Conquering the West (Chapter 17)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from The American Yawp's Conquering the West chapter.

Homestead Act (1862)

A federal law that granted 160-acre parcels to settlers who improved and lived on the land for five years; married women were excluded from filing claims.

Pacific Railroad Act (1862)

Legislation providing bonds per mile and extensive land grants to railroad companies to subsidize transcontinental railroad construction.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroads built by Central Pacific (west) and Union Pacific (east) that connected the U.S. coasts, completed in 1869, transforming settlement and commerce in the West.

Dawes General Allotment Act (1887)

Law that divided tribal reservations into individual 160-acre family allotments (80 acres for unmarried individuals over 18; 40 for orphaned children), held in trust for 25 years to promote assimilation and erode tribal sovereignty.

Bosque Redondo

Reservation in New Mexico where Navajo and some other groups were confined during the Long Walk; life there was harsh and ultimately unsustainable.

Navajo Long Walk

Forced marches (1863–1866) of the Navajo from their homeland to Bosque Redondo; thousands died, and many were ultimately relocated back to their lands after the 1868 treaty.

Ghost Dance

Religious revival led by Wovoka advocating moral renewal, peaceful resistance, and a return of buffalo; spread among many tribes and linked to later conflicts like Wounded Knee.

Sand Creek Massacre

Massacre of about 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho by Colorado militia led by John Chivington on November 29, 1864; sparked national outrage and further conflict.

Battle of Little Bighorn (Greasy Grass)

1866–1876 engagement in which Sioux and Cheyenne forces under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeated General Custer and his 7th Cavalry; also called Custer’s Last Stand.

Red River War

U.S. military campaigns (1874–1875) against Comanche and allied tribes on the Southern Plains, ending armed resistance and forcing relocations to reservations.

Black Hills Gold Rush

1874 discovery of gold in the Black Hills, provoking massive white incursions and treaty violations, escalating conflict with the Lakota and other tribes.

Great Sioux Reservation

Reservation established by the U.S. government after Red Cloud’s War (1866–1868) to confine Sioux c, shifting power and land control in the Plains.

Buffalo Soldiers

African American cavalry regiments (peacetime, 1860s–1890s) who played a key role in the Indian Wars and faced racial prejudice from civilians and troops.

Modoc War

Conflict (1872–1873) between Modoc people led by Captain Jack and U.S. forces in northern California; guerrilla resistance ended with U.S. victory and Modoc surrender.

Nez Perce War

Conflict (1877) in which the Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph, attempted to flee to Canada but were pursued across a thousand miles and ultimately surrendered.

Wounded Knee Massacre

Massacre of Lakota people at Wounded Knee Creek (December 29, 1890) by U.S. cavalry; marked the end of sustained Native armed resistance in the West.

Turner Thesis (Frontier Thesis)

Frederick Jackson Turner’s 1893 idea that the American frontier shaped the nation’s democracy and spirit, later criticized for biases and overemphasis on westward progress.

Cattle Drives

Movements of cattle from Texas to railroad hubs in Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska (1860s–1880s); enabled by railroads and ranching economies; often followed by trails like the Chisholm.

Wild West Shows (Buffalo Bill)

Popular traveling shows (e.g., Buffalo Bill’s Wild West) that mythologized the West with cowboys, Indians, sharpshooters, and frontier antics, shaping national memory.

Carlisle Indian School (1879)

U.S. government boarding school intended to assimilate Native American children; emphasized Western gender roles and Protestant, Euro-American norms.