Study Guide Unit 2 TEST 1 –edited 2023

Study Guide Unit 2 TEST 1 –edited 2023 placer mining - ANS-hand process, uses simple equipment like pans, picks, and shovels open range - ANS-large area of land owned by the government; covered most of the Great Plains and provided land where ranchers could graze their herds for free and without restrictions long drive - ANS-driving cattle long distances to a railroad depot for fast transport and great profit Chisholm Trail - ANS-a trail that many cowboys used to drive their cattle up the Abilene, KS, with: between 1867 and 1871, around 1.5 million head of cattle were driven up this trail Great Plains - ANS-A region extending westward to the Rocky Mountains from around the 100th meridian. "Great American Desert" Major Area for railroad construction. Homestead Act - ANS-For a $10 registration fee, an individual file for a homestead. An act by the government supporting settlement on the Great Plains; could claim up to 160 acres and receive title after 5 yrs, had to had imporve the land dry farming - ANS-a way of farming dry land in which seeds are planted deep in the ground where there is some moisture bonanza farm - ANS-yielded big profits, could cover several hundreds of acres; Little farmers can't compete with these farms What geographic factors created challenges to the settlement of the Great Plains in the late 1800s? - ANS-Some land wasn't good for farming, droughts occured, this dryness caused grass to burn; Oglalla Aquifer is underneath plains making much but not all arable land What technological innovations helped farmers cultivate the Plains? - ANS-The steel plow, mechanical reapers, threshing machines Crazy Horse - ANS-a chief of the Sioux who resisted the invasion of the Black Hills and joined Sitting Bull in the defeat of General Custer at Little Bighorn () George A. Custer - ANS-commander of the Seventh Cavalry, was with the expedition. June 25, 1876, Custer launched a three-pronged attack in broad daylight on one of the largest groups of Native American warriors ever assembled on the Great Plains. Continues...