AP US History : Geography, Environment, and Peopling 1849–1900
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP US History
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Example Questions
Example Question #5 : 1849–1900
That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States ... shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands
-United States Senate, Homestead Act, 1862
One goal of the Homestead Act was to __________________.
extend suffrage to poor whites
create new free territories in the South
relocate American Indian populations living west of the Rocky Mountains
encourage new settlers to migrate westward
encourage new settlers to migrate westward
The Homestead Act was meant to encourage westward expansion by offering 160 acres of land to any settler willing to remain there for five years.
Example Question #6 : 1849–1900
“A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers; but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers here on its bank. These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting; I feel sorry.”
- Santana, Chief of the Kiowas, 1867
What is the likely cause of the author's woes?
war declared on the Kiowas by the US government after a spate of brutal attacks on settlers
the forced relocation of the Kiowa at the behest of President Andrew Jackson
settlers pushing to expand the United States westward, disrupting the Native Americans' traditional way of life
soldiers passing through Indian territory on their way to aid the United States fight in the Spanish-American War
settlers pushing to expand the United States westward, disrupting the Native Americans' traditional way of life
Santana fought against the westward expansion of the railroads because he knew they would disrupt the buffalo herds that were the basis of Kiowa survival; however, as with many Native American tribes, the Kiowas found the push of Manifest Destiny too strong. They, as with the others, suffered the loss of many traditional sources of food as well as the annexation of their lands and the slaughter of innocent members of their tribes.
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