Unit 5 Lesson 21: Moving West

Target Language or Knowledge:

transcontinental railroad Railroad constructed in the 1860s that connected the East and West coasts of the United States strike A prospecting term for the discovery of precious minerals prospectors Someone who searches for valuable mineral deposits to mine claim A declaration of ownership of a piece of land and anything on, or below, it lode A rich source of underground mineral ore bonanza A prospecting term for a large deposit of precious minerals boomtowns a town undergoing quick growth due to some manner of good fortune mechanization The process of replacing manual labor with machines dredging A mining process that scoops dirt and rock from below the surface and sifts through it using water in an attempt to leave only the desired minerals behind nonrenewable resource A resource that cannot be replenished by natural processes in a reasonably short period of time vaqueros A Spanish or Hispanic cowboy cholera A deadly infectious disease stockyard A large, covered enclosure, usually near a railroad, where cattle and other animals are kept temporarily before they are sold, slaughtered, or shipped cattle drive A process of collecting, branding, and moving a herd of cattle from one location to another, usually performed by cowboys on horseback tejanos A Mexican resident of Texas tallow Solid fat rendered from cattle and sheep; used to make soap and candies hides The skin or pelt of a large animal, often used as a dressed material (such as leather) for a manufactured item frontier The land or territory that forms the furthest extent of a country’s settled or inhabited regions suffrage The right to vote in political matters homesteaders A person who starts a farm or ranch on land they acquire from the government temperance movement An organized effort to reduce or eliminate the consumption of alcoholic beverages progressive Advocating or implementing social reform