Life in the American West

Californios

Spanish-speaking residents in the Spanish and Mexican territory of California

missions

Spanish settlement meant to convert Native Americans to Christianity and the Spanish way of life

rancho

large landholding that was worked mostly by Native Americans and poor Mexicans

fiesta

social gathering on the ranchos

Spanish legacy in California

place names (San Diego, Los Angeles), crops (citrus fruits, grapes), ranch life

Mountain Men

explorers in the American west who opened trails to the West and often engaged in the fur trade

trappers

people who caught beavers and other animals for their fur

fur trade

profitable business trading the pelts of beavers and other animals

Dangers of Mountain Men life

thieves, Indians, wolves, bears, accidents, disease

Mountain men symbols

freedom, adventure

Mountain Men Legacy

routes and trails out west, stories of life in the West

Missionaries

People who traveled west to convert Native Americans to Christianity

Legacy of Missionaries

starting the movement of Americans west, spreading Christianity

Pioneer Women

women who journeyed out to the American West

Wagon trains

groups of settlers in wagons moving to the American West

Work of pioneer women

cooked, washed clothes, took care of children and others

Legacy of pioneer women

opening the West to settlement, setting up schools, churches, libraries, health care clinics, and charitable groups, getting the right to vote to promoting equality

Mormon Church - Church of Latter Day Saints

a new Christian church created in America by Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith

American from New York who created the Mormon Church after claiming to receive a sacred text from God

Book of Mormon

Sacred text for the Mormons written by Joseph Smith

persecution

Mormon's faced hostility and mistreatment, including violent attacks, by some Americans

Utah

Mormons fled west to a new territory in the West away from other people and their communities grew

Legacies of the Mormons

first settled the Great Basin in the West; developed ways to survive in the dry and hot West; their city of Salt Lake City became an important trading post; eventually the Mormon church would grow into an influential worldwide religion

Forty-Niners

People who moved west after gold was found in California; mostly men who dug and panned for gold

Legacies of the Forty-Niners

Enough settlers to make California the first western state; economic growth in the West; Indian peoples and cultures decreased due to warfare and disease

Chinese immigrants

large group of Asians who settled in the American west and contributed greatly to economic development; often faced discrimination and mistreatment

Legacies of the Chinese Immigrants

Economic growth in mining, farming, restaurants and laundries; long-standing communities of Chinese in the West

Know-Nothing Party (American Party)

party created during the 1850s run by Nativists who were anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant.