Name: _______________________________
USVA History
Chapter 13.1 – Cultures Clash on the Prairie
Chapter 13.2 – Settling on the Great Plains
Main Idea – The ______________ industry boomed in the late 1800s, as the culture of the Plains
Indians declined. Settlers on the Great Plains transformed the land despite great hardships.
Settlers Push Westward
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Background: Following the Civil War, the westward movement of settlers increased in
the region between the Mississippi River and the _______________________________
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What are the Great Plains?
o Settlers focused on settling and ___________________________ the Great Plains
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What is the significance of Settlers moving west?
o What happened to the Native American groups?
Cattle Become Big Business
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Background: What is the connection between railroads reaching the Great Plains and the
rise in beef demand in the east?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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What is a cowboy?
What is a cattle drive?
Railroads connect America
-What was being built in Sacramento, CA in 1863?
_________________________________________________________________________
-Who helped build it?
_________________________________________________________________________
-What was being built in Omaha, Nebraska
Settlers Move Westward to Farm
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Background: Following the Civil War, railroads became very important in opening
western lands to settlers and transporting crops to _________________________ markets
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What was the transcontinental railroad?

Which railroads did it connect?

Where did they connect?
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_______________________________________ (1862) – offered 160 acres of land in the
West (for free) to any citizen who would settle and farm the land for 5 years
o 600,000 families took advantage of this government offer
o Many homesteaders were southerners – both _____________________________
-
What is a Sooner? (1889)
Support for Farmers
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New Technology –
o ______________________________________ – invented by John Deere, helped
farmers slice through heavy soil
o ______________________________________ – invented by Cyrus McCormick,
increased speed of harvesting wheat
o _________________________________ – prevented animals from trampling
crops or wandering off from farms
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o Why are these devices significant to the growing farming industry?
__________________________________________________________________
Agricultural Education –
o ___________________________ (1862) – federal government gave land to states
to build agricultural schools (ex: ____________________________)
o Why was this significant to agriculture in America?
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Overall – What happened to the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains region of the
American west?