Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900

These flashcards encompass key terms and concepts related to westward expansion in America during the 19th century.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that Americans were destined by God to expand across the continent.

Homestead Act

A 1862 law that granted 160 acres of public land to settlers for a small fee, provided they improve the land within five years.

Oregon Trail

A major route that settlers used to migrate to the western United States, stretching about 2,000 miles from Missouri to Oregon.

California Gold Rush

A mass migration to California following the discovery of gold in 1848, leading to the establishment of mining towns and significant population growth.

Bonanza Farms

Large-scale farms that arose in the late 19th century, which used economies of scale to produce crops profitably.

Sod house

A home made of earth and grass, built by settlers on the Great Plains, characterized by its use of local materials.

Sand Creek Massacre

An 1864 attack by U.S. militia on a peaceful Cheyenne camp, resulting in the deaths of many women and children.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated to Kansas from the South after the Civil War, seeking land and a better life.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law enacted in 1882 that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States.

Las Gorras Blancas

A group of Mexican-American ranchers who fought against the appropriation of their land by white settlers by destroying fences and property.

Fence Cutting War

Conflict in Texas between cowboys and ranchers over land access and grazing rights, resulting in skirmishes and legislative change.

Comstock Lode

The first major U.S. silver discovery, located in Nevada, which led to a rush of prospectors.

Buffalo Soldiers

African American soldiers who served in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars, tasked with protecting settlers and maintaining order.

California Missions

Religious settlements established by Spanish missionaries along the California coast, which significantly influenced the state's history and culture.

Americanization

The process of assimilating Native Americans into American culture, often through education and land ownership reforms.

Pacific Railway Act

A law passed in 1862 that provided for the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, facilitating westward expansion.

Ghost Dance

A religious movement among Native Americans in the late 19th century which sought to restore their way of life and resist the encroachment of white settlers.

Cattle Drives

The herding of cattle over long distances to railroad terminals for shipping to markets, central to the cattle industry in the late 19th century.

Dawes Act

An 1887 law that aimed to assimilate Native Americans by allotting them individual plots of land; it often resulted in loss of tribal land.

Wounded Knee

A site of a 1890 massacre of Sioux by U.S. troops, marking the end of the Indian Wars.