Westward expansion, native American history, Spanish-American war

Homestead Act of 1862

Offered 160 acres of public land for five years of farming.

Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889

50,000 people rushed to claim two million acres of land in Oklahoma.

Boomers vs. Sooners

Boomers arrived on time; Sooners entered early to illegally claim land.

Transcontinental Railroad

Connected the Eastern and Western United States between 1863 and 1869.

Pacific Railroad Act of 1862

Granted railroad companies 10 miles of land on each side for every track laid.

Comstock Lode

One of the largest silver mines ever discovered, found in Nevada in 1859.

Chisholm Trail

Post-Civil War trail used to drive cattle from Texas ranches to Kansas railheads.

Barbed Wire

Invention by Joseph Glidden that effectively ended the open-range cattle drive era.

Four Phases of US Indian Policy

Negotiation, Relocation, Assimilation, and Retribution.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

Law signed by Andrew Jackson that forced Native Americans west of the Mississippi to oklahoma

Trail of Tears

The 1838 forced journey of 16,000 Cherokee people, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Significance of the Buffalo

Plains Indians relied on them; the US targeted them to destroy the Native food source.

Sand Creek Massacre (1864)

US troops under John Chivington killed over 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly women and children.

Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868

Established the Great Sioux Reservation and granted the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills. U.S. got Bozeman trail and Montana Gold Feilds.

Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors annihilated General Custer and the Seventh Cavalry in Montana. Natives Won

Chief Joseph

Nez Perce leader who surrendered in 1877 stating, 'I will fight no more forever.'

Ghost Dance

A movement promising the return of buffalo and removal of white settlers through sacred dances. Created by Wovoka

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

US soldiers killed about 300 Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek, effectively ending the Indian Wars.

Carlisle Indian School

A Pennsylvania school designed to assimilate Native American children by erasing their native culture.

Dawes Act of 1887

Broke up tribal reservations into individual plots to force Native American assimilation.

Purchase of Alaska

Bought from Russia in 1867 by William Seward for $7.2 million, initially mocked as 'Seward's Folly.'

Annexation of Hawaii

Overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani by American sugar planters, leading to U.S. annexation in 1898.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The first significant U.S. law restricting immigration, specifically banning Chinese laborers.

Yellow Journalism

Exaggerated and sensationalized newspaper reporting by Pulitzer and Hearst that fueled support for the Spanish-American War.

U.S.S. Maine

American battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, serving as a major catalyst for the Spanish-American War.

Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders

A volunteer cavalry unit that achieved fame by charging up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

Ended the Spanish-American War and gave the U.S. control of Guam, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines.

Mark Twain and Anti-Imperialism

Expressed strong opposition to American imperialism, stating he was opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.

Walter Reed and William C. Gorgas

Studied Yellow Fever in Cuba and devised a plan to drain standing water, nearly eliminating the disease within six months.

French Panama Canal Attempt

Attempted to dig a canal from 1879 to 1888, failing due to high costs and thousands of deaths from malaria and yellow fever.

Panama Independence (1903)

The U.S. supported Panama's successful bid for independence from Colombia in exchange for rights to build a trans-isthmian canal.

Panama Canal Construction Stages

Constructed from 1904 to 1914 under Teddy Roosevelt's order to 'Make the Dirt Fly,' involving massive excavation, lock building, and disease eradication.

Gold and Silver Workers

Workers on the Panama Canal were segregated; skilled white workers ('Gold') were paid in gold, while mostly Black laborers ('Silver') were paid in silver.

Teddy Roosevelt's Visit to Panama (1906)

Made history by becoming the first sitting U.S. President to leave the country while in office to visit the Panama Canal construction site.

Completion and Transfer of the Panama Canal

The canal officially opened in 1914 and was later returned to Panamanian control by the U.S. in 1999.

Spanish Governor of Cuba known as the Butcher

Valeriano Weyler