Settlement of the Great Plains and the Western Frontier

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the environmental characteristics, government policies, mining and cattle frontiers, and conflicts with Native Americans during the settlement of the Great Plains.

Great American Desert

A term used by early explorers and settlers to describe the Great Plains because of its lack of water, few trees, and flat or rolling hills.

Homestead Act (1862)

A government policy that offered 160 acres of free land to settlers who lived on the land for 5 years and made improvements.

Morrill Land Grant (1862)

A government policy giving land to each state to establish public land grant colleges such as Texas A&M, Ohio St., and Alcorn St.

Timber Culture Act (1873)

A policy that gave 160 additional acres to settlers who were required to plant 40 acres of trees; it was not very effective.

Edward McCabe

The Afro-American founder of Langston, Oklahoma, who was a typical settler of the Great Plains.

Bison Subsistence Economy

The lifestyle of Plains Indians who used all parts of the bison for food, shelter, clothing, and tools.

Battle of Little Big Horn (June 1876)

A conflict where Custer and the 7th Cavalry were destroyed by the Sioux leaders Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.

Dawes Severalty Act (1887)

A government policy that broke up reservations and divided Indian lands into small 160-acre plots, reducing total Indian lands from 138 million to 48 million acres.

Ghost Dancing

A form of non-violent resistance based on the idea that White settlers would disappear and bison would return.

Wounded Knee massacre (Dec. 1889)

An event where over 200 Lakota Sioux were killed by the U.S. Army.

Carlisle Indian School

A school in Pennsylvania established as part of the government's assimilation policy for Indian children.

Placer mining

A method of mining involving a shovel, washing pan, and a claim that the miner would leave once it wore out.

Comstock Lode (1859)

A discovery of almost pure silver and gold that led to the founding of Virginia City and overloaded the world silver market.

Hydraulic mining

A form of big-business mining that used technology and capital but destroyed the landscape.

Joseph McCoy

The man who built stockyards, a hotel, and other infrastructure in Abilene, Kansas to support the cattle market.

Chisholm Trail

The most heavily traveled cattle trail, which handled half of all cows moved from Texas during the Western drives.

Vaqueros

Mexican-Americans who originated the cattle industry's techniques of branding, roundups, and roping.

Joseph Glidden

The inventor of mass-produced barbed wire in 1874, which led to the end of the open range.

Great Die-up

The winter of 1886-87 where a summer drought followed by blizzards resulted in the death of 90% of cattle and bankrupt many ranchers.

Turkey Red Wheat

A new variety of crop from Russia used by farmers using dry land farming techniques on the Plains.

Deadwood Dick

Also known as Nate Love, the most famous Black cowboy and ex-slave who won rodeo and shooting contests in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

Bonanza farms

Large-scale farms, some over 100,000 acres, that often went bankrupt during droughts.