Flashcards on Great Plains History

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Plains people, such as the Lakota and the Dakota, depended upon bison for their survival.

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Survival of Plains people depended on bison.

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The government promoted settlement in the Great Plains by allowing people to file for a homestead, which let people claim public land as their own.

Back

Homesteading allowed claiming public land.

Front

Cattle ranching developed on the Great Plains as a result of the open range, which was a vast area of grassland owned by the government.

Back

Cattle ranching emerged from the open range.

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Sodbusters were pioneers who settled the Great Plains and faced bed bugs, hostile Native Americans, locust swarms, and blizzards.

Back

Sodbusters faced many challenges in the Great Plains.

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Dry farming is a technique that utilized John Deere’s heavier, sharper steel plow to plant seeds deeper in the ground where there was more moisture.

Back

Dry farming used advanced plowing techniques.

Front

49’ers headed west to California to find gold at Sutter’s Mill.

Back

49'ers sought gold in California.

Front

The open range was closed by the use of barbed wire.

Back

Barbed wire closed the open range.

Front

Vaqueros are the Spanish precursor to the American “cowboy.”

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Vaqueros influenced American cowboy culture.

Front

Virginia City, Nevada, and Leadville, Colorado, were both boomtowns where a great deal of valuable silver was located.

Back

Boomtowns like Virginia City and Leadville thrived on silver.

Front

George A. Custer was killed by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at the Battle of the Little Bighorn River.

Back

Custer was defeated at the Little Bighorn.