APUSH Chapter 25

reservation system

The system that allotted land with designated boundaries to Native American tribes in the west; Within these reservations, most land was used communally, rather than owned individually; The U.S. government encouraged and sometimes violently coerced Native Americans to stay on the reservations at all times; ended with the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887.

Sand Creek Massacre

an attack on a village of sleeping Cheyenne Indians by a regiment of Colorado militiamen that resulted in the death of more than 200 tribal members

Battle of the Little Bighorn

In 1876, Indian leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer's troops who tried to force them back on to the reservation, Custer and all his men died

Peace Policy

policy that urged Indians to accept the English language, Christianity, and individual ownership of property; called for allegiance to the US rather than a tribe; created by Grant

Dawes Severalty Act

Bill that promised Indians tracts of land to farm in order to assimilate them into white culture; dissolved many tribes as legal entities, wiped out tribal ownership of land, set up individual Indian family heads with 160 acres; the bill was resisted, ineffective, and disastrous to Indian tribes

Battle of Wounded Knee

US soldiers massacred 300 unarmed Native American in 1890. This ended the Indian Wars.

mining industry

during the late 1800s, mining became a big industry needed to get raw materials; After surface metals were removed, people sought ways to extract ore from underground, leading to the development of heavy mining machinery; led to the consolidation of the ______, because only big companies could afford to buy and build the necessary machines

100th meridian

Line north to south from the Dakotas through west Texas; Lands west of this line were generally poor and marginal; Settlers rashly tried to farm here in the 1870's and met ruin

borderland

in this case, the West; a region centered around the boundary between places, often containing a lot of cultural diversity

Frederick Jackson Turner

American historian who said that humanity would continue to progress as long as there was new land to move into; The frontier provided a place for homeless and solved social problems.

Red Cloud

leader of the Oglala who resisted the development of a trail through Wyoming and Montana by the United States government

Sitting Bull

American Indian chief; led the victory of Little Bighorn

Chief Joseph

Leader of Nez Perce; attempted to flee with his tribe to Canada instead of reservations; However, US troops came to fight and bring them back down to reservations

John Wesley Powell

Explorer and geologist who warned that traditional agriculture could not succeed west of the 100th meridian