1. The development of settlement in the West  

• The significance of the Civil War and post war reconstruction, including the impact of the Homestead Act 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act 1862, and the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, 1869. 

•  Attempts at solutions to problems faced by homesteaders: the use of new methods and new technology; the impact of the Timber Culture Act 1873 and of the spread of the railroad network. 

• Continued problems of law and order in settlements, and attempted solutions, including the roles of law officers and increases in federal government influence. 

Revision Pages:

• Homestead Act 1862:       1          

• Pacific Railroad Act 1862:       1          2

• Problems and solutions:      1          2

• Law and Order:      1          

Show You Know Test:

• 9. Homestead Act

• 10. Pacific Railroad Act

• 11. Law and Order

Useful Clips:

• Homestead Act

• Pacific Railroad Act

• Problems on the Plains

• Law and Order Part 1 Part 2

3. Changes in the way of life of the Indigenous Americans 

• The impact of railroads, the cattle industry and gold prospecting on the Indigneous Americans. 

• The impact of US government policy towards the Indigenous Americans, including the continued use of reservations. President Grant’s ‘Peace Policy’, 1868. 

•  Conflict with the Indigenous Americans: Little Crow’s War (1862) and the Sand Creek Massacre (1864), the significance of Red Cloud’s War (1866–68) and the Fort Laramie Treaty (1868). 

Revision Pages:

• Impact on Indigenous Americans:       1          2

• Government Policy:       1          2

• Plains wars:       1          2

Show You Know Test:

• 14. Impacts on Indigenous Americans

• 15. Government Policies

• 16. Little Crow's War

• 17. Sand Creek Massacre

• 18. Red Cloud's War

Useful Clips:

• Impact on Indigenous Americans

• Little Crow's War

• Sand Creek Massacre

• Red Cloud's War