-What was the primary reason during the 1870s and 1880s for the staggering extermination of the buffalo, which reduced their population by nearly three million and resulted in massive piles of skulls sent to fertilizer plants?
A) preventing disruption to incoming trains
B) forcing the Plains Indians to become dependent on reservations
C) supplying the East with fashionable buffalo robes
D) organizing elaborate hunting parties for Eastern and European social elites

Question

-What was the primary reason during the 1870s and 1880s for the staggering extermination of the buffalo, which reduced their population by nearly three million and resulted in massive piles of skulls sent to fertilizer plants?
A) preventing disruption to incoming trains 
B) forcing the Plains Indians to become dependent on reservations 
C) supplying the East with fashionable buffalo robes 
D) organizing elaborate hunting parties for Eastern and European social elites

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The primary reason for the staggering extermination of the buffalo during the 1870s and 1880s was to force the Plains Indians to become dependent on reservations. By decimating the buffalo populations, the U.S. government aimed to undermine the traditional lifestyle and economy of the Plains Indians, who relied heavily on the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter, thereby making them more amenable to relocation and control on reservations.

-What Was the Primary Reason During the 1870s and 1880s