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What were key encouragements for westward migration?
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Homestead Act and transcontinental railroads.
What Federal legislation ended recognition of Indian sovereignty and led to conflicts like the Sioux Wars?
Indian Appropriation Act of 1871.
Explain Fredrick Jackson Turner’s Thesis and its implications.
It suggested that the closing of the American frontier might lead to social and class conflicts similar to those in Europe.
How did the westward expansion impact Native American communities?
It led to disruptions in their lifestyles, decimation of buffalo, conflicts, and cultural assimilation attempts.
What was the aim of the Dawes Act of 1887 towards Native Americans?
To assimilate Indians by dividing reservation lands for individual farming and offering U.S. citizenship.
What thesis was published by Fredrick Jackson Turner regarding the closing frontier and its consequences?
Social and class conflicts might arise due to the closure of the frontier.
What was the purpose of the reservation system introduced for Native Americans?
To manage the "Indian Problem" by disrupting native lifestyles.
Explain the impact of railroads on the cattle trade in the Great Plains.
Railroads facilitated cattle trade, romanticized the cowboy image, and ended open cattle drives.
What marked the tragic end of Native armed resistance during westward migration?
The Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.
Explain the Ghost Dance Movement and its significance.
A spiritual and resistance movement aiming to restore Native American autonomy; culminated in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
What percentage of settlers acquired land through the government's free land offers?
Approximately 20%.
Describe the impact of the decimation of buffalo on Native Americans.
Severely impacted their food sources and cultural practices.
What were the significant causes that drove westward settlement post-Civil War?
Desire for self-sufficiency and independence, Homestead Act, transcontinental railroads.
What term was used to describe homesteaders bringing about a change in the landscape with barbed wire fencing?
"Sodbusters".
What was the eventual shift in land ownership towards due to increasing mechanization of agriculture?
Larger agri-business.
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