| A | B |
| Plains Indians | Posed a serious threat to western settlers because; unlike the Eastern Indians from early colonial days; the Plains Indians possessed rifles and horses. Many of the nomadic tribes became restricted in their ability to roam freely when land was roped off by barbed wire fencing. |
| Ghost Dance | Religious movement that was sweeping through the Plains tribes. The American Indians believed their ceremony would reestablish their ancestral lands and repopulate the buffalo herd; thus restoring the Sioux's lost greatness. |
| Sitting Bull | American Indian chief; he lead the victory of Little Bighorn |
| George Custer | United States general who was killed by the Sioux at the battle of Little Bighorn |
| Wounded Knee | In 1890; after killing Sitting Bull; the 7th Cavalry rounded up Sioux at this place in South Dakota and 300 Natives were murdered. Signaled the end of resistance to white settlers' westward expansion. |
| Transcontinental Railroad | Railroad connecting the west and east coasts of the continental US |
| Central Pacific Railroad | A railroad that started in Sacramento; CA and connected with the Union Pacific Railroad in Promontory Point; Utah. |
| Union Pacific Railroad | A railroad that started in Omaha; NE and connected with the Central Pacific Railroad in Promontory Point; Utah |
| Promontory Point | Point in Utah where the Transcontinental Railroad was completed |
| Fort Laramie Treaty | Restricted the Plains Indians to specific areas and permitted the building of government forts. |
| Battle of Little Bighorn | In 1876; Indian leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer's troops who tried to force them back on to the reservation; Custer and all his men died |