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Vaqueros
Horse mounted livestock herder Significance: Became the foundation for the North American Cowboy -
Period: to
Helen Hunt Jackson
Us writer and Poet who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment for Native Americans. Significance: Wrote a century of Dishonor -
Colorado Gold Rush
Also known as the Pike Peaks gold rush, the Colorado Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the US. Estimated 100,000 gold seekers took place in this rush and are known as the "fifty-niners" due to the peak year of the rush being 1859. Significance: Produced an influx of immigrants -
Homestead Acts of 1862
Federal law that gave ownership of land to citizens at little to no cost
Significance: Increased need for Western expansion -
Morrill Act
Grant set up to establish institutions in each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions at that time. -
Sand Creek Massacre
700 man force of Colorado State Militia attacked and destoryed a peaceful village of Native Americans encamped in Colorado territory. Significance: created a Retaliation from Native Americans -
Period: to
Cattle Drives
Cattle Drive Picture
Major economic activity in the American West in which over 20 million cattle was herded from Texas to railheads in Kansas for shipments to stockyards in Chicago and other points east. -
Period: to
Open Range System
System practiced in which open rangeland was given to cattle to roam freely and branding was only way farmers identified cattle. Significance: Helped boom the cattle industry in the West -
Treaty of Ft.Laramie
Agreement between the United States and Native Americans guaranteeing ownership of the Black Hills and further land and hunting areas in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Significance: Gave more rights to Native Americans -
Trancontinental Railroad
Contiguous railroad line constructed across the western US to connect the the pacific coast with the existing existing Eastern U.S railroad network. Significance: Served as a vital network connecting the Western and Eastern territories of the United States. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
Battle between the United States and Native Americans, major victory for Native Americans. Significane: Gave voice to Native Americans with turning point battle -
Sitting Bull
Led his American Indian tribe through resistance with US Army. Significance: Led his people to a major victory and provided great motivation even after his death. -
Chief Joseph
Leader of an American Indian tribe known as the "Nez Perce" who resisted removal forced removal by the US Government and took flight to attempt to reach a political asylum. Pursured in a campaign by the US Army which became known as the Nez Perce War. Significane: Longspread admirance from the American Public for the skill in which the Nez Perce fought and the manner they conducted themselves in. -
Exoduster
Name given to African Americans who migration from states along the Missippi River to Kansas as part of the Exoduster movement of 1879. Significance: First general Migration of African Americans after the civil war -
'A century of dishonor'
Book written by Helen Hunt that chronicled the experiences of American Indians in the US, the focused on injustices. Significance: Attempt to change government Ideas/policies toward American Indians -
Dawes Allotment Act
Authorized Us president to survey AMerican Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual indians. Significance: stimulated assimilation of Indians into mainstream american society -
Battle of the Wounded Knee
Last battle of the American Indian Wars where the US regimens killed a mass number of American Indians including women and childer. Significance: Ended the American Indian War -
Oklahoma Land Rush
Largest land rush in American history, an estimated 100,000 people raced to claim land in Northern Oklahoma Territory. Significance: One of the factors that swelled the economic depression.
