Vocabulary Word
Definition-in your own words
1. ore
A mineral mined for the valuable substance it contains such as silver
and gold.
2. lode
Rich streaks (veins) of metallic rock sandwiched between layers of
rock
3. transcontinental
railroad
A railroad extending across the United States which was completed
on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah.
4. open range
Land that is not fenced in or divided into lots.
5. Vaquero
A Hispanic ranch hand.
6. homestead
Homestead Act 1862
7. sodbuster
p. 537 Am. Journey
8. dry farming
9. nomadic
The Homestead Act allowed settlers to acquire a piece of U.S. land
by living on it and farming the land. If they stayed for 5 years, the 160
acres was theirs to keep.
The nickname given to the Plains farmers.
Planting seeds deep in the soil where it is still moist
Moving from place to place, following a food source, with no
permanent home.
10. reservation
An area of public land set aside for Native Americans.
11. subsidy
Money from the gov’t given to a person or company for an action
intended to benefit the public. Ex. Farmers
12. vigilante
Someone who took the law into his/her own hands.
13. ghost town
A deserted boom town.
14. boom town
A mining town that became heavily populated very quickly.
15. The Great Plains
Large part of land in the west central U.S. that was a grassy, treeless
area with little rainfall and frequent
dust storms.
16. frontier
The land just past civilization
17. long drive (as
related to cattle
ranching)
Herding cattle 1000 miles or more to the RR
18. barbed wire
(this is not razor
wire)
Used to section off land to fence in and protect crops and cattle.