The Frontier in American Life

10 flashcards · History · by Logan Pollack

1. The frontier is an imaginary line that separates settled areas from wilderness.

2. The Native Americans had an entirely different view of the Great Plains. For them, the Plains were filled with plants and animals that richly supported their way of life.

3. Mining Frontier

   Looking for gold in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, Silver/Nevada, Copper/Montana, Gold/Black Hills of the Dakotas

4. Cattle Frontier

   Cowboys drove cattle to market (Texas) Cattle herds were privately owned but everyone used the open range

5. Farming Frontier

   Homestead Act (1862) Government gave 160 acres of land for settlers to work it for 5 years

6. Ranchers Against Farmers

   Farmers used barbed wire to fence in their homesteads. Angered cattle owners and cowboys

7. Vigilantes

   self appointed police force

8. It was in the western territory of Wyoming that women first achieved the right to vote, in 1869

9. Reservation

   Territory set aside for Native Americans

10. The Dawes Act

    Congress passed Dawes Act which offered 160 acre plots on the reservations to the heads of households