Growth of Our Nation: Chapter 10: Expanding West and Overseas, Lessons 1–4

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pioneer
    one the first colonists or settlers in a new territory
    These pioneers, or early settlers, included farmers, miners, ranchers, and immigrants such as Germans, Irish, and Jewish people from Eastern Europe.
  2. manifest destiny
    a policy of imperialist expansion said to be inevitable
    Many of these settlers believed in the idea of Manifest Destiny. According to this belief, the United States should keep expanding west, across the continent, to the Pacific Ocean.
  3. transcontinental
    spanning one of the large landmasses of the earth
    Many people supported building a transcontinental railroad, one that stretched across the country.
  4. gold rush
    a large influx of people to an area rich in precious metal
    The 1849 gold rush attracted people to California who wanted to find gold and become rich.
  5. fierce
    ruthless in competition
    Soon farmers and ranchers were competing fiercely for land in the Southwest.
  6. distribute
    disperse widely
    Cities and towns were distributed along the train lines.
  7. homestead
    land acquired by living on and cultivating it
    To encourage settlers to move west to the Great Plains and to areas beyond, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862.
  8. productive
    capable of bringing forth, especially abundantly
    The federal government hoped the settlers would turn the West into productive farmland.
  9. appeal
    be attractive to
    The land offered in the Homestead Act appealed to Americans and immigrants alike.
  10. drought
    a shortage of rainfall
    Often, severe droughts meant long periods without rain.
  11. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
    Irrigation directs water from a source to a place that needs it.
  12. sodbuster
    a person who operates a farm
    The settlers on the prairie were called sodbusters because they to cut through the thickly rooted grass, or sod, to build their homes and plant crops.
  13. tepee
    a portable, cone-shaped tent used by some Native Americans
    Their homes, called tepees, were constructed of wood poles, bark, and animal skins.
  14. reservation
    a district that is set aside for a particular purpose
    Leaders wanted American Indians to relocate to areas of land called reservations.
  15. exchange
    the act of changing one thing for another thing
    American Indian groups living east of the Mississippi River, like the Cherokee, were forced to give up their own, more valuable land in exchange.
  16. stage
    any distinct time period in a sequence of events
    The last stage of the Apache Wars began in April 1886.
  17. raw
    unprocessed or minimally processed
    The United States was rich in raw materials, or natural products used in manufacturing.
  18. interfere
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    In 1823, President James Monroe had warned European countries not to interfere with nations in the Western Hemisphere.
  19. imply
    express or state indirectly
    No one knew who or what had caused the blast, but American newspapers implied that Spain had sunk the ship.
  20. yellow journalism
    sensationalist reporting or headlines
    This type of false or exaggerated reporting is called yellow journalism.
  21. isthmus
    a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
    An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two landmasses.
  22. annex
    take territory as if by conquest
    The American planters pushed for Hawaii to be annexed, or added to the United States.
Created on Thu Jul 15 09:12:05 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Jul 19 14:36:00 EDT 2021)

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