Wild Wild West Part 2

1. What was a predominant feature of the urban-industrial revolution and western development?

Railroads

2. What was one effect of the railroad on national markets?

It created an interconnected national market for Americans.

3. What was one negative consequence of railroad expansion?

Too many rails were built, often in the wrong places.

4. Which two railroads were involved in building the transcontinental railroad?

The Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad

5. What groups made up the workforce for the Union Pacific Railroad?

Former Union and Confederate soldiers, former slaves, and Irish & German immigrants

6. What group primarily worked for the Central Pacific Railroad?

Chinese immigrants

7. What invention helped revolutionize the cattle industry after the Civil War?

The refrigerated freight car

8. What led to the end of the open range and the cowboy lifestyle?

The invention of barbed wire and the resulting “barbed-wire wars”

9. What religious movement spread among Native American tribes, including the Lakota Sioux, as a response to American expansion?

The Ghost Dance

10. What event marked the end of Native American resistance to western expansion?

The Massacre at Wounded Knee

11. What caused the violence at Wounded Knee?

Tensions between the U.S. cavalry and a band of Lakota tribespeople

12. What did the media, including novels, rodeos, and Wild West shows, do to portray the American West?

They mythologized and romanticized the western experience

13. What did Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis suggest about the role of the frontier in American history?

It argued that the existence of free land (the frontier) explained America’s history of development

14. What did Turner’s Frontier Thesis overlook?

The role of women, African Americans, Native Americans, Mormons, Hispanics, and Asians in American development

15. What was one of the primary effects of western expansion on the environment and wildlife?

It caused significant harm to the environment and natural wildlife

16. What was the significance of the transcontinental railroad in the development of the American West?

It connected the nation and facilitated economic growth through the establishment of hub cities

17. How did the American public view Native American culture during the era of westward expansion?

As something that had disappeared and was considered a curiosity

18. What was one of the negative impacts of railroad management during the 19th century?

It was plagued by poor or criminal management, resulting in bankruptcy

19. What did the American government do in response to the Ghost Dance movement?

They banned the dance, leading to arrests and violent confrontations

20. How did the myth of the "Wild West" contribute to American expansionism?

It promoted the idea of western expansion and reinforced beliefs in American greatness