Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War Begins

Section 2

Westward Expansion and the American Indians

• Compare the ways Native Americans and white settlers viewed and used the land.

• Describe the conflicts between white settlers and Indians.

• Evaluate the impact of the Indian Wars.

Objectives

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Terms and People

• reservation – specific area set aside by the federal government for the Indians’ use

• Sand Creek Massacre – 1864 incident in which Colorado militia killed a camp of unarmed Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians

• Sitting Bull – Sioux chief respected as a fighter and spiritual leader

• Battle of the Little Big Horn – 1876 battle in which the Sioux defeated U.S. troops led by Colonel George Custer

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Terms and People (continued)

• Chief Joseph – leader of the Nez Percés who surrendered after trying to lead a group of Indian refugees to Canada

• Wounded Knee – 1890 confrontation between U.S. cavalry and the Sioux that marked the end of Indian resistance in the Ghost Dance War

• assimilate – to adopt the culture and civilization of the dominant group in a society

• Dawes General Allotment Act – 1887 law that divided reservation land into private family plots

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

How did the pressures of westward expansion impact Native Americans?

1. As American settlers continued to push west, they increasingly came into conflict with Native Americans. Such conflict often led to violence, with tragic results.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

After the Civil War, about 250,000 Indians lived in the lands west of the Mississippi.

• Had different belief systems

• Spoke different languages

• Lived in different types of houses

• Ate different foods

Native Americans came from many diverse cultures.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

2. The diverse Indian peoples, however, shared a common view toward nature—a view that conflicted

with that of many white Americans.

Native Americans saw themselves as part of nature and viewed nature as sacred.

Many white Americans viewed the land as a resource to produce wealth.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

3. During the 1800s, the government carried out a policy of moving Indians out of the way of white settlers.

Indians were forced into reservations, no longer free to roam the Plains.

At first, Indians in the East were moved west, into the Indian Territory of the Plains.

As frontier settlers continued pushing west, however, this plan changed.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Two other crises also threatened Native American civilizations.

Disease

Loss of the buffalo

Settlers introduced diseases to which Indians had no immunity.

Settlers slaughtered buffalo herds.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Some Native Americans fought to defend their lands.

4. The Sand CreekMassacre saw an unarmed camp of Indians under the U.S. Army protection killed by Colorado militia.

But attacks and retaliation led to distrust—and to tragedy.

Promises were made and peace treaties were signed, but they often were broken.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Frustration turned to violence as the government moved to crush Indian resistance.

• The Red River War led to the defeat of the Southern Plains Indians.

• The Sioux were victorious at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

• Chief Joseph and the Nez Percés surrendered after attempting to retreat to Canada.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Fearful of insurrection, government officials tried to ban the practice.

The ritual preached that white settlers would be banished and the buffalo would return.

As their way of life slipped away, some Indians turned to a religious revival based on the Ghost Dance.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

However, he was killed in a confrontation with U.S. troops.

More than 100 Indians who fled were killed at Wounded Knee.

The Indian Wars were over.

In an effort to end the Ghost Dance, the government attempted to arrest Sitting Bull.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Some critics attacked government policies and defended the Indians’ way of life.

5. Most leaders, however, hoped that Native Americans would assimilate into American life.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

• Replaced the reservation system with an allotment system

• Granted each Indian family its own plot of land

• Specified the land could not be sold for 25 years

In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes General Allotment Act to encourage assimilation.

Chapter 25 Section 1

The Cold War BeginsWestward Expansion and the American Indians

Section 2

Section Review

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