Westward Expansion

Nathan R.
Vocabulary essential to an understanding of the cultural clash created by westward expansion of miners, farmers, ranchers, and railroad builders with Native Americans of the West.
8 words 570 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. transcontinental
    spanning one of the large landmasses of the earth
    The first transcontinental railroad connected Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska.
    connecting the newly settled western states to the industrial, populated east through railroad building
  2. technological
    of a practical subject organized by scientific principles
    The sod house was cool in the summer and warm in the winter despite being a home to small mammals and insects (as well as homesteaders).
    technological advances in the 19th century could include things like the steel plow, the windmill, or ranching and farming practices never before used in America.
  3. expansion
    the act of increasing in size or volume or quantity or scope
    Many Americans from crowded Eastern cities and Europeans without land participated in the westward expansion of the United States after the Civil War.
    the Railroad Act and the Homestead Act made settlement of the Great Plains and Great Basin more likely
  4. relocation
    the act of changing your residence or place of business
    The forced relocation of the Nez Perce Indians led Chief Joseph and his followers on a harrowing flight from the United States Cavalry.
    As white populations grew, conflict with Native Americans led to relocation of the Indians from their traditional homelands
  5. assimilation
    the process of absorbing one cultural group into another
    The assimilation of the Native American was aided by the passage of the Dawes Act which broke down tribal relationships.
    The problem of Native American resistance to white settlement led many white leaders to require that Indian children be sent to boarding schools to learn non-Indian customs and lifestyles
  6. reservation
    the act of setting aside for some future occasion
    Sitting Bull resisted the order to go to a reservation prior to participating in the Battle of Little Bighorn.
    the least desirable lands were those that whites could not farm or ranch upon or which were not sites of gold, silver, or other mining ores
  7. treaty
    a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
    At the Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Sioux were promised that the Black Hills would not be settled by white Americans.
    agreements made with Native Americans to decrease attacks on railroad builders or white settlers which were often broken when promises made to Indians about sacred or traditional lands were not honored
  8. disease
    an impairment of health
    Disease and warfare were two important factors in the decline of Indian populations in the 19th Century.
    smallpox killed large numbers of Native Americans after they had contact with white Americans
Created on Thu Sep 19 14:22:48 EDT 2013

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