American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 16: THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST

Study Questions

1
Compare and contrast the Pacific Coast Indians with the Pueblos of the Southwest.
2
What traits did the Plains tribes share, and what was the economic basis of the way of life for most Plains tribes?
3
What was the effect of disease on the western Indians?
4
What were the key challenges and disadvantages that the Plains Indians had in their conflicts with white settlers?
5
Describe the process by which the United States asserted control over New Mexico. What role did Mexican immigrants play in the region?
6
Describe the culture that flourished in California prior to the influx of Anglos after 1849. What was the impact of this influx on the californios? How was the pattern in Texas similar?
7
In what occupations did most Chinese immigrants work from the 1860s to 1890s? What was Chinese community life like in the cities, especially San Francisco?
8
What led to the increasing Anglo-European hostility toward the Chinese in California? What were the social and public policy results of this hostility?
9
What were the reasons for the late nineteenth century boom on migration to the West from the eastern United States and Europe?
10
Describe the Homestead Act and related federal government laws to assist settlers in obtaining western land. Why was 160 acres not adequate?
11
Explain the rapid political progression from territory to state in most of the West. Why did Utah lag? What territories of the "lower 48" lacked statehood as of the turn of the century?
12
Describe the composition and structure of the labor force in the West. How was it shaped by racial prejudice?
13
What were the principal gold and silver boom areas from 1858 to 1874? What other mineral extraction became economically important?
14
Describe the typical pattern of development and decline in the mining regions. What was life like for men and women in the mining camps and towns?
15
Describe the origins, purposes, and practices of the "long drive" and the "open range" cattle industry. What ended this brief but colorful boom? What was the long-run nature of the cattle business?
16
How did the Wild West shows of Buffalo Bill Cody and others shape the popular image of the American West?
17
What did Frederick Jackson Turner conclude about the importance of the western frontier? How influential, according to the "Debating the Past" selection, was his thesis? How did the "new western historians" and others challenge the Turner view?
18
Describe the concept of Indian sovereignty and how it gave way to the "concentration" policy. What additional element did the Indian Peace Commission add to the policy?
19
What happened to the great buffalo herds? How was the life of the Plains Indians affected?
20
Describe the general pattern of Indian wars from the 1850s to the 1880s. Why were the Indians unable to build on their victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn?
21
What fundamental change in federal Indian policy was embodied in the Dawes Act? What were the results of this new policy?
22
How did the completion of the transcontinental railroad and other lines in the region affect the settlement of the war? How were the railroads financed?
23
What problems not typical of the East did farmers encounter on the Great Plains? What methods and devices helped alleviate these problems? Why was there something of a reverse migration starting in the late 1880s?
24
How did domestic and worldwide market forces change the nature of American agriculture in this period?
25
What were the three main grievances of the late nineteenth century farmer? How were these complaints compounded by attitudinal factors?
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