Study Guide

Settlement Of The West

NOTE: If you can answer these questions satisfactorily, you should do well on this section of the first exam. The material below consists of important material from the lecture. Questions on the test will be largely taken from this material.

Terms (definition and significance):

“Great American Desert”

Comstock Lode

Black Hills Gold Rush

Deadwood

Sedalia Drive

open range

Chisholm Trail

Goodnight-Loving Trail

Homestead Act of 1862

Timber Culture Act of 1873

barbed wire

Great Sioux Uprising

Sand Creek Massacre

Fetterman Massacre

Fort Phil Kearney

Red Cloud

Custer Massacre

Chief Joseph

Geronimo

Ghost Dance religion and Wovoka

Wounded Knee Massacre

Dawes Act

Indian Reorganization Act

Questions to Think About:

What where the three regions of the American West?

What was the mining frontier? Gold and silver rushes.

What was the cattle frontier?

What was the agricultural frontier?

What were the chief characteristics of Indian life on the great plains?

What were the various Indian Wars?

What was US government policy toward the Indian Tribes and how did it change?