SSUSH11 B & SSUSH12C

Settling the West

Settling the West

New Discoveries in the West

• By 1845: More than 200 Americans had settled in

California around the area known as Sutter’s Fort.

• 1848: Discovery of Gold at Sutter’s Mill in

California caused more than 80,000 miners, known

as “Forty-Niners” to arrive there by 1849.

• 1850: As a result of the large influx of miners and

settlers into the area, California became a state.

• 1857: Two Mormon brothers (Ethan Allen and Hosea Grosh)

discovered Gold and Silver in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

• 1859: Henry T. P. Comstock laid claim to the dead miner’s

find, giving birth to what was known as the Comstock Lode.

Settling the West

• Feb 1858: William “Green” Russell, from Georgia, led

a group of veteran miners to search for gold along the

South Platte River.

• July 1858: The group of prospectors made a discovery

that sparked the famous Pike’s Peak Gold Rush.

• By 1861: The rapid migration of settlers led to the growth of towns like

Denver and Boulder City, and the creation of the Colorado Territory.

• The Discovery of Gold, Silver, and Copper

in the Western Territories led to the

growth of:

Industries in the East

Transcontinental Railroads

Settling the West

The Rise of the Cattlemen

• 1850 - 1865: The need for cattle in the west rose with several developments:

Beef to feed miners in California, Colorado, and the Sierra Nevada.

Hearty cattle or oxen to pull large supply trains for western settlers.

Beef needed to feed both Union & Confederate soldiers in the Civil War.

• The vast prairies of the Great Plains and Texas

promoted the early practice of free roaming

range cattle known as “Open Range” grazing.

• Americans moving west came in contact with the

traditional Mexican haciendas and their vaqueros.

• These Mexican traditions influenced Americans

to build great Ranches in Texas and across the

Great Plains worked by skilled Cowboys.

Settling the West

The Rise of the Cattlemen

• Development of Railroads into the Western Territories influenced the start

of the Cattle Drive Era.

• During the Civil War, a Texan named

Jesse Chisholm established the Chisholm

Trail to supply beef to the Confederacy.

• 1866: Illinois Entrepreneur, Joseph G.

McCoy built stockyards in a little village

along the Kansas-Pacific Railroad to ship

the cattle back east.

• 1867 – 1880: The Cattle Drives into Kansas

caused the growth of rowdy “Cow Towns”

like Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge City.

Settling the West

The Early Cattle Barons

• 1854 – 1866: John Chisum founded a large ranch along the Pecos

River in New Mexico Territory with 100,000 head of cattle.

• 1866: Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving led a

cattle drive of Texas Longhorns over what would

become known as the Goodnight-Loving trail.

• 1876: Charles Goodnight established the first ranch in the Texas Panhandle.

• 1866: German immigrant, Conrad Kohrs, established a 10 million

acre ranch in the Montana Territory with 50,000 head of cattle.

• 1880’s: Many of these men eventually formed Cattlemen’s or

Stockman’s Associations to protect their cattle interests.

Settling the West

Rising Tension Across the Great Plains

• 1866 – 1880’s: Tensions rose across the Great Plain between the cattlemen,

farmers, and sheep herders .

• 1866 – 1867: Kansas Farmers blocked the key

cattle trails across their farmlands to prevent

the spread of “Spanish Fever” transmitted from

Longhorns to other types of cattle by ticks.

• 1870’s – 1880’s: Range Wars broke out over water

and grazing rights between Cattlemen and Sheep

Herders from Texas to Arizona and into Wyoming.

• 1880’s: Conflicts also erupted between ranchers

when larger ranches used barbed wire to fence off

their grazing lands from groups of “free grazers.”

Settling the West

• Some of the most famous “Range Wars” included:

• 1875 – 1876: The Mason County War, which was

fought between German Settlers

and Ranchers in eastern Texas.

• 1878: The Lincoln County War was between feuding

Cattlemen and Business owners in New Mexico.

• 1882 – 1892: The Pleasant Valley War occurred in Arizona between the

Cattle-Herding Graham’s and the Sheep-Herding Tewksburys.

Rising Tension Across the Great Plains

• This war was famous because of the involvement of

gunfighters like Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett.

• 1892: The Johnson County War in Wyoming occurred between smaller cattle

ranchers and the members of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

Settling the West

New Settlers Move West

• 20 May 1862: Congress passed the Homestead Act

Required a $10 Registration Fee

Could Claim up to 160 Acres

Receive Title to the land after Five Years.

