Settling the West In the decades following

Settling the West § In the decades following the Civil War millions of people poured into the trans Mississippi West. § They were lured by the promise of better life, cheap land, riches or just simply for better life. They settled the Great Plains, and the Southwest.

The Great Plains and the Far West

Who settled the West? § White Americans from the East § African Americans trying to escape prosecution (exodusters ) § Immigrants from foreign countries.

Exodusters moving to Kansas § Exodusters

Reasons for the settlement § Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad – 1869. § Governmental incentives such as the Homestead Act ( 1862 ), which provided 160 acres of land for free to anyone who would stay on it for 5 years. Morril Act and Pacific Act also helped. § Possibility making money raising cattle ( longdrives ).

Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad – Promontory Point Utah

The emergence of three frontiers § The three frontiers that developed were: §The farming frontier §The mining frontier §The cattle frontier

The farming frontier § Homesteaders who took advantage of the Homestead Act quickly settled the Great Plains but life on the Great Plains was harsh. § 1. There was little wood available for use. Farmers had to find new ways to build houses and to keep warm.

Typical sod house

1. 2. 3. Other problems Raging fires – farmers plowed firebreaks Everyone in the family had to work Insects like grasshoppers would devour the crops 4. Little rain – farmers had to learn new methods of farming such as dry farming. Wheat was the favored crop. Also, the US Department of Agriculture was created in 1862 to help farmers adapt to the new environment. 5. Farms were isolated and so many farmers suffered from isolation and depression.

Bonanza Farms § Efficient new farm machinery and cheap, abundant land enabled some companies to create a new kind of large scale operation, the bonanza farm. Most were owned by large companies and operated like factories, with machinery, professional managers and specialized laborers for different tasks.

Bonanza Farm

Ranching in the West § The growth of eastern cities ensured demand for beef. § As the buffalo was exterminated during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad there was more land available for raising cattle. § The Spanish also introduced sheep ranching. Cowboys despised sheep, which they believed ate the roots of the grass and ruined it for cattle. § Clashes between cowboys and shepherd sometimes became violent.

Cattle trails

Long Drives § To reach the railroads, cowboys herded as many as 3, 000 cattle on long drives. These overland treks covered hundreds of miles and lasted several months. The trail usually ended in Kansas because the cattle in Missouri were not immune to Texas fever. Stampedes were a real problem.

Who were the Cowboys? § Many of them were ex Confederate soldiers, African Americans, and Mexican Americans.

Cattle towns § Every long drive ended at a railhead, a town located along a railroad, where brokers bought cattle to ship east on railroad cars. § The Kansas towns of Abilene, Dodge City and Wichita were among the best known railhead stops. The Cowboys were paid at the end of the drive.

Cattle towns

Open range § The government allowed cattle ranchers to use pubic land as open range, or free grazing land. This access to free pastureland helped make cattle ranching profitable.

The end of the Cattle Boom § The cattle boom lasted about 20 years. It ended because of several factors: § 1. Prices of beef dropped due to oversupply § 2. Invention of barbed wire in 1874 meant that farmers started enclosing their properties and open range ended.

Invention of Barbed Wire § Joseph Glidden § Cattle ranching became more expensive

The mining Boom § Gold rush in California and Colorado meant that prospectors started pouring into the area. § Mining town sprang up overnight wherever news of possible wealth brought prