AP US History
Chapter 16 Key Terms
Caste System (page 434) – in the west lived the Spanish and the Indians  the Spanish was at
the top and the Indians with tribes were in the middle and the Indians with no tribes were at the
bottom of the pyramid
Plains Indians (page 434) – the strongest Indians that lived in the west, but they weren’t united
with one another  they were only united because they were all attached to nature
Buffalo’s Importance (page 434) – buffalos was the source of everything to the Indians  it was
their economic basis  it provided all the sources that they needed to survive  buffalos
provided them food, teepees, coal, clothes, weapons, and etc.
Indian Weakness (page 435) – they were outnumbered and outgunned by the Americans
Taos Indian Rebellion (page 436) – Indians were afraid the Americans will take their land away
from them just like when the Americans took New Mexico and so they rebelled  in the end
they were defeated by the Americans and the Americans sent the military and a new territorial
government to control New Mexico
Hispanic Resistance (page 436) – the Hispanics took advantage from the Indian’s lost and they
multiple and fended off any American threat from taking their lands
Decline of Mission Society (page 437) – the Indians were treated like slaves in the mission, but
the Mexican government reduced the church’s powers  led to a decline of mission society
Hispanic Status (page 437) – their status was declining because their lands were being taken
away from them
Racism (page 437) – the Chinese came to California for a new life and the white Americans
accepted them because they can use them as workers because the Chinese were all hard-workers
 later on the Chinese started to become more and more successful and industrious  the
whites began to hate and discriminate them  Chinese population was discouraged by this
Transcontinental Railroad (page 438) – mining jobs were starting to decline and so the Chinese
went into building railroads  they were hard workers and the white Americans hired them
because the Chinese didn’t know much and so they can make them work more hours and pay
them less  the Chinese started a strike for more pay and less hours, but later on the failed and
went back to work  when they finished constructing the railroad, they continued to work
under the whites or became agricultural workers while some moved to the cities for new jobs
Establishment of “Chinatowns” (page 439) – the first Chinatown was established in San
Francisco when the Chinese moved there
Anti- Coolie Clubs (page 439) – as the Chinese population grew bigger and bigger, the white
Americans resented them and started to attack them  the whites refused to employ them or
they gave them a low wage for their work
Chinese Exclusion Act (page 440) – Chinese immigration was stopped for 10 years so that it can
keep the Chinese from becoming citizens of America  the Americans were afraid that the
Chinese will take their jobs away from them  this act became a law in 1902
Chinese Resistance (page 440) – they decided to file a lawsuit and write to the president, but this
had no effect at all
Homestead Act (page 440-441) – gave land to the Americans as long as they improve the land
value of it  it was agricultural commercial
Government assistance (page 441) – the government increased the Homestead Acts with
additional improvements  as more lands were being purchased, more states were being
annexed into the Union
Limited Social Mobility (page 442) – advancing was easier with all the wealth and power in the
west, but many people were poor and so there’s little social mobility
Racially Stratified Working Class (page 442) – stereotypes were stopping the advancing of other
races besides the whites  whites have the opportunity to reach for higher goals while the
Chinese can’t
Life Cycle of Mining Boom (page 442) – when some kind of mineral was found in a particular
area, the workers will soon rush to that site and start digging  settlements and cities will spring
Comstock Lode (page 443) – a dig site for silver  led to may migrations to California
Boomtown Life (page 443) – many had a belief and hope that they’ll become very wealthy, but
in reality only a few did
Gender Imbalance (page 443-444) – there were more men than women living there and so
birthrate was low and it led to smaller and smaller towns and settlements
Mexican Origins (page 445) – cattle ranching came from the Texans and Mexicans before the
Americans took control
Chisholm Trail (page 445) – a trail was needed for herding the cattle and also there were many
competitions and rivalry taking place
Competition with Farmers (page 446) – as more and more lands were beginning added into the
nation, farmers and ranchers came in conflict with each other and this led to a decrease in land
Political Gain for Women (page 447) – women had more freedom in the West than in the East 
they were granted with suffrage and were able to be office holders
“Rocky Mountain School” (page 447) – painters like Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran
painted beautiful canvases that romanticized the West
Myth of the Cowboy (page 447) – people believed that cowboys were so carefree and had a lot
of fun and life  led to many Americans to migrate towards the West because they also wanted
a carefree life and start anew
Frederic Remington (page 448) – a famous artist that portrayed the cowboys as a natural
aristocrat  romanticized the West even more
Tuner’s Frontier Thesis (page 452) – the romantic vision of the West brought an end to
democratizing forces in American life
Psychological Loss (page 452) – ideas of the West could be just like the Garden of Eden but now
it’s gone because the people were having different ideas of what it was like
“Concentration” Policy (page 453)- reservation policies that would give whites control over the
Indian Territory  didn’t last long and more treaties were made
Poorly Administered Reservations (page 453) – department that took care of distributing the land
to the Indians and whites  were often dishonest and unjust
Decimation of Buffaloes (page 454) – whites began demanding buffaloes for food, leather, and
sport  the buffalo population began to decline and this hurt the Indians
Indian Resistance (page 454) – they felt like they were threatened and so they attacked the white
soldiers  almost caused a war
Sand Creek Massacre (page 454) – some of the Indians decided to join America for protection,
yet they were slaughtered because they were thought of as a threat  this angered many Indians
and so they decided to fight back and this created more and more conflicts
“Indian Hunting” (page 455) – the whites hinted and killed Indians as a sport  displays white
racism
Little Bighorn (page 455) – in 1876, a battle where the Indians won over the Americans  the
Indians had the largest army in American history (had 2500 men)  shows that Indians can be a
potential threat when they unite together
Chief Joseph (page 455) – he and his tribe was a peaceful one, but they were forced to live in
Idaho  some Indians from his tribes killed few whites and so he decided to move his tribe to
Canada and when they were close to reaching their destination, they were caught  this
separated them  some were forced to go back to Idaho while others escaped
“Ghost Dance” (page 456) – a rapid religious revival in the tribes that encouraged resistance and
restoration of the buffaloes
Wounded Knee (page 456-457) – winter of 1890, whites troops killed about 200 Indians and 40
white soldiers died
Assimilation (page 458) – helped to transport crops easily and encouraged more people to settle
in the West
Barbed Wire (page 459) – kept cattle from harming the farmlands  Joseph H. Glidden and I.L.
Ellwood invented this in 1873  it revolutionized fencing all over the nation
Drought (page 459) – after 1887, a drought began and this discouraged immigration to the West
 some farmers even decided to move back to the East
Consequences of Overproduction (page 459) – overproduction brought prices down  led into
an economic distress  things such as farm mortgages and farms operated by tenants increased
Farmer’s Grievances (page 460) – farmers didn’t like the railroads because they charged more
freight rates for farmed goods  also didn’t like the banks, loans, and companies because it
turned into a demand that the farmers relied on  didn’t like that their profits depended in
unpredictable forces  also suspected that the bankers and speculators only benefited off of their
hard work
Isolation (page 460) – the farmers felt secluded from their communities because of the economic
difficulties  the West wasn’t what they imagined it to be  it was a lonely painful reality for
them  the farmers realized that their position was declining against the urban, industrial society