Topic 3: Westward Expansion Key Terms

Push-Pull Factors

refer to the reasons people migrate, such as conditions that push them from their home and those that pull them to new places. In the 19th century, poverty, discrimination, and lack of opportunity pushed Americans and immigrants west, while land, freedom, and economic opportunities pulled them. This framework explains the mass movement to the western U.S. after the Civil War. It shaped the demographic and economic development of the American West.

Manifest Destiny

was the 19th-century belief that Americans were destined by God to expand across the continent. Popularized in the 1840s, it justified westward expansion, displacement of Native peoples, and conflicts like the Mexican-American War. It played a central role in U.S. policies promoting territorial growth. This ideology fueled aggressive settlement and empire-building in the American West.

Homestead Act

Passed in 1862, it granted 160 acres of federal land to settlers who would farm it for five years. It aimed to populate and develop the western U.S. with family farms, attracting hundreds of thousands of Americans and immigrants. Women and unmarried individuals also occasionally claimed land. The Act transformed the Plains into agricultural centers and intensified Native displacement.

Pacific Railway Act

Enacted in 1862, it provided government support for building the first transcontinental railroad. It granted land and loans to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads. The Act marked the start of massive federal infrastructure support for western expansion. It enabled cross-country travel, migration, and economic integration of the West with the East.

Transcontiental Railroad

Completed in 1869, it connected the eastern U.S. rail network with California, linking the nation coast to coast. Built largely by Chinese and Irish immigrant labor, it cut travel time from months to days. It boosted trade, migration, and the cattle industry, while enabling rapid settlement of the West. However, it also accelerated Native displacement and environmental change.

Exodusters

were African Americans who migrated westward, especially to Kansas, after the Civil War to escape racial violence and discrimination in the South. The term comes from the biblical Exodus, symbolizing escape to freedom. Many Exodusters established farming communities. Their movement highlights Black self-determination and the search for economic independence during Reconstruction.

Barbed wire

Invented in the 1870s, was a cheap fencing solution that allowed farmers to protect crops from roaming cattle. It became essential on the treeless Great Plains, where traditional wood fencing was impractical. Barbed wire helped end open-range cattle drives and contributed to range wars between ranchers and farmers. It symbolized the shift to privatized land and enclosed agriculture in the West.

First Treaty of Ft. laramie

signed between the U.S. and several Plains tribes to guarantee safe passage for settlers on the Oregon Trail. It established boundaries for tribal lands in exchange for annuities. As settler encroachment increased, the treaty was frequently violated. It marked the beginning of U.S. treaty-making that ultimately undermined Native land claims.

Dakota War

a violent conflict in Minnesota between the U.S. and the Dakota (Sioux), sparked by broken treaties and starvation. After failed negotiations, Dakota warriors attacked settlements, leading to hundreds of deaths. U.S. forces retaliated harshly, executing 38 Dakota men—the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The war signaled the breakdown of U.S.-Native relations and led to the Dakota’s expulsion from Minnesota.

Sandcreek Massacre

At Sand Creek, Colorado, U.S. militia attacked and slaughtered a peaceful Cheyenne village led by Black Kettle, killing over 200 mostly women and children. The massacre, ordered by Colonel John Chivington, shocked the nation. Though condemned by some in Congress, it reflected the brutality of U.S. expansion. It escalated Plains Indian resistance and remains a symbol of betrayal and genocide.

Second Treaty of Ft. Laramie

This treaty established the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, and was signed after Red Cloud’s War. The U.S. agreed to abandon forts on Sioux land in exchange for peace. However, gold discoveries in 1874 led to treaty violations and renewed conflict. The treaty’s violation played a direct role in the Battle of Little Bighorn and later legal disputes.

Battle of Little Bighorn

Also known as Custer’s Last Stand, this battle saw the U.S. 7th Cavalry, led by George Custer, defeated by a large force of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. It occurred after U.S. attempts to force Native bands onto reservations. Though a Native victory, it prompted a massive U.S. military response. The battle became a turning point that led to the eventual surrender of Sioux resistance.

Sitting Bull

was a Hunkpapa Lakota chief and spiritual leader known for his resistance to U.S. expansion. He played a key role in the victory at Little Bighorn and refused to accept U.S. authority over Sioux lands. Later, he joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show but returned to his people during the Ghost Dance movement. He was killed in 1890 during a U.S. attempt to suppress that movement.

Wounded Knee Massacre

U.S. troops killed between 150 and 300 Lakota Sioux, including many women and children. The massacre occurred during a crackdown on the Ghost Dance religious movement. It marked the end of large-scale armed Native resistance. Wounded Knee symbolizes the tragic consequences of U.S. Indian policy and is remembered as one of the darkest moments in U.S. history.

Americanization

was the federal policy of assimilating Native Americans into white American culture through education, religion, and farming. The policy intensified after 1870, targeting Native identity and traditions. It aimed to erase tribal structures and promote individual landownership. Though presented as benevolent, it contributed to cultural loss and social disruption.

Dawes Severalty Act

broke up tribal lands by allotting 160-acre plots to individual Native families and selling the rest to white settlers. It aimed to promote assimilation by encouraging private landownership and agriculture. Over time, Native groups lost millions of acres of land. The Act undermined tribal sovereignty and deepened poverty on reservations.

Indian Boarding Schools

like the Carlisle Indian School founded in 1879, were institutions aimed at assimilating Native children. Students were removed from families, given new names, and forbidden to speak their languages or practice their cultures. The schools enforced strict discipline and promoted Christianity and American customs. These schools left lasting trauma and symbolized the coercive nature of U.S. assimilation policies.