Review Flashcards on the American West

Flashcards based on lecture notes about miners, homesteaders, ranchers, and cowboys in the West.

What were the primary motivations for miners in the West?

To strike it rich and find their fortune.

What groups of people were miners in the West?

Immigrants (Chinese, Mexicans, etc.) and mainly young, white American men.

What were some of the challenges that miners faced without established governments or laws?

Many deaths and crimes, including robberies, murders, dynamite explosions, and American Indian hostilities.

How did mining affect Native Americans' environment and land?

Constant blasting of hillsides caused water erosion, diminished soil nutrients, and destabilized the soil. Boomtowns were also built on Native American land.

What was the main incentive for homesteaders to move West?

The promise of free land through the Homestead Act.

What were some challenges faced by homesteaders in the West?

Unreliable rainfall, bugs eating crops, and a lack of trees.

How did homesteaders adapt to the lack of trees on the Plains?

They built homes out of sod (soil with roots).

How did the Homestead Act affect Native Americans?

Native American land was taken, and many Indians were displaced.

What motivated ranchers and cowboys in the West?

The idea of raising cattle comfortably in the wide West and the prospect of adventure. The new railroads being placed in the West made it easier to access for ranchers and cowhands with their cattle.

What were some of the challenges faced by ranchers and cowboys in the West?

They worked long hours for little pay. They also had to move cattle from the Great Plains to areas such as New York or Chicago. Transporting them in large number was difficult, this led to the long drive.

What were the cow towns?

Were towns where cows were loaded into boxcars for transport. These towns were often rowdy, and crime was common. Abilene and Dodge City were the most notorious.

What was the Great Die Up?

The Great Die Up in the winter of 1886-1887 was a great loss for ranchers and cowboys in the West as many cattle froze to death.

How did the actions of ranchers and cowboys affect Native Americans?

Their slaughter of bison forced Native Americans to move to reservations to avoid starvation.