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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the mode of transportation chosen by families to reach Kansas?

2. Which of the following occurred in the Kansas Drought of 1860?

3. Many settlers found strength in ____________ when hardships came their way.

4. What was a major source of crop devastation on the prairie?

5. What was the most-celebrated holiday among prairie families?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did pioneer children do to amuse themselves?

2. Name the benefits and drawbacks of homesteading in eastern Kansas and western Kansas.

3. Describe how a winter storm was so incapacitating to prairie families.

4. What was the priority of the homesteaders upon arriving at their land?

5. What were the sources of hostility between the Native Americans and the homesteaders?

6. What were the two major government initiatives that forced Native Americans out of Kansas and where did they go?

7. Explain the use of cow and buffalo dung on the prairie.

8. What crops were the mainstays of Kansas crops and what else did the families eat?

9. What natural threats were ever present for prairie families?

10. What was a typical social visit between pioneer families and why were the social times so valued?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe holidays on the Kansas prairie. What was the favorite holiday of the homesteaders? How did they celebrate it? How were these days different from other social events? What traditions did the prairie women try to hold on to from their lives back East?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the role of the local newspaper in a frontier town. What types of information were usually included in an issue? How did the nature and tone of newspapers change as communities grew and politics reared its ugly head?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role of religion on the Kansas prairie. Was there an increase in religious life because just living on the prairie was such a trying experience? What were the primary religions represented on the Kansas frontier?

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This section contains 962 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample