Untitled Flashcards Set

  • The West: The West symbolized opportunity, adventure, and expansion in the 19th-century U.S., driving migration and settlement.

  • The Allure of Land: Land in the West offered the promise of economic independence and wealth, attracting settlers despite its challenges.

  • The Homestead Act: Passed in 1862, it granted 160 acres of public land to settlers who cultivated it for five years, encouraging westward migration.

  • Independent Indians: Indigenous tribes in the West fiercely defended their lands and way of life despite increasing U.S. government encroachments.

  • The Dakota War (Sioux Uprising): In 1862, Dakota Sioux resistance to broken treaties and starvation led to violent conflict with settlers and the U.S. Army.

  • The Sand Creek Massacre: A brutal 1864 attack by U.S. soldiers on a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho village in Colorado, killing over 150 people.

  • The Long Walk & The Treaty of Bosque Redondo: The forced relocation of the Navajo in 1864 to a desolate reservation, later formalized by a treaty in 1868.

  • Chief Joseph and the Nez Percé: In 1877, Chief Joseph led the Nez Percé on a 1,400-mile retreat to escape U.S. forces but ultimately surrendered.

  • Railroads in the West: Railroads transformed the West by connecting it to eastern markets, facilitating settlement, and enabling resource extraction.

  • The Transcontinental Railroad: Completed in 1869, it linked the east and west coasts, revolutionizing transportation and commerce in the U.S.

  • The Rise of Chicago: Chicago became a key transportation and industrial hub in the late 19th century, driven by railroads and meatpacking.

  • The Cattle Drives: Cowboys herded cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas, fueling the booming beef industry in the late 19th century.

  • The Dawes Act: This 1887 law aimed to assimilate Native Americans by dividing tribal lands into individual allotments, undermining communal culture.

  • The Ghost Dance: A spiritual movement among Native Americans in the late 19th century, it symbolized hope for a return to traditional ways and resistance.

  • Wounded Knee: In 1890, U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota at Wounded Knee, marking the end of large-scale Native resistance.

  • The West in Popular Culture: Stories, myths, and imagery romanticized the West as a land of rugged individualism and adventure.

  • Wild West Shows: Traveling performances that dramatized frontier life, showcasing cowboys, Native Americans, and legendary figures.

  • William “Buffalo Bill” Cody: A showman and former scout who popularized the mythic West through his Wild West shows.

  • Annie Oakley: A skilled sharpshooter who became a star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West, symbolizing female empowerment in the frontier myth.

  • The Frontier Thesis: Historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued in 1893 that the frontier shaped American democracy, character, and culture.