1. The Black Hills were known by two different names: "Thieves' Road" by the Sitting Bull and the Lakotas, and the "Freedom Trail" by Custer and other white men and women. How does each group's view of the Black Hills correlate to the events taking place during that period of American History? How did the taking of the Indian's freedom differ from African-American's?
2. Why is it important to consider historical context when studying history? Explain why it is important to consider historical context when studying the Reconstruction era. (Consider examining the relationship between the North and South: politically, economically, socially, racially, etc.)
3. How did the definition of "freedom" changed for African-Americans after the Civil War until 1916?
4. In 1890, an influential newspaper editor, Henry Watterson, said: "We were a great imperial Republic destined to exercise a controlling influence upon the actions of mankind and to affect the future of the world." Explain how this quote relates to the events taking place in the late nineteenth century including: U.S. expansion, "white man's burden", views on foreign people, etc.
5. Explain the relationship between big businesses and the working class during the Gilded Age through 1916. How did that relationship change? How did the government effect/influence those relationships during that time period?