Social Studies

Chapter 6: THE LAND CHANGES HANDS

The United States was a young nation that was growing quickly and desired more land. During the

mid-1800s, it acquired millions of acres of land from Minnesota’s Dakota and Ojibwe. Land changed hands through a series of written agreements called treaties. Learn how life was changing in dramatic ways for those connected to the land.

SWBAT:

• Explain the motivations different groups had for signing treaties

• Outline what happened during treaty negotiations at Traverse des Sioux

• Name some concerns the Dakota had at Traverse des Sioux and Mendota

• Explain the results of the treaties for American Indians and for settlers

• Describe how treaties signed 150 years ago still apply today

Vocabulary:

• westward expansion: during the 1800s, the movement of settlers and immigrants from the eastern United States to the Midwest and West

• treaty: a written agreement between two or more nations

• ratify: to approve formally

• territory: a part of the United States that is not within a state but is organized with its own governing leaders

• annuity: an annual payment of food and money that the U.S. government paid to American Indians in return for their land

• reservation: land set aside, or reserved, by the U.S. government for use by an American Indian group

• debt: something that is owed, such as money, goods, or services

• assimilation: adopting the values and habits of a larger group