• Settling on the Great Plains was difficult due to:

Summer Temperatures and Prairie Fires

Blizzards and Extreme Cold in the Winter

Swarms of Grasshoppers killing their crops

The lack of Trees and Water required wells

• Early plains farmers, called Sodbusters by the cattlemen, were required to

do “dry farming” (deep planting) until inventors designed new steel plows,

seed drills, reapers, and threshing machines to make their work easier.

Settling the West

New Settlers Move West

• 1880’s: Many farmers from Minnesota and the Mid-West

moved to the inexpensive lands of the Great Plains and

established the newly productive Wheat Belt.

• New machines allowed some settlers to create profitable

“Bonanza Farms” that covered up to 50,000 acres.

• 22 Apr 1889: Oklahoma Land Rush.

Estimated 50,000 People took part

About 2 million acres was opened

Established Oklahoma City in a day

• Disputes over land claims between “Sooners” (People who snuck in ahead

of the rush) and “Boomers” (People during the rush) had to be settled.

Settling the West

Dealing with the Native Americans

• The western migration of Ranchers, Miners, and Farmers was encroaching

on traditional Native American hunting grounds.

• Late 1850’s: Treaty violations and unfair annuity

(land payment) practices by government agents

caused increased hardship on the Dakota Sioux.

• Aug 1862: Chief Little Crow reluctantly led a

Sioux uprising against local traders and settlers.

• Dec 1862: The U.S. Army troops had captured

more than 1000 Sioux, executing 38 after trial.

• 1862: This region west of Minnesota and the

Mississippi River was named Dakota Territory.

Settling the West

Dealing with the Native Americans

• Meanwhile, in Colorado Territory, tensions grew between miners and the

Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians resulting in raids on ranches & wagon trains.

• Nov 1864: Chief Black Kettle of the Cheyenne

agreed to meet at Fort Lyon, CO., to make peace.

• 29 Nov 1864: The Sand Creek Massacre

Colonel John Chivington and 700 men of the

Colorado Volunteers attacked the peaceful

camp of Cheyenne on Sand Creek, killing 133 .

• A Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War investigated Col. Chivington,

but did not press charges against him.

• Raids along the Platte River by Cheyenne “Dog Soldiers” increased.

Settling the West

Dealing with the Native Americans

• After the Dakota Uprising, the U.S. Army established a fort and patrols

into the Dakota Territory to protect travelers along the Bozeman Trail.

• 21 Dec 1866: The Fetterman Massacre.

79 soldiers and 2 civilians under Captain

William J. Fetterman were killed by the

Lakota Sioux under Chief Red Cloud.

• 1867: Both the Sand Creek Massacre and the Fetterman Massacre had

convinced Congress to form an Indian Peace Commission to create two large

Reservations on the Plains and convince the Native Americans to live there.

• 21 & 28 Oct 1867: The Medicine Lodge Treaties were signed by the Kiowa,

Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Chiefs of the Great Plains.

Settling the West

Dealing with the Native Americans

• 1876: Fortune hunters overran the Lakota Sioux Reservation to mine gold in

the Black Hills of South Dakota.

• This treaty violation convinced many

Sioux to leave their reservation to go

on their spring buffalo hunt.

• The U.S. Army sent an expedition against the Sioux that

included Lt. Col. George A. Custer’s infamous 7th Cavalry.

25-26 Jun 1876: Battle of Little Bighorn

• 2,500 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors under

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse attacked and

killed Custer’s detachment of 210 soldiers

near the Little Bighorn Creek in Montana.

Settling the West

Dealing with the Native Americans

• 1877: Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe in Idaho refused

to be relocated to a smaller reservation.

• Oct 1877: The tribe led the U.S. Army on a

1,300 trek before finally surrendering and

being relocated to Oklahoma Territory.

• 1861 – 1886: The Apache Wars of Arizona & N.M.

• Several periods of conflict under key Apache chiefs

1861-1862: Chiricahua War under Cochise

1871-1875: Yavapai War occurred after whites

and Mexicans massacred Apaches at Camp Grant

1879-1881: Victorio’s War under Victorio

1881-1886: Geronimo’s War under Geronimo

Settling the West

Dealing with the Native Americans

• 1881: Helen Hunt Jackson published A Century of Dishonor

describing the years of assault on the Native Americans.

• Some Americans believed the situation would improve if the Native

Americans were willing to assimilate into American Society as land owners.

• 1887: Congress passed the Dawes Act to allocate land to Native Americans.

• 29 Dec 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre

Sioux members of the “Ghost Dance”

were rounded up by the 7th Cavalry

Cavalry troops were ordered to collect

up all weapons from the Sioux

A scuffle over a rifle resulted in over

200 men, women, and children killed.