Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads

The life of a sharecropper was similar in some ways to the life of a slave in that many sharecroppers were --

• not free to work for anyone except their landlords

• not allowed to vote or hold political office

• not allowed to marry or raise a family

• not entitled to government assistance or services

The Buffalo Soldiers were --

• brave Comanche warriors who raided Texan settlements

• African-American troops who guarded the Texas frontier

• settlers who hunted buffalo on Native American lands

• members of the Confederate militia

An important effect of the expansion of railroads in Texas was --

• greater efficiency in raising crops

• a reduction in the amount of land available for farming

• an increase in commercial farming

• a decrease in the demand for crops

The state of Texas encouraged the construction of railroads by --

• paying cash for each mile of track that was built

• giving land grants to railroad companies

• requiring farmers to use the railroads to transport their crops

• placing a high tax on riverboat traffic

Use the map below AND your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

To bring cattle to market, Texas cowboys had to endure --

• insects and diseases in the tropical rainforests

• many days without food

• dangerous canyons in the Rocky Mountains

• hot and dry conditions on the Great Plains

There was a _____ in cotton production in Texas between 1869 and 1900.

• slight decrease

• large decrease

• slight increase

• large increase

Use the diagram below AND your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

Which of the following would best complete the diagram?

• Texas sheep industry

• Texas lumber industry

• Texas cotton industry

• Texas cattle industry

The first cattle in Texas were brought by --

• English Puritans

• Aztec traders

• American settlers

• Spanish explorers

Which new technology helped MOST to make cattle drives profitable?

• Railroads

• Telegraph

• Barbed wire

• Windmills

Barbed wire was used for?

• close off the range and fence their properties

• allow for people to freely roam the range

• to prevent Indian attacks

• to prevent trespassers on their property