WEEK 16 VOCAB QUIZ (APUSH)

Turner Thesis

Definition : An argument by historian Frederick Turner that the American Frontier was the single most important factor in shaping American culture, character, and democracy

Significance :Shifting historical focus from the East Coast to the West

Dawes Act

Definition : A federal law that authorized the U.S Gov’t to break up tribal lands into individual plots to be distributed to Native Americans.

Significance : Marking a major shift in federal policy toward Native Americans from removal to forced assimilation

Ghost Dance

Definition : A late 19th century spiritual and cultural movement among Native American tribes, particularly in the West and on the Great Plains.

Significance : Was a catalyst for the Wounded Knee Massacre, which became a symbol of the brutal suppression of Native American resistance.

Homestead Act

Definition : A U.S law that allowed any citizen, or intended citizen, to claim 160 acres of public land in the West for a small filing fee, provided they lived on it and farmed it for 5 yrs

Significance : This act encouraged westward expansion by providing opportunities for settlers to own land

Transcontinental Railroad

Definition : A 1,869 mile railway system that connected the eastern U.S with the Pacific coast, built by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads.

Significance : Resulted in political, economic, and social consequences, including enabling westward expansion.

Reservation System

Definition : The U.S Gov’t policy of forcing Native American tribes onto designated, and often undesirable, tracts of land. Had been established primarily in the 19th century.

Significance : This system was a strategy to confine Native Americans, open up more territory for white settlement, and assimilate Indigenous populations.