US HISTORY - Unit 6: Western Frontier (1860-1910)

4 characteristics associated with the West

Individualism, Opportunity, New Beginnings, Independence & Freedom

Homestead Act of 1862

160 acres of land offered to anyone who would live on it for 5 years

Exodusters

African American families who left the South and moved to the West. (Exodusters is a Biblical reference to the book of Exodus)

Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)

Federal lands sold to create colleges dedicated primarily to the study of __agriculture, Mechanical arts, & Military tactics.__

Dawes Act

**Reservations were broken up and tribal lands were distributed to individual Indian families.** 

Impact of the Dawes Act

* **Indians were pushed to become farmers.** 
* **They could also become citizens.** 
* **Surplus of land was given to white settlers.**

Pacific Railway Act

**Government subsidies for corporations constructing railroads. 1st time the government gave money to a private company.**

Impact of Westward Expansion on Native Americans

**Killing of many buffalos, establishment of national parks, wars in the plains involving settlers vs. Indians, gold & silver rushes.**

4 big impacts of Railroads

**Made mobility, profit, industrialization, and connection possible.**

3 major conflicts between settlers and Natives that occurred during the Western Frontier Era

**Massacre of Sandy Creek, Fetterman Massacre, Battle of LIttle Bighorn (Custer’s last stand)**

Some myths/inventions that shaped our perception of the West

**Cowboys, barb wire, railroad, outlaws**

Western Frontier time period

1860-1910