History Chp.18 Section 3 – Flashcards
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In 1862 Congress passed two important land grant acts that helped open the West to settlers. What were they?
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The Homestead Act and the Morrill Act (1862)
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This act gave government-owned land to small farmers.
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The Homestead Act (1862)
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This act granted more than 17 million acres of federal land to the states.
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The Morrill Act (1862)
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What did the Homestead Act provide?
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Any adult who was a U. S. citizen or planned to become one could receive 160 acres of land. In exchange, homesteaders promised to live on the land for five years.
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What did the Morrill Act require?
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The act required each state to sell this land and to use the money to build colleges to teach agriculture and engineering.
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To whom did the Homestead Act also grant land to?
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To unmarried women, which was unusual for the time.
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The promise of land and a life free of discrimination drew what large group to the West?
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African Americans
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In 1879 20,000 to 40,000 southern African Americans moved to Kansas. What were they known as?
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Exodusters
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These southerners made a mass exodus, or departure, from the South.
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Exodusters
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What were some immigrants who formed many small communities on the Great Plains?
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Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, and Czech
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What kind of challenges did the Plains farmers face?
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The weather and seasons could be extreme, and the root-filled sod, or dirt, beneath the Plains grass was very tough.
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The name given to Plains farmers who worked hard to break up the region's tough sod
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Sodbusters
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a law passed by Congress to encourage settlement in the West by giving government-owned land to small farmers
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the Homestead Act (1862)
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African Americans who settled western lands in the late 1800s
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Exodusters
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a federal law passed by Congress that gave land to western states to encourage them to build colleges
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the Morrill Act (1862)
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a method of farming used by Plains farmers in the 1890s that shifted focus from water-dependent crops to more hardy crops
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Dry farming
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In the 1890s western Plains farmers began a new method of farming that shifted the focus away from water-dependent crops such as corn. Instead, farmers grew more hardy crops like red wheat. What was this called?
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Dry farming
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How did farmers work more efficiently?
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By using machinery, farmers could work much more quickly on large fields with fewer workers.
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How did were harvest and crops shipped?
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By train; from there, crops were shipped overseas.
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What did the Great Plains become known as?
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The breadbasket of the world.
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She was one of the founders of Chico, California, used her influence to support a variety of moral and social causes such as women's suffrage and temperance.
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Annie Bidwell
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What did children do?
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They helped with chores around the farm.
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This author was one of four children in a pioneer family. Her books about settlers' lives on the prairie are still popular today.
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Laura Ingalls Wilder
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In what year did Abraham Lincoln sign the bill that authorized the transcontinental railroad?
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1862
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In what year was the National Grange founded?
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1867
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In what year did exodusters move to Kansas?
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1879
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What does it mean to "facilitate?"
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to make easier
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What did the combination of more farms and greater productivity lead to?
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overproduction
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What did overproduction result in?
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Lower prices for crops.
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What happened to farmers who could not make their mortgage payments because of the lower prices for crops?
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They lost their farms and homes. Many of these homeless farmers became tenant farmers who worked land owned by others.
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Who did farmers blame for making money at their expense?
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Businesspeople wholesalers, brokers, grain buyers, and especially railroad owners.
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As economic conditions worsened, farmers began to follow the example of other workers. They formed associations to protect and help their interests. What was one of them called?
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The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry in 1867
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Who founded the National Grange?
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Oliver Hudson Kelley
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A social and educational organization for farmers.
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The National Grange
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What does grange mean?
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granary
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This act provided national regulations over trade between states and creating the Interstate Commerce Commission to ensure fair railroad rates. However, the commission lacked power to enforce its regulations.
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Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
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a decrease in the money supply and overall lower prices.
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deflation
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What was one solution for deflation?
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To allow the unlimited coining of silver and to back paper currency with silver.
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What was the solution for deflation called?
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Free Silver Movement
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During the late 1870s, there was a great deal of support for the Free Silver movement. Many farmers began backing political candidates who favored free silver coinage. Who was one candidate?
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William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska.
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After the election of 1888, the Republican-controlled Congress passed an act. The act increased the amount of silver purchased for coinage. However, this did not help farmers as much as they had hoped. What was the act called?
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Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1888)
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These political organizations helped the farmers.
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Farmers' Alliance
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It called for the government to own railroads and telephone and telegraph systems. What was the new party called?
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Populist Party
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What did the Populist Party do?
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It also favored the "free and unlimited coinage of silver." To gain the votes of workers, the Populists backed an eight-hour workday and limits on immigration.
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What ended the Populist Party?
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The election of William McKinley.
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In all, settlers claimed more than 11 million acres of former Indian land. What was this known as?
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The Oklahoma Land Rush.
