Frontier Pioneer Language

Name:

Date:

Instructions: Head west with the vocabulary of American pioneers and frontier settlers

1.
On the American frontier, what was a 'prairie schooner'?
A
A type of plow
B
A covered wagon used by pioneers traveling west
C
A type of drink
D
A prairie dog
2.
In pioneer vocabulary, what was a 'soddy'?
A
A soft drink
B
A lazy person
C
A house built from blocks of prairie sod
D
A wet field
3.
What did 'manifest destiny' mean to frontier Americans?
A
A shipping document
B
The belief that American expansion across the continent was justified and inevitable
C
A type of legal contract
D
A religious prophecy
4.
On the frontier, what was a 'homesteader'?
A
A house builder
B
A farm animal
C
A homebody
D
A person who claimed and settled on public land under the Homestead Act
5.
In pioneer language, what were 'vittles'?
A
Small animals
B
Vital signs
C
Violin strings
D
Food or provisions
6.
What was a 'corral' on the American frontier?
A
An enclosure for confining livestock
B
A type of bread
C
A type of coral reef
D
A singing group
7.
In frontier terminology, what was a 'stampede'?
A
A postage stamp collection
B
A stamping machine
C
A sudden panicked rush of animals or people
D
A type of dance
8.
What did 'teetotaler' mean on the frontier?
A
A person who completely abstained from alcohol
B
A type of teapot
C
Someone who counted toes
D
A type of toy
9.
In pioneer vocabulary, what was a 'lean-to'?
A
A crooked tree
B
A type of ladder
C
A simple shelter with a sloping roof propped against a wall or tree
D
A thin person
10.
What was a 'trading post' on the American frontier?
A
A military checkpoint
B
A fence post for tying horses
C
A store where settlers and Native Americans exchanged goods
D
A mail delivery point
11.
In frontier language, what did 'to stake out' originally mean?
A
To drive in tent stakes
B
To mark the boundaries of a land claim with stakes
C
To watch someone
D
To cook on a spit
12.
What was 'jerky' in pioneer food vocabulary?
A
Dried and preserved strips of meat
B
Spoiled food
C
A type of candy
D
Quick movements
13.
On the frontier, what was a 'dugout'?
A
A canoe
B
A dwelling partially dug into a hillside
C
A type of well
D
A baseball term
14.
In pioneer language, what was a 'circuit rider'?
A
A traveling preacher who rode between frontier communities
B
An electrician
C
A type of stagecoach
D
A horse racer
15.
What was a 'barn raising' on the American frontier?
A
A communal event where neighbors gathered to build a barn together
B
Increasing barn prices
C
Lifting a barn with machinery
D
A type of barn dance

Answer Key

Question 1

B. A covered wagon used by pioneers traveling west

Question 2

C. A house built from blocks of prairie sod

Question 3

B. The belief that American expansion across the continent was justified and inevitable

Question 4

D. A person who claimed and settled on public land under the Homestead Act

Question 5

D. Food or provisions

Question 6

A. An enclosure for confining livestock

Question 7

C. A sudden panicked rush of animals or people

Question 8

A. A person who completely abstained from alcohol

Question 9

C. A simple shelter with a sloping roof propped against a wall or tree

Question 10

C. A store where settlers and Native Americans exchanged goods

Question 11

B. To mark the boundaries of a land claim with stakes

Question 12

A. Dried and preserved strips of meat

Question 13

B. A dwelling partially dug into a hillside

Question 14

A. A traveling preacher who rode between frontier communities

Question 15

A. A communal event where neighbors gathered to build a barn together

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