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Homestead Act
In 1862, the Homestead Act was passed to encourage expansion to the West. This act stated that any adult male, with ten dollars, and who didn't raise arms against the US could gain 160 acres of land. However, they had to build a house and plant/maintain the crops for five years until it would be legally theirs. The Homestead Act gave many people a wide range of new opportunities. -
Sand Creek Massacre
Even though the land in Sand Creek had been signed to the Cheyennes, John Chivington and his men attacked their camp on November 29th. In total, they killed around 400 people and the act was gory and inhumane. In retaliation, surrounding Indian tribes ambushed a number of US soldiers. The violence ended for a short period of time after the Treaty Of Fort Laramie was signed. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
After a long dispute with the Native Americans about the Ghost dance, the Army was able to bring all the Sioux Indians to Wounded Knee Creek. On December 29th, the Army went in and demanded all of the Sioux's weapons. Sometime during all the commotion, a gun accidentally went off. The US Army took this as a sign of battle and starting firing shots on everyone. Once the racket finally died down, they looked to see 300 men women, and children all killed.
