the U.S. took the Black Hills without compensation.
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse
Lakota leaders that opposed the Fort Laramie Treaty because it would limit their way of life.
Gen. George A. Custer
Was sent to explore a boundary inside the Great Sioux Reservation and discovered gold. This was a direct violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty.
Ghost Dance
Wovoka promised the return of the buffalo and Indian way of life and prophesied the end of the westward expansion of life and a return of Indian land. Indians wore shirts and performed rituals that lasted five days. They were under the influence
Dawes Severalty Act (1887)
The act that broke up Indian reservations and distributed land into individual households. Leftover land was sold for money to fund the U.S. government efforts to "civilize" the natives. Indian males were sent to Carlisle Indian schools where their names, clothing, and hair were changed. They were also taught English
Helen Hunt Jackson
Activist of Native American rights and author of A Century of Dishonor (1881)
A Century of Dishonor
Book by Helen Hunt Jackson that chronicled the experiences of Native Americans in the United States, focusing on injustices
Soddy
A single-story home, not made out of wood but Sod and mud.
Homestead Act of 1862
Provided for 160 acres of land in the Western U.S. to anyone who wanted it. They had to stay for at least five years and make "improvements". About 70 percent of families who went west returned to the cities after the five years.
Joseph F. Gidden
Invented barbed wire. No more open range
Battle of Wounded Knee
The U.S. Army went to suppress a band of Ghost Dancers and massacred about 200 Indian men, women, and children.
List some of the characteristics of the culture of the Plains tribes, with particular emphasis on gender roles and the importance of the American Bison, or buffalo
Buffalo was the "life blood" of Native Americans. They used it for food, fuel, clothing, tools, harnesses, etc. They ate a lot of fruits and vegetables. Each tribe spoke different languages. they had their own religion and society. They were a matriarchial society. Village elders and chief were men but most of the village ran through tireless efforts of female members.
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