Summer Vocab
Bureau of Indian Affairs: A U.S. government agency that manages relations with Native American tribes.
Led by the war department
Treaty of Medicine Lodge: A series of treaties in 1867 that aimed to move Native American tribes onto reservations.
Sitting Bull: A famous Lakota Sioux chief known for resisting U.S. government policies and leading his people at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
A general
Crazy Horse: A Lakota war leader who played a key role in the resistance against U.S. military forces, including at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Sitting Bulls Warrior
George Custer: A U.S. Army officer famous for his defeat and death at the Battle of Little Big Horn, also known as "Custer's Last Stand."
Known as americas hero ; he killed indians
Chief Joseph: A leader of the Nez Perce tribe who led his people on a famous retreat in an effort to reach Canada and avoid being placed on a reservation.
The u.s captured him and brought him back
Wounded Knee: The site of a massacre in 1890 where U.S. troops killed hundreds of Lakota Sioux, marking the end of the Indian Wars.
Little Big Horn: A battle in 1876 where the Sioux and Cheyenne defeated General Custer's forces, a major victory for Native Americans.
Helen Hunt Jackson: An American writer and activist who advocated for Native American rights, best known for her book "A Century of Dishonor."
Assimilation
Frederick Jackson Turner: A historian who proposed the Frontier Hypothesis, arguing that the American frontier shaped the nation's character.
Frontier Hypothesis (or Theory): The idea that the existence of the frontier helped shape American democracy and culture, proposed by Frederick Jackson Turner.
Dawes General Allotment Act: A law in 1887 that aimed to assimilate Native Americans by dividing tribal lands into individual plots.
Destroyed the native american way of life
The Long Walk: The forced march of the Navajo people to a reservation in 1864, resulting in many deaths.
Arizona to New Mexico
Great American Desert: A term used in the 19th century to describe the arid and treeless Great Plains region, which was thought to be unfit for farming.
Dry Farming: An agricultural technique used in arid regions that relies on moisture conservation to grow crops without irrigation.
Sod Houses: Homes built from sod (grass and soil) by settlers on the Great Plains due to the lack of trees for wood.
Barbed Wire (significance on Plains): Barbed wire helped farmers fence in their land, ending the open range and changing the way land was used on the Plains. - and hurts the indians
Long Drives: Cattle drives where cowboys herded cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas for shipment to the East.
Seward’s Folly: The nickname for the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, initially seen as a foolish move by many Americans.
Comstock Lode: A rich deposit of silver discovered in Nevada in 1859, leading to a mining boom.
Klondike Gold Rush: A gold rush that began in 1896 in the Klondike region of Canada, drawing thousands of prospectors.
Thomas Nast: A political cartoonist known for his work exposing corruption, including his cartoons about Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall.
Political Machines: Organizations that control political parties in cities, often through corruption and patronage.
Boss Tweed: The leader of Tammany Hall, a political machine in New York City, known for his corrupt practices. - Thomas Nast exposed him
Graft: The illegal use of political influence for personal gain, often through bribery or embezzlement.
Tammany Hall: A powerful political machine in New York City associated with corruption and led by Boss Tweed.
Roscoe Conkling: A powerful Republican senator and leader of the Stalwarts, a faction that opposed civil service reform.
James Blaine: A leading Republican politician who was associated with the Half-Breeds, a faction that supported civil service reform.
Stalwarts: A faction of the Republican Party in the late 19th century that opposed civil service reform and supported the patronage system.
Half-Breeds: A faction of the Republican Party that supported civil service reform and opposed the Stalwarts.
Mugwumps: Republicans who broke with their party in the 1884 election to support Democrat Grover Cleveland due to concerns about corruption.
Farm Alliance: A network of farmers' organizations in the late 19th century that sought to improve economic conditions for farmers.
Populist Party: A political party in the late 19th century that represented farmers and laborers, advocating for reforms like bimetallism and direct election of senators. - adopted by the democrats
Bimetallism: A monetary system in which the value of the currency is based on both gold and silver, rather than just gold.
Referendum: A process that allows citizens to vote directly on laws or policies rather than through their elected representatives.
Recall: A procedure that allows voters to remove an elected official from office before the end of their term.
Gold Standard: A monetary system where a country's currency is directly tied to a specific amount of gold.
Sherman Silver Purchase Act: A law in 1890 that required the U.S. government to purchase a large amount of silver to support bimetallism.
Pendleton Civil Service Act: A law passed in 1883 that established a merit-based system for federal government jobs, ending the patronage system.
Bland-Allison Act: A law passed in 1878 that required the U.S. Treasury to purchase silver and issue silver-backed currency.