STUDY GUIDE: WESTERN EXPANSION
What were the reasons for western expansion?
free land, gold, silver, adventure, better life for former slaves
GREAT PLAINS
What is an exoduster?
former slaves looking for better opportunities by moving out west
What are the characteristics of the Great Plains?
dry, low rainfall, flat, frequent dust storms, known as “Great American desert
What are some inventions people used to adapt to the environment of the Great Plains?
mechanical reaper, barbed wire, steel plow
adaptations: windmills, dry farming, sod houses, cattle raising, railroad
What region is the Great Plains a part of?
the Midwest
How did people’s perceptions of the Great Plains change?
went from being called the “Great American Desert” to the “Great American
Breadbasket”
What did the Homestead Act provide?
160 acres of free land to anyone age 21 above that settled and farmed the land for 5
years
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
Which companies helped build the Transcontinental Railroad and what were their
starting points?
Union Pacific-built from Omaha, Nebraska west
Central Pacific-built from Sacramento, California east
Who drove the last spike?
Leland Stanford
Where did the two rail lines meet?
Promontory Point, Utah
Who was hired to help with the construction of the railroad?
Union Pacific-Irish, African-Americans
Central Pacific-Chinese
What were the benefits of the transcontinental railroad?
carried metal, helped the steel industry, helped the west be settled, faster and easier
travel to the west, created the time zones
most important benefit-faster travel
NATIVE AMERICANS
What is a reservation?
land set aside for Native Americans-this land was not chosen by the individual
Native American-it was assigned by the government
What was accomplished at the Battle of Little Bighorn?
Sitting Bull is able to defeat General Custer’s army and retained their land for the
time being
Who said the famous line “I shall fight no more” when he tried to lead his people North
to Canada?
Chief Joseph
What was the final conflict between Native Americans and whites?
Wounded Knee
What was the purpose of the Dawes Act?
an attempt to “Americanize” the Native Americans –wanted to change their
religion, language and customs and put them into reservations
WESTERN EXPANSION
What were some positives and negatives of western expansion?
positives: transcontinental railroad, more housing out west, spreading of
population, free land, steel plow, windmills, mechanical reaper, dry farming and
barbed wire
negatives: destruction of the buffalo, battles and conflicts with Native Americans,
U.S. government went back on treaties, possibility of over population, Native
Americans forced on reservations, dust storms, Dawes Act
What is the difference between a boomtown and a ghostown?
boomtown-populated mining town
ghostown-deserted town
What is “Pike’s Peak”
When people found gold and silver
Started the gold rush
What was the famous slogan used during the gold rush?
“Pike’s Peak or Bust”