Name ____________________
Modern U.S. History
Mr. Kraft
Western Development
Possible Test Essays
Directions: Below are six possible short answer / essay questions for the unit test, which covers Western Development.
One or two will be chosen on the day of the test by a roll of the dice. Each essay is worth 50 pts.
Format: If the correct format (hook, body, and conclusion) is not followed, 10 pts. will be automatically subtracted from
the score.
1. Explain the new laws or standards that were established by the Dawes Act, and how the creation of this act or law
lead to the end of the Native American way of life and their unique culture.
Essential Points:
 Senator Henry Dawes
 4 terms of the Dawes Act:
a. Look at your Power Point notes for these 4
 Restrictions and changes to the Native American way of life:
a. sacred Native American homelands
b. hunting buffalo
c. “hunter-gatherer” culture compared to an “agrarian” culture
d. “nomadic” way of life compared to a “stationary” way of life
e. tribal conflicts on the reservations
 Attempting to “Americanize” the Native Americans:
a. physical appearance changes
b. language restrictions
 Carlisle School for Indian Training in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
 U.S. government’s failure to financially support this law
a. No farming training was given to Native Americans on the reservation.
b. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) corruption
 Reservation land quality:
a. dry and arid desert land
2. Explain the reasons why buffalo were being slaughtered at a rapid pace after the Civil War, and how the decline in the
buffalo population was detrimental to the existence of Native Americans.
Essential Points:
 The white man’s technology:
a. Guns, wagons, trains
b. How did these things make killing buffalo very easy?
 White man’s reason for slaughtering buffalo:
a. fur
b. food
c. hunting game
 The buffalo’s shrinking habitat:
a. Homestead Act
b. farmers and ranchers using barb wire
c. miners and mining towns
d. railroad expansion
 “Buffalo Bill”
 Native American dependence on the buffalo
a. “Kill a buffalo and you kill an Indian” which were seen only as a nuisance to white settlers.
b. Explain how the buffalo was used by Native Americans.
 Roaming buffalo contributing to the nomadic lifestyle of the Native Americans
3. Explain why the west was considered to be an area of “lawlessness” or a place where law is relatively absent.
Essential Points:
 The Civil War:
a. The war was in the east.
b. Who was fighting itself?
c. There was a limited law presence out west.
d. Why “outlaws” were attracted to the west.
 Unattractive duties for a U.S. soldier out west
a. List some of their daily duties
b. U.S. army “deserters”
 Government corruption in western towns:
a. Why did the lawmen of western towns allow laws to be broke?
 Native American’s “territoriality”
 New “uncharted” territory:
a. establishing law and order
 Mining Towns / Ghost Towns:
a. What is a mining town?
b. Miners would fight over gold and silver.
c. Mining Act of 1866
 Cow Towns:
a. What is a cow town?
b. Explain the cattle drive.
c. cow town inhabitants – herders / cowboys / drovers
d. alcohol , prostitution, and gambling
 Rancher’s and farmer’s land:
a. What is a farmer?
b. What is a rancher?
c. Why did they have to protect their land from the cattle drive?
4. Explain how the transcontinental railroad, and railroad expansion into the western part of the U.S, affected the entire
country and helped the growth of the western territories and states.
Essential Points:
 Pacific Railway Acts:
a. Land was given to railroad companies by the U.S. government in order to build railroads leading out to the
western part of the U.S.
b. How did railroad companies make money off of this?
c. How did this create economic growth in the U.S.?
 Transcontinental railroad:
a. What is a transcontinental railroad?
b. How did this help boost economic growth in the U.S.?
 Benefits and side effects of railroads:
a. growth of cities
b. trade – large amounts
c. travel – faster & safer
d. communication – no more mail on the pony express
 Things that went west or came from the west by way of the railroads (cargo):
a. fuel
b. lumber
c. people – immigrants and Americans
d. cattle – “The Cattle Kingdom”
e. crops
f. How did all of these lead to the growth of the western population and the U.S. economy?
 Creation of standard time:
a. What was the original name of standard time?
b. Standard time was established because of the speedy travel that railroads offered.
c. The establishment of time zones which are world wide.
5. Explain why so many people from all over the world were attracted to the idea of moving to the western part of the
United States. Include in your answer the laws that encouraged settlement in the west, the type people that were
going to the west, and opportunities that the west provided people.
Essential Points:
 Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show:
a. The show provided a look at the cultures and elements of the western part of the U.S. that many people had just
heard of.
b. Where was this show “put on” at?
c. How did show aroused curiosity about the west throughout the world?
d. How did this show contribute to the population growth of the west?
 Legislation / Laws: The U.S. government did have a plan to settle the west.
a. Northwest Ordinance (1785):
 “Add A State” Plan
 Population must reach 60,000 people before a territory can become a state and gain representation in the
U.S. Congress.
 How did this provide organization to the west?
b. Homestead Act (1862):
 List the terms of the law.
 How did this law attract people to the west?
c. Morrill Land Grant Act (1862):
 Land was set aside for states to sell which would help build educational institutions that focused on
agricultural and mining practices.
 How did this help people survive out west?
 How did this contribute to the population growth of the west and the economic growth of the U.S.
d. Dawes Act (1887):
 List the terms of this law.
 How did this law help make the west safe for settlement?
 People:
a. Miners:
 There were many natural resources to be mined.
b. European and Asian immigrants:
 FREE LAND!!!!!
 Why was this so appealing to them?
c. Eastern U.S. citizens:
 FREE LAND!!!!!
 Why was this so appealing to them?
d. Farmers and Ranchers:
 How could they survive and turn a profit at the same time?
e. Cattle Herders / Drovers:
 Explain how much money can be made doing this.
f. Outlaws:
 Why the west for these type for these type of people?
g. Railroad Construction:
 How did this make western migration faster and safer?
h. Fur Traders:
 Buffalo fur was the main fur traded out west.
i. Entrepreneurs / Business Owners:
 These people sought to make a profit off of the many different types of people moving out west. These type
of people opened business such as hotels, restaurants, brothels, etc.
6. Respond to the following statement in agreement or disagreement. As many facts and details as possible should
support your response.
“What the United States government did to the Native Americans during the second half of the 1800s is exactly what
NAZI Germany did to European Jewish people before and during WWII.”
Essential Points - Answers may vary from person to person. See the venn diagram you should have completed in the
packet over power point presentation.