Ch. 27 "The Great West"

CHAPTER 27: "The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution"

FLASH CARD I.D.S include the date, the definition, the significance and any causes and effects.

Sioux Wars
Dawes Severalty Act
Patrons of Husbandry/Grangers
"A Century of Dishonor"
Greenback Labor Party
Ghost Dance
Glidden's Barbed Wire
Farmers Alliance
Homestead Act
Populists

SOCRATIC SEMINAR - Select three of the following prompts and write a one paragraph response to each question.

1. What is the "safety valve" theory and do you find it plausible? Why?

2. The Homestead Act was less successful than hoped. Why? Consider the provisions of the law and its loopholes.

3. Explain the ultimate defeat of the Plains Indians by whites. Select and discuss at least three major reasons for the decline of the Plains culture; then tell which you think was the most important and why.

4. If you had lived at the time, what would you have proposed as a solution to the "Indian Problem"? What would have been your view on "reservation concentration," the Dawes Severalty Act, and the savagery of Indian warfare.

5. Indian Tribes today have special protections by the Fed. Govt. They are permitted to operate gambling casinos in states where it is otherwise illegal and they are not required to pay taxes in many places. Do you think this policy is fair and good for society? Explain.

6. If you were a farmer in Kansas in 1887, what would be three or four of your major problems? Explain how you would try to solve them? Would you be likely to seek help? Where? Why?

7. What do you think was the major technological innovation that influenced life on the Great Plains frontier? Why?

8. Would you have wanted to live in a major city or in the West during the Gilded Age? Why? Would you more comfortable today living in an urban or rural community? Why?

9. Explain the difference between the Farmer's Alliance and the Grangers. What were their respective strengths and weaknesses?

10. Do you agree with Frederick Jackson Turner's Thesis? Explain your reasoning. What do you think is America's "Frontier" today?

AGREE OR DISAGREE - make a "T" Chart of the prompt that follows. Label one side "Agree" and the other side "Disagree." Write 3 sentences explaining 3 pieces of evidence that would support the prompt and write 3 sentences explaining 3 pieces of evidence that would oppose the prompt. After completing the evidence chart, use it to write a thesis statement that addresses the prompt.

"The West offered an expansion of democracy and economic opportunity to people living in America in the last half of the 19th Century." Agree or Disagree?

CATEGORIZATION - make 3 to 5 categories of evidence to answer the following prompt and then list facts in each category to support the category. After completing the chart, write a thesis statement that answers the prompt. Your thesis statement must address the evidence that supports your opinion.

"What problems existed in the West for the American farmer and how did he respond to these problems?"

STUDENT QUESTIONS create three questions that are either thought provoking or questions about anything confusing in this chapter.