Quiz 12 Review (tomorrow)

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad that connected the Eastern and Western U.S., completed in 1869. It significantly boosted westward expansion and economic growth.

Homestead Act (1862)

Gave 160 acres of land to settlers willing to farm and develop it for at least five years. Encouraged migration westward

Morrill Act (1862/1890)

Provided federal land to states to finance the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges (land-grant universities)

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

A traveling entertainment show that romanticized the American West, featuring cowboys, Native Americans, and reenactments of frontier life.

Safety Valve Theory

The idea that people could always move west to find new opportunities if economic conditions in the East were poor.

Granger Movement

A farmers’ movement that fought against railroad monopolies and unfair business practices affecting agricultural workers

Farmer Allience

A group that emerged in the 1870s-80s advocating for farmers’ rights, government regulation of railroads, and cooperative farming practices.

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

Supreme Court case ruling that states could not regulate interstate commerce; led to the creation of the Interstate Commerce Act.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

Federal law regulating railroad practices to ensure fair rates and prevent monopolistic practices

Concentration Act

Policy that confined NA tribes to specific reservations, limiting their traditional way of life

Carlisle Indian School

A boarding school aimed at assimilating NA children into white American culture by stripping them of their heritage

Dawes Act (1887)

Law that broke up NA tribal lands and allocated individual plots to NAs, with the goal of assimilation. Led to loss of NA land.

Sitting Bull

A lakota Sioux leader who resisted U.S. gov policies and played a crucial role in the Battle of Little Bighorn

Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)

A major victory for NAs, where Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, defeated General George Custer and his force

Ghost Dance Movement

A Native American spiritual movement that sought to restore their way of life and remove white settlers. Viewed as a threat by the U.S. gov

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

The last major conflict bwetween NAs and the U.S. Armny, in which over 2oo Lakota Sioux were killed