Ch. 10 Test Review

Sod

The heavy tangle of roots from the tall grasses on the unbroken prairie

John Deere

Blacksmith from IL who invented the steel plow

Soddie

Small, simple prairie houses made of sod blocks

Homestead Act

1862 Law that provided up to 160 acres of land (for a small filing fee) to settlers who would live on it and farm it for five years

Tainter Family

Worked together to set up a farm in Lincoln County

• John Tainter broke the sod

• Sarah Tainter ran the household

Grasshopper Plagues

• 1873 to 1877

• Grasshoppers destroyed wheat, oat, corn, and barley fields in Minnesota

Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Wrote "Little House" books about her life on the prairie

• Lived in Walnut Grove, MN for a few years

Childrenś Blizzard

• Came unexpectedly on a warm day: January 12, 1888

• Many victims were school kids trying to make it home, more than 200 died

The Grange

• Started by Oliver Kelley

• Also known as Patrons of Husbandry

• 1^st nationwide farmers association

• Farmers could share their farming knowledge and enjoy each other’s company

Market Farming

• One crop farming in the 1870s

  • depleted soil's nutrients

  • hard to earn $ when prices fell

  • produced more than they could sell

Cooperative

An organization formed to buy or sell products as a large group in order to get better prices

James J. Hill

• Owner of the Great Northern Railroad

• “The Empire Builder”

• Also owned coal mines, iron mines, waterpower facilities, and Great Lakes steamships and influenced ag. prices

Who said: “Work, hard work, intelligent work, and more work”

James J. Hill

Regulate

To control or adjust something in order to change how it works

Survey

A plan or written description of a tract of land

Hosiah Posey Lyght

• One of the few African Americans to get a homestead near Lutsen, MN (1913)

Secret Word

Northwest Thresher Company

Why were new settlers choosing to move to Minnesota in the years following the Civil War and U.S.–Dakota War of 1862?

Settlers were lured by the promise of abundant, productive and cheap land.  Many believed the state was headed toward a time of peace and prosperity, based largely on agriculture.

What is a market?  Why do farmers need a market?

It’s an area of economic activity in which people buy and sell goods and services. Markets are where prices are determined

Subsistence Farming

-Families who produced enough food to feed themselves, but not enough to sell at market
-Crops: potatoes, turnips and corn
-practiced in the first year(s)

Diversified Farming

-Practice of producing a variety of crops and livestock
-Larger farm, intended to make income as well as feed the family; make profits
-less draining on soil

How many counties are in Minnesota?  What county is Mahtomedi in?

87 Counties, Mahtomedi is in Washington County

What is a homestead?

A section of public land - up to 160 acres

Name four ways a farmer could get a homestead.

1) Homestead Act of 1862
2) buy directly from railroads
3) settle without permission and buy from the government for bargain prices
4) government programs - free land to soldiers
5) buy it from a land speculator or another farmer

How did land speculators such as Louis Fertile make money?

Land speculators like Louis Fertile guessed which land settlers would want to buy and charged them more for it so they could make a profit.

What were 3 jobs the father did on the farm?

1.  plow, plant, and harvest crops
2.  repair buildings and dug wells 
3.  logger, veterinarian, lawyer, and accountant
4. care for the animals

What were 3 jobs the mother did on the farm?

1. took care of children, cooked, did laundry
2.  made soap, sewed and mended clothes
3.  preserved fruits and vegetables for winter
4.  cared for chickens and cows, made butter, cared for garden

What were 3 jobs the children did on the farm?

1. carried firewood and brought water
2.  weeded garden, helped in fields
3. cared for younger brothers and sisters
4. gathered eggs

What made the Grange unique? 

It admitted both men and women.  Women were equal members

What were 3 changes that the railroad brought to Lincoln County?

1. It allowed farmers to get goods at cheaper rates, could transport goods at a cheaper cost
2. mail could travel faster 
3. towns and buildings boomed and it connected parts of MN and much of the U.S. 
4. farmers could buy and sell goods with people far away

How did the expansion of railroads in Minnesota have a POSITIVE impact on the state?

• Railroads grew as well as the state's population from 172,000 to 780,000. 

• It attracted immigrants/settlers and encouraged settlement. 

• Government gave land to the railroads who then sold the land to pay for construction of their lines. This made sure they had new customers along the line.

How did the expansion of railroads in Minnesota have a NEGATIVE impact on the state?

• Railroads started charging more for shipping and storing crops. 

• Cheated farmers by telling them grain wasn't worth as much as it was.

Why did the Grangers campaign for railroad regulation and how did they do it?

They were tired of the railroad cheating them.
They got active in politics and put pressure on the state legislature to regulate railroads.

Why did James J. Hill spend so much time, effort, and money to expand agriculture in Minnesota and other regions served by his rail lines?

He knew farmers depended on railroads to send their produce to market.  So the more they produced, the more money he made.