Unit 6 Ch.17

The American West and the New South,

1865-1900

Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Western Plateau

The West

Gold discovered in California in 1848by 1849 people from Asia, South America, and Europe began

arrivingGold and silver strikes in Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana,

Arizona, South Dakota Boomtowns

Grew almost overnight and disappeared as soon as the gold and silver didVirginia City, NVSan Francisco, Sacramento, Denver became commercial centers

Mining Frontier

Vaqueros and CowboysAmerican settlers learned from Mexicans how to round up,

rope, brand, and care for their animalsTexas longhornsCowboy’s clothes, food, and vocabulary were influenced by

Mexican vaquerosDemand for Beef

Grew after Civil War as cities grewChicago Union Stock Yards

Cow TownsTowns with shipping yards for cattleAbilene, KS let Illinois cattle dealer Joseph McCoy survey

the Chisholm Trail to San Antonio

Cattle Frontier

Overgrazing of landExtended bad weather

1883-1887; dry summers and harsh winters wiped out whole herds

Barbed wireInvented by Joseph Glidden to help farmers fence in their landsOpen plains turned into fenced-in ranches

Cattle Frontier Ends

Homestead Act of 1862160 acres of free land to any citizen or intended citizenOnly 10% was settled by families for whom it was intended

Problems and SolutionsDugouts and Soddies

Homes dug into the sides of ravines or hillshomes made of blocks of prairie turf

2/3 of homesteaders failedDry farmingRussian wheatirrigation

Technical Support John Deere-steel plow (1837)Cyrus McCormick-reaper (1847)Grain drill, barbed wire, corn binder, steel windmills

Farming Frontier

Frontier declared settled in 1890Essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”

Argued the frontier helped to shape American characterPromoted independence and individualismOnce the frontier was gone America would follow the patterns of

class division and social conflict of Europe

Turner’s Frontier Thesis

Nomadic tribes like the Sioux, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Crow, and Comanche relied on the horse and buffalo

Buffalo hides were used for tepees, clothing, shoes and blankets

Buffalo meat was a staple food

Indians of the Great Plains

Great Plains Indian Territories

Great Plains Indian Territories

Reservation PolicyNegotiations at Fort Laramie and Fort Atkinson resulted

in the federal government assigning tracts of land to individual tribes

Indian WarsMassacre at Sand Creek

150 Cheyenne were killed, mostly women and childrenRed River War (1874-1875)

Kiowa and Comanche attacked for 6 yrs priorU.S. Army herds all friendlies onto reservations and opens fire

on the restArmy crushed resistance on the southern plains

Removal of Native Americans

Indian WarsBattle of Little Big Horn

Indians led by Crazy Horse, Gall, and Sitting BullCuster and entire Seventh Calvary were dead within an hourBy late 1876 the Sioux would be defeated.

AssimilationProposed as a way to integrate Indians into societyBoarding schools were set up to teach Indian children American

culture, farming, and industrial skills

Removal of Native Americans

Dawes Severalty Act Broke up reservations and gave land (80 or 160 acres)to

individualsRemaining land would be sold to settlersMoney would go to Natives

Ghost Dance MovementReligious movement against U.S. dominationSitting Bull was killed during his arrest

Wounded KneeDec, 28, 1890- Seventh Cavalry rounded up Sioux and took

them to a camp in South Dakota300 Sioux, mostly unarmed were killedThis brought the Indian wars to an end

Removal of Native Americans

Economic ProgressSteel, lumber, and tobacco industries grew in the SouthThe South became the lead producer of textilesSouthern railroads converted to standard gauge

Continued PovertyLate start in industrializationPoorly educated work forceRemained largely agriculturalIndustries mostly owned by Northerners

AgricultureOverproduction of cotton led to falling pricesGeorge Washington Carver promoted diversification by

growing peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans

New South

Supreme courtCivil Rights Cases of 1883 ruled that Congress could not

legislate against the racial discrimination practiced by private citizens

Plessy v. FergusonSupreme Court ruled that segregation was legal and did not

violate the Fourteenth AmendmentEstablished the doctrine of “separate but equal”

Jim Crow LawsSegregation laws to separate white and black people in

public and private facilities

Segregation

Voting RestrictionsAll southern states imposed voting restrictions

Literacy tests, poll taxes The grandfather clause allowed poor and illiterate whites to still

vote Racial Etiquette

Customs that dictated racial relationsViolence

those who did not follow racial etiquette faced punishment or death

Lynching (illegal execution without trial) was the most common among black violators

Segregation

Bishop Henry Turner formed the International Migration Society

Ida B. Wells edited Free Speech and spoke out against lynching and Jim Crow laws

Booker T. Washington established the Tuskegee Institute and organized the National Negro Business League

W.E.B. Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement and demanded an immediate end to segregation

Responding to Segregation

Changes in farmingNorthern farmers relied on cash crops and expensive

machineryFalling prices

Increased production, global competition, and a static money supply led to falling prices

Farmers grew more to pay off debts, which caused further price drops

Rising costsRailroads, warehouses, middle men, plus high taxes on

property and land contributed to farmers’ debt and anger

Farm Problems

National Grange Movement1867- Oliver Hudson Kelleysocial outlet and educational forum for isolated farm families

Interstate Commerce ActEstablished the right of the federal government to supervise

railroad activitiesInterstate Commerce Commission

Farmers’ alliancesSent members to towns to educate farmers on low interest

loans and government control over railroads and banksOcala Platform (National Alliance)

Direct election of senators, lower tariffs, graduated income tax, new, federally regulated, banking system, increase $ supply

Farmers Fight Back