Westward expansion and Industrialization

1. What were some of the inventions critical for agricultural settlement of the west?
Eli Whitney's newly invented cotton gin was the basic invention which helped the growth of agricultural west. Mechanization of farming too helped the farmers. Some of the machines invented during the period were mechanical reaper, threshing machine and steel plow.
Other major inventions helped the farmers to commercialize agriculture. They were the invention of steamboats, telegraph, canals and railroads. The railroads, canals, and steamboats were used by the farmers to transport their goods from one place to another. The invention of telegraph in 1844, helped the communication faster.

2. What was the nickname for former slaves who homesteaded on the plains?
Exodusters were the freed African slaves of the south. They were sharecroppers who were denied the political and economic rights, inspite of the passage of thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments . Whites in the south passed tough laws like black codes and restricted them in many ways. They were also terrorized by Ku-Llux Clan.  Disillusioned by these persecutions, the blacks made use of the homestead Act of 1862 and moved towards the west.  Majority of them were settled in Kansas while others settled in the present state of Oklahoma
3. What were some of the basic characteristics of Plains Indian Tribes?
The plain Indians settled from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada in the north to Texas in the south.  They were nomadic tribes and lived part of an year in their villages where they raised crops.  They were excellent buffalo hunters and lived in tipis.
They were very good in catching and training wild horses. They believed in spirits and conducted Sun dance to thank the spirits for the blessings of the past year.

4. Where was the last battle fought between the U.S. armed forces and plains tribes?
The Battle of the Wounded Knee, 1890 was the last major battle fought between US armed forces and plain Indians. It was fought near Wounded Knee creek at South Dakota.

5. What particular "complaints" did Ida Lindgren have about living in the American Plains?
Ida Lindgren, a Swedish immigrant came first to Nebraska and then to Kansas for settlement. She dreamed of a bright future. When she reached there, she found that the conditions very tough for living. The wagons were packed to the full and the environment was not friendly. There were no proper roads to travel and the Indians were not friendly. There was terrible drought and the prospects to raise a bountiful crop was dim along with the attacks of the grasshoppers

6. Differentiate: the goals of the Knights of Labor and the AFL?
The Knights of Labor was formed in 1869. It was aimed to organize all workers without caring for skill, sex or age. They tried to organize women on national scale. They demanded an end to child labor and progressive income tax.
American Federation of Labor or AFL was founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886.
AFL had conservative political views and represented only skilled white male crafts men. It sought better working conditions, shorter working hours and decent wages.

7. Understand differences between "natural increase" and "migration" and their contributions to the growth of U.S. cities?
The population increases in two ways; natural increase and migration. Natural increase occurs when birth rate overtakes the death rate. Migrants are people who live in another country temporarily or permanently where he/she is not born. The contributions of migrants are much higher than that of natural born. The migration strengthened the workforce of US cities. They also increased the economic growth and per capital income. The migration created a diversity of population in US cities and the education is also highly benefited
8. What were some of the objects commonly found in parlors?
In 19th century, life was concentrated in parlors as there were no other entertainments. Music gained importance in the parlors or saloons. The main objects found in parlors were different kinds of musical instruments like piano