his 112 chapter 17
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His 112 Chapter 17. The West. Movement West. Before Civil War, many had ventured west California was a popular destination because of the Gold Rush in the late 1840s Thousands of newcomers had flocked to California - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
His 112Chapter 17
The West
Movement West Before Civil War, many had ventured west California was a popular destination
because of the Gold Rush in the late 1840s Thousands of newcomers had flocked to
California After Civil War many more moved
westward: farmers, land speculators, railroad men, and laborers
Obstacle for settlers: Native Americans Americans’ quest for personal property
proved disastrous for the Indians Picture, p.499 Americans
Stripped the land of trees Slaughtered buffalo for hides, burrowed into
mountains looking for minerals, and dug up the soil in the Plains to build sod houses
They did so with the help of the military, railroad builders, and land laws
Native Americans’ traditional way of life was doomed
By 1890s, almost every Indian nation of the Great Plains had been relocated to often inferior, inadequate lands
Map, p. 494
Native Indian Culture 2 Cultural Groups
Nomadic or semi-nomadic -- depended on hunting and gathering; hunted buffalo for food, hides, & sinew for bows; Shoshone, Apache, Cheyenne, Dakota,& Crow
Settled -- depended on farming and gardening; Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, & Pawnee
Almost all had a highly formalized culture and religions that regarded their relationship with nature as sacred
We have this quote from Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe in Washington Territory, 1854 “This we know. The earth does not belong to
man; man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself
There was usually the sexual division of labor Men hunted, fished, fought in wars, and held
powerful positions
Women raised children and crops; oftentimes family descent was traced through the mother – matrilineal descent
Women could also play important roles in the political, religious, social, & economic affairs of the tribe
Americans made treaties with Native Americans but often broke them
Indians were pushed onto smaller and smaller reservations as more Americans got possession of their land
Between 1850 and 1877, a policy of concentrating Indians on reservations accelerated
Map, p. 494
Indians found their hunting grounds gone and the buffalo herds destroyed
They then were forced to become more dependent on the federal government for the basics of life
However, they didn’t go quietly; they tried to defend their lands that often ended in massacre for them
P. 494,495
Examples: August, 1864 – Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux
attacked settlements in Kansas. The army, in turn, raided a sleeping Cheyenne village killing 100+ warriors, 800 horses, and capturing 53 women and children
This was an effort by the U.S. army to convince the Indians to confine themselves to the reservations
1870a - Kiowa, Comanche, & Cheyenne raided Adobe Walls, a trading post in Texas, setting off the Red River War; they were put down fiercely by the army
Most were massacres for the Indians with one exception: Battle of Little Big Horn or Custer’s Last Stand in June, 1876 Custer and 200 men faced 1500 – 5000 Indians
led by Sitting Bull Custer and his entire force were wiped out
There were some Americans who felt massacres were not the answer
1879 – Richard H. Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania It attempted to teach Indians white American
ways, so they could succeed in American society
In doing that, they destroyed the Indians culture and traditions
Picture, p. 498
Helen Hunt Jackson wrote in her book, A Century of Dishonor (1881), about the U.S. government’s record of broken treaties
She helped arouse the support of those looking for another answer to the “Indian Problem”, as it was called
Humanitarians helped change the Indian policy with the passage of The Dawes-Severalty Act, 1887
Dawes-Severalty Act Severalty means to treat Indians as
individuals, not as members of a tribe or nation
This Act: Reversed the reservation policy Dissolved community-owned tribal lands Granted land allotments to individual families Government would retain ownership of land for
25 years to keep Indians from selling land to speculators
Granted citizenship to all who accepted land
U.S. Indian Policy 3 Main Features
Indians would become “more civilized” by learning how to manage their own property
Indians would lose their “barbaric” habits more quickly if their children were sent away to boarding schools
Bureau of Indian Affairs tried to suppress traditional Indian religious ceremonies and funded white church groups to set up religious schools to help Indians become good Christians
These policies were for the Native Americans, but they had no say in the policy
The policy was ineffective Land allotments were rarely carried out Most native children in boarding schools ran
away Whites continued to use violence against
Native Americans Example: Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee In 1880s Sioux were experiencing more
government restrictions Meat rations were reduced Cattle were dying
Sioux turned to the popular prophet, Wovoka, who promised to restore them to their original dominance on the plains if they did the Ghost Dance
They did and it helped reaffirm their own culture
1890 the Ghost Dance reached the Dakota Territory
Sioux who practiced it gathered at Chief Sitting Bull’s cabin
This movement Ghost Dance Movement scared the white policemen who tried to arrest Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull’s bodyguard shot a policeman who ,in turn, shot Sitting Bull
This led to an outbreak of violence at Wounded Knee: 200 Native Americans including 7 babies and
many women were killed within minute
As a result, Indians had to once again abandon their traditions
They lived in poverty where alcoholism and unemployment were growing problems
The West was won at the expense of the Native Americans 1900 - 250,000 Native Americans in U.S.
