Discussion Questions

1. In your opinion, to what extent did Booker T. Washington symbolize the dilemma faced by most blacks in this era?

2. How did Plains Native Americans defend their homelands against white expansion? Why do you think the federal government attempted to destroy their tribal cultures?

3. Based on what you read how did corporate/ industrial interest exploit the West in the Gilded Age by mining, farming, railroad building, and cattle ranching?