Social and Cultural Effects of Westward Expansion

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to the social and cultural effects of Westward Expansion as discussed in the lecture.

Exodusters

A group of African American migrants who moved to Kansas during Reconstruction, seeking land and independence from the oppressive racial atmosphere in the South.

Homesteaders

American migrants who settled in the West following the Homestead Acts of 1862, receiving 160 acres of land in exchange for living on and improving it for 5 years.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, making Mexican residents in the annexed territories American citizens.

Las Gorras Blancas

A vigilante group made up of Mexican-Americans who opposed the encroachment of white settlers and sought to protect their land rights.

Sand Creek Massacre

The 1864 attack by Colorado militia on a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho people, resulting in the deaths of over a hundred women and children.

Dawes Act

An 1887 law that aimed to assimilate American Indians by ending federal recognition of their sovereignty, dividing reservation lands into plots for farming.

Ghost Dance

A spiritual movement among American Indians that emerged in the late 1880s, prophesying the return of ancestors and the expulsion of white settlers.

Wounded Knee Massacre

The 1890 massacre where U.S. troops killed around 250 Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek during an attempt to suppress the Ghost Dance movement.