IB History Quiz 12 Flashcards for Key Terms and Definitions

Front: What was the Transcontinental Railroad?

Back: A railroad that connected the eastern and western U.S., completed in 1869, boosting westward expansion and economic growth.

Front: What did the Homestead Act (1862) do?

Back: Gave 160 acres of land to settlers who farmed and improved it for at least five years.

Front: What was the Morrill Act (1862/1890)?

Back: Provided federal land to states to establish agricultural and mechanical colleges.

Front: What was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show?

Back: A traveling show that romanticized the American West with performances of cowboys, Native Americans, and frontier life.

Front: What was the Safety Valve Theory?

Back: The belief that moving west was a safety option for people during tough economic times.

Front: What was the Granger Movement?

Back: A movement of farmers who fought against unfair railroad prices and monopolies.

Front: What was the Farmer Alliance?

Back: A political movement supporting farmers’ rights and economic reforms.

Front: What was the result of Wabash v. Illinois (1886)?

Back: The Supreme Court ruled that states could not regulate interstate commerce, leading to the Interstate Commerce Act.

Front: What was the Interstate Commerce Act (1887)?

Back: A federal law that regulated railroad rates to prevent unfair practices.

Front: What was the Concentration Act?

Back: A U.S. policy that confined Native Americans to specific reservations.

Front: What was the Carlisle Indian School?

Back: A boarding school designed to assimilate Native American children into white American culture.

Front: What did the Dawes Act (1887) do?

Back: Broke up Native American tribal lands and gave individual plots to Native families, aiming to assimilate them.

Front: Who was Sitting Bull?

Back: A Lakota Sioux leader who resisted U.S. expansion and fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Front: What happened at the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876)?

Back: Native American forces led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated General George Custer and his troops.

Front: What was the Ghost Dance Movement?

Back: A Native American spiritual movement that hoped to restore their way of life and remove white settlers.

Front: What happened at the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)?

Back: The U.S. Army killed over 200 unarmed Lakota Sioux, marking the last major Native American resistance.

Front: Who was Helen Hunt Jackson?

Back: Author of A Century of Dishonor, which exposed the mistreatment of Native Americans.

Front: What was the Frontier Thesis?

Back: Historian Frederick Jackson Turner’s idea that the frontier was crucial in shaping American democracy and identity.

Flashcards for Matching Section

Front: Who was the leader of the Sioux Tribe that resisted the U.S. the most?

Back: Sitting Bull

Front: What was the belief that people could move west during economic hardship?

Back: Safety Valve Theory

Front: What movement organized farmers to fight railroads and debt?

Back: Granger Movement

Front: What U.S. law gave 150 acres of land to settlers if they improved it?

Back: Homestead Act

Front: What historian argued that the frontier was essential to American identity?

Back: Frontier Thesis

Front: What was an entertainment show that romanticized the West?

Back: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

Front: What was a farmer program that taught agricultural economics?

Back: Farmer Alliance

Front: What was a boarding school meant to assimilate Native Americans?

Back: Carlisle Indian School

Front: Who wrote A Century of Dishonor?

Back: Helen Hunt Jackson

Front: What battle saw Native Americans defeat General Custer?

Back: Battle of Little Bighorn

Front: What Supreme Court case said states could not regulate railroads?

Back: Wabash v. Illinois

Front: What act funded agricultural colleges?

Back: Morrill Act

Front: What was the last major Native American conflict with the U.S. government?

Back: Wounded Knee Massacre

Front: What law created the reservation system?

Back: Concentration Act

Front: What law aimed to assimilate Native Americans by giving land to individual families?

Back: Dawes Act

Front: What law regulated railroad rates?

Back: Interstate Commerce Act

Front: What was the Native American spiritual resistance movement?

Back: Ghost Dance Movement

Front: What railroad connected the East and West?

Back: Transcontinental Railroad

Flashcards for U.S. Government and Native American Relations

Front: What were three main problems facing farmers?

Back: High railroad rates, falling crop prices, and debt.

Front: What was one solution to railroad rate problems?

Back: The Granger Movement fought for fair railroad pricing.

Front: What was the U.S. government’s method of assimilating Native Americans?

Back: The Dawes Act, which broke up tribal lands.

Front: What was one Native American form of resistance?

Back: The Battle of Little Bighorn, where Native Americans defeated U.S. forces.

Front: What law placed Native Americans onto reservations?

Back: The Concentration Act.

Front: What event marked the end of armed Native American resistance?

Back: Wounded Knee Massacre (1890).

Front: How did the government try to assimilate Native American children?

Back: The Carlisle Indian School, which forced them to adopt white culture.

Flashcards for Image Analysis: “The March of Destiny”

Front: What historical concept is represented in “The March of Destiny”?

Back: Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans were destined to expand westward.

Front: What event contributed to Manifest Destiny from 1800–1850?

Back: The Indian Removal Act (1830), which forced Native Americans off their land.

Front: What historical perspective does the image represent?

Back: It portrays westward expansion as noble and inevitable, ignoring the displacement of Native Americans.

Front: How did the U.S. government support westward expansion?

Back: Through laws like the Homestead Act and Morrill Act, which encouraged settlement.