How did westward expansion transform the West and devastate the Plains Indians?
Evaluate how westward expansion fulfilled Manifest Destiny and affected the Plains Indians, including the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Act, the Dawes Act, and conflicts such as Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee (GSE SSUSH12, Domain 3).
An EOC-level answer on westward expansion for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: Manifest Destiny, the transcontinental railroad and the Homestead Act, the destruction of the buffalo and the Plains Indians' way of life, the Dawes Act and forced assimilation, and conflicts such as Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
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What this topic is asking
SSUSH12 turns west. The standard asks you to evaluate how westward expansion fulfilled Manifest Destiny and what it cost the Plains Indians. You need the engines of settlement (the transcontinental railroad and the Homestead Act), the destruction of the buffalo and the Native way of life, the Dawes Act and forced assimilation, and conflicts such as Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee. This is the first Domain 3 topic in this module.
Manifest Destiny and the engines of settlement
Two federal actions powered the post-war rush west:
- The transcontinental railroad (completed 1869) connected the East and West coasts, carrying settlers and goods and built in large part by Chinese and Irish immigrant labor. It made mass settlement of the West possible.
- The Homestead Act (1862) offered settlers free land (160 acres) if they lived on and farmed it, drawing hundreds of thousands of farmers, including immigrants and some African Americans, onto the Plains.
The destruction of the Plains Indians' way of life
The Dawes Act and forced assimilation
The Dawes Act was framed as reform but proved disastrous: it weakened tribal bonds, failed to make most Native Americans into successful farmers, and transferred millions of acres out of Native hands. SSUSH12 expects you to evaluate expansion as both a fulfillment of Manifest Destiny and a catastrophe for Native peoples.
Try this
Q1. Explain how the transcontinental railroad and the destruction of the buffalo affected the Plains Indians. [2]
- Cue. The railroad brought settlers and hunters who slaughtered the buffalo herds the Plains nations depended on, destroying their nomadic way of life and helping force them onto reservations.
Q2. State the goal of the Dawes Act of 1887. [2]
- Cue. To break up tribal lands into individual family plots and force Native Americans to assimilate into white culture, while opening "surplus" land to white settlers.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of GaDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
GA Milestones (US History, style)1 marksThe Dawes Act of 1887 attempted toShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Domain 3, SSUSH12).
Correct answer: break up tribal lands into individual family plots and force Native Americans to assimilate into white culture.
The act divided reservations into individual allotments to make Native Americans into farmers and "Americanize" them, and it opened surplus land to white settlers. Markers reward identifying the goal of breaking up tribal land and forcing assimilation. Distractors claiming it protected tribal land or returned land to tribes reverse the act's purpose.
GA Milestones (US History, TE)2 marksDrag each development into its effect on the Plains Indians: developments are (i) the transcontinental railroad and destruction of the buffalo, (ii) the Dawes Act; effects are 'destroyed the nomadic way of life that depended on the buffalo' and 'broke up tribal lands and forced assimilation.'Show worked answer →
A drag-and-drop (technology-enhanced) item (Domain 3, SSUSH12).
Correct matches: the transcontinental railroad and destruction of the buffalo to destroyed the nomadic way of life that depended on the buffalo; the Dawes Act to broke up tribal lands and forced assimilation.
Markers reward connecting the railroad and the slaughter of the buffalo to the collapse of the buffalo-based way of life, and the Dawes Act to allotment and forced assimilation. The trap is reversing the two.
Related dot points
- Evaluate how industry, big business, and labor affected the lives of Americans after the Civil War, including the growth of railroads, the rise of corporations, and the early labor movement (GSE SSUSH11, Domain 3).
An EOC-level answer on post-Civil War industry for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the growth of the railroads and the rise of corporations, the conditions that drove workers to form unions, major strikes and the response of government and owners, and the philosophy of laissez-faire, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Analyze the end of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, including the Compromise of 1877, Black Codes, segregation, disfranchisement, and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision (GSE SSUSH10, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on the end of Reconstruction for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the Compromise of 1877 that withdrew federal troops, the Black Codes and sharecropping, Jim Crow segregation and the disfranchisement of Black voters, and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Identify the legal, political, and social dimensions of Reconstruction, including the Freedmen's Bureau, the Reconstruction Acts, and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments (GSE SSUSH10, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on Reconstruction for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the competing Reconstruction plans, the Freedmen's Bureau, the Reconstruction Acts, and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments that abolished slavery and defined citizenship and voting rights, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Evaluate key events, issues, and individuals of the Civil War, including the election of 1860 and secession, the advantages of each side, major turning points such as Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg, and leaders such as Lincoln, Grant, and Lee (GSE SSUSH9, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on the Civil War for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the election of 1860 and secession, the advantages of the North and South, key turning points (Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg), Lincoln's leadership, and why the Union won, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Analyze the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, including how the war's purpose shifted to ending slavery and the role of African American soldiers (GSE SSUSH9, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on emancipation for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the Emancipation Proclamation and how it changed the war's purpose, the service of African American soldiers, the Gettysburg Address, and the Thirteenth Amendment that ended slavery, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
Sources & how we know this
- United States History Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) — Georgia Department of Education (2017)
- Georgia Milestones United States History Study/Resource Guide for Students and Parents — Georgia Department of Education (2022)