Imagine you are Cherokee leader Stand Watie. Write a short autobiographical statement that talks about who you are, where you’re from, and some of your important contributions. This passage is adapted from “The Civil War and Reconstruction in the American West” by Elliott West. Which two statements in the text provide the reasons for the creation of a reservation system in Indian Territory?

Paradoxically, the war’s greatest impact on the West came after the fighting there was over. With Union forces firmly in control and with Southern opposition gone from the nation’s capital, Congress passed and President Lincoln signed three measures of the greatest significance in the coming decades. On May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act became law. It granted 160 acres of unclaimed public land to any adult, including immigrants intending to become citizens, who worked the land for five years while making certain improvements, including building a dwelling. Roughly six weeks later, on July 1, Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act providing land and government loans to construct the first transcontinental rail line. The next day he signed the Morrill Act. The act allotted public lands to states to finance colleges dedicated to agricultural education and research, an especially pressing need given the semi-arid West’s great challenges to farmers of that day.