Ch. 5.1:
-Describe Native American culture.
Lived on the Great Plains for more than a century. Were spiritual, and hunted buffalo and traded clothes and tools. Tepees were made out of buffalo hide. Tools were made from the horns. Families were together, same lanuages and boys became hunters and warriors. Medicine men and women. Buffalo skull was considered sacred.
-Why did settlers/people move to the Great Plains?
Gold-Silver in Colorade in 1858. Mining areas on the Native American land. To be cattle ranchers and farming.
-How did the US gov't deal with Native Americans in the mid to late 1800's? What were their policies?
Government made treaties and controlled where the Native Americans could live and hunt. They had to hunt in their area. Assimilation- plan to get Native Americans to give up their beliefs.
-Describe a cowboy's life.
Learned froms Mexicans how to take care of animals.
Clothes, food, and the way they spoke came from the Mexican heritage. 25% were african american and 12% were mexican. Non-stop work, worked 10-14 hour a day on a ranch and 14 or more on the trail. Trail always have to stay alert to make sure nothing upsets the herd or they start to stamped. The used guns. Season begins with spring roundup- herded all the longhorns in corrals. The reason for the longdrive was because Texas didn't have railroads.
Ch. 5.2:
-How did railroads and the Homestead Act help settle the Great Plains?
Government made large grants. Homestead Act offered 160 acres of land to any citixen who was head of house free. in less than a day 2 million acres were owned Sooner state oklahoma- people took land before it was open. Railroads had to give up western land holdings for the Yellowstone National Park.
-What challenges did settlers face on the Great Plains?
Lots of droughts, floods, fire, blizzards, plagues, and raid by outlaws and Indians. Trees were scarce built homes ouf of dirt brick and dug home into hills. Homes were heaven for snakes.
-What problems did farmers face on the Great Plains?
Tough dirt, hard ground, machinery was expensive- bigger farms meant bigger debt. Shipping grain was expensive. Drew farmers together. When wheat prices whre high they could repay their debt.
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