1800 - 600,000 Native Americans in the U.S.
1492 - 5 million+ lived in the area that became the U.S.
Settlement of the West 1870 -1900 - Whites, Africans,
Hispanics, and Asians settled 430 million acres west of the Mississippi
They went for adventure, religious freedom (Mormons), opportunities in farming, mining, ranching, and other jobs
Individuals, whole families, and sometimes an entire town would pick up and move west
Beginning in 1849 many wished to go to California or Oregon for the gold
1849 – 1880, a half a million made their way west
They walked, rode a horse, or were part of a wagon train Wagon trains left the Missouri River area in the
spring hoping to reach their destinations before snow fell
It was a hard journey, and many died along the way
You could find your way along the Oregon Trail by following the grave markers
As railroads pushed further west, they began to replace wagon trains 10 May 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad from
the west connected with the Union Pacific Railroad from the east to form the nation’s 1st transcontinental railroad
The 2 systems met at Promontory Point in Utah and a golden spike was hammered into the ground
Many moved west to get government land 1862 – 1890, the government tried to attract
settlers to the midwest and west with the passage of the Homestead Act
The government gave away 48 million acres under this act
Government sold 100 million acres to private citizens and corporations
It granted 128 million acres to the railroads
Homestead Act 160 acres were given to anyone who:
Paid the $10 registration fee Promised to live on the land for 5 years Promised to cultivate and improve the land
Europeans from England, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Czechoslovakia came to America looking for land
Americans in nearby states also claimed land under the Homestead Act
By 1900, 600,000 families claimed land under this act
However, only 1 acre in 9 went to settlers The rest went to land speculators Not all settlers stayed because life proved
too difficult for them
Timber Culture Act of 1873 – allowed settlers to claim an additional 160 acres if they planted trees on a quarter of it
Timber and Stone Act of 1878 – applied to lands unfit for cultivation; valuable only for its timber and stone
Anyone in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington could buy 160 acres for $2.50 per acre
Speculators always found loopholes, so they could get more land for less money
Water could be hard to come by; however, using irrigation, dams, and canals often solved the problem
Railroads benefited the most from government land policies, and they became the largest landholders
To attract settlers to land near railroads, railroad companies Offered long-term loans and free transportation
to new territories Advertised in the U.S. and in foreign countries Millions of Americans and 2.2 million
immigrants moved westward Picture, p. 503
Life on the Plains Scarcities of essentials Little lumber for housing and for fuel Water was scarce Climate was unpredictable Insects were plentiful Social isolation New farm equipment helped increase crop
yields: grain binders, threshers, seeders, combines, mowers, and rotary plows
As per railroad advice, farmers grew a cash crop and then shipped it to market on the train Farmers could make lots of money if demand
was high They could also lose if there was a glut of a
certain crop
1889 – 1906: Oklahoma land , not already settled, was sold in lotteries or auctions
Reservation land was being broken up by the Dawes Act
This was known as the Oklahoma Land Rush
The Cowboy It was a tough, dirty, lonely, and boring life Some only did it for 2 years and moved on
to something else They were of different races and
nationalities: 1/5 were black or Mexican who found freedom on the trail Nat Love was the son of Tennessee slaves who
became a chief branderCowboys were also glorified in Buffalo Bill Cody’s
Wild West Show
Ranching Frontier Indian removal and railroad construction
cleared the way for Cattle Ranching They practiced open-range ranching
Ranchers would buy a few acres bordering a water source
Then they would turn their herds loose on adjacent public lands that no one wanted to own because of lack of water
Ranchers could then control thousands of acres while only owning a hundred or so
Demand for beef grew so herds grew Ranchers felt prairie grasses would run out
if fencing did not occur This closed off the open range Farmers began using barbed wire fences
to keep cattle away from their crops; this started range wars
Farmers won
Grover Cleveland in 1885 tried to observe the law by removing cattle from the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation
This pushed 200,000 more cattle on already overgrazed land
Bad winters and drought killed almost 90% of the cattle in some areas
Mining Many went west for the California Gold
Rush of 1849 There were hopes of getting rich quick in
gold, silver, or quartz Others went west to provide services:
food, clothing, laundry Mining towns were established and labor
was unionized Foreign miners were not welcome in
California
A foreign miners’ tax was passed; they had to pay a $20 licensing fee
There were riots against Chinese laborers in different places in the west Some felt the Chinese were taking jobs away
from white Americans during recession times Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in
1882 that closed off Chinese immigration for 10 years
The mining boom was over by the 1890s It was miners that helped populate
Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Oregon and bring them into the Union
These miners also poured billions of dollars into the American economy
The Frontier was declared closed by 1900