United States History Chapter 17 - AMERICA EXPANDS

transcontinental railroad

a railroad that was the goal of many Americans that spanned

Union Pacific

Chartered railroad company that worked from Omaha, Nebraska and built the transcontinental railroad westward, hired immigrant Irish

Central Pacific

Chartered railroad company that worked from Sacramento, California and built the transcontinental railroad eastward, hired immigrant Chinese

Pikes Peak gold rush

Gold rush in Colorado, most people were BUSTED

Comstock Lode

one of the largest and richest mines in the West; gold and silver

cattle drive

in which cowboys herded large numbers of cattle north, usually from texas, to Northern railroads to be shipped east

cowboys

tough, hard-working men who drove cattle

open ranges

public, unfenced plains that cattle in cattle drives often grazed on

Homestead Act

provided 160 acres to any settler who would live on Western land for five years and “improve” it by building a dwelling on it and farming there.

Oklahoma land rushes

A land rush when the US Government unfairly opened Indian territory to Homsteading - 9 million acres in 2 years

soddies

houses built of earth and sod

barbed wire

twisted strands of wire used to fence in homesteads

Great plains

the region between the Mississippi River Valley and the Rocky Mountains

David McCanles

Outlaw who was often described as a local bully

Plains Indians

A group of Indian tribes that existed in the Great Plains region

Sioux

Indian tribe led by Sitting Bull, one of the major opposing parties of the expanding US

Custer’s Last Stand

in which General Geroge Armstrong Custer was slaughtered along with two thousand of his men by an outnumbering Indian force

Sitting Bull

Primary leader of the Sioux tribe

reservations

special tracts of land set aside for the Indians where they could theoretically live in peace

Wounded Knee massacre

An event in which 150 Indians were killed by South Dakotans who tried to capture a band of Sioux who had fled after the death of Sitting Bull

A Century of Dishonor

a book by Helen Hunt Jackson that portrayed the government’s ruthless and dishonorable dealings with the Indians

Dawes Act

allowed Indian lands to be parceled out to individual Indian families to use and develop as they liked

Chief Joseph

a leader of the Nez Perce tribe who fought without savagery and loved his people

Maximilian I

The Napoleon-appointed Mexican ruler

Treaty of Washington

Treaty that set up international tribunals to settle disputes between the US and Great Britain

Matthew Perry

Commodore who made a deal with the Japanese for the US government to open trade between the two nations

Pan-Americanism

a movement favoring greater cooperation and unity among the nations of the Western Hemisphere

Open Door Policy

John Hay’s policy calling for free trade in China between all nations

Boxer Rebellion

a violent anti foreign movement in China that was put down by American troops

imperialism

extension of power by one people or country over another people or country by purchase, annexation, or conquest

purchase of Alaska

action known as “Seward’s Folly”, a very cheap and very profitable land purchase by the US through William Seward

Lottie Moon

American missionary to China who ministered to the Chinese people despite hostilities

Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth

American missionaries to China who survived the Boxer Rebellion

Yellow Journalism

one of the leading causes of the Spanish-American War: sensationalized news reporting aimed more at attracting readers than at reporting the truth.

de Lome letter

one of the leading causes of the Spanish-American War: Spanish letter that denounced McKinley as “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd.’.

USS Maine

one of the leading causes of the Spanish-American War: ship that was sunk outside of Cuba that sparked the Spanish-American war

Spanish-American War

brief war that resulted in the Spanish loss of Cuba

Rough Riders

group of fighters for the US army in the Spanish-American war made up of cowboys, miners, college students, and adventurers who were commanded by Theodore Roosevelt

Battle of Manila Bay

a battle that devastated Spanish sea power int he Pacific and left the Philippines in the hands of the United States

Battle of Santiago Bay

A battle that practically ended the Spanish-American War and secured Santiago