Chapter 26 Focus Questions:
Essay question: Assess the relative importance of the following as factors in the successful settlement of the American West between 1865 and 1900:
- Government Policies
- Technology
- Physical Environment
Objective Questions:
1)What effect did the post-Civil War contact between US citizens and Native Americans living in the West have on the population of the latter group?
2)What promise was made by the US government to the Native Americans when treaties were reached requiring the Native Americans to surrender land?
3)How were the results of Chivington’s massacre and Fetterman’s massacre different and what new system was created afterwards?
4)What happened in the major events known as Custer’s Last Stand and the flight of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce?
5)How did the US government and the interest it represented ultimately overcome Native American resistance to the loss of Indian culture and tribal sovereignty?
6)Who wrote A Century of Dishonor and what was the point of the book?
7)Why does the motive of the nineteenth century humanitarians who tried to help the Native Americans appear to be arrogant or patronizing?
8)How did the terms of the Dawes Act attempt to assimilate Native Americans into the dominant culture of the United States?
9)How did the government deal with the development of the Ghost Dance religion and what tragedy happened as a result?
10)How important was the mining frontier in the story of the American West and what were some of the important minerals found?
11)What were the provisions of the Homestead Act and how did the results of the act (concerning land ownership) compare to the assumption made at the time it was enacted?
12)What were the new problems faced by the American homesteaders in the American West?
13)Who were the “Sooners?”
14)Which group of Americans was least likely to migrate to the cattle and farming frontier of the West?
15)What announcement was made by the Superintendent of the Census in 1890?
16)Who was Frederick Jackson Turner and what was his thesis?
17)What is the “safety valve” theory and what are major criticisms of the theory?
18)How has financial assistance provided by the federal government for the American West compare to the assistance provided for other regions?
19)Were late nineteenth century farmers more or less likely to diversify the crops grown on their farms than the previous farmers?
20)What was the root cause of the “farm problem” in the late nineteenth century and what other problems made it difficult for farmers to survive economically?
21)What did the farmers believe was the greatest problem that they faced?
22)Did the Homestead Act lead to a decrease in the numbers of tenant farmers in America?
23)What was the first major farmer’s organization and through which level of government did it work to regulate business?
24)What were the Farmers’ Alliances and what industry did they hope to have the federal government regulate?
25)What political party was the direct successor to the Farmers’ Alliances?
26)What were the planks on the Populist party’s platform?
27)How did the Populists hope to win the support of labor?
28)Why did white southern farmers refuse to abandon the Democratic party for the Populists and what impact did the Populist movement have on black voting rights?
29)Who was Jacob Coxey and why did his “army” march on Washington?
30)Who was Richard Olney and how did he and the Cleveland administration react to Eugene V. Debs and the American Railway Union during the Pullman Strike?
31)How did the depression and episodes such as the Pullman Strike affect the election of 1896?
32)Who were the major candidates in the 1896 election and how were their campaign styles different?
33)What were the reasons for the Republican victory in 1896?
34)How did voter turnout change in the aftermath of the 1896 election?
35)Did President McKinley’s cautious and conservative style end the shortage of money or was the money supply increased by some other means and if so, what were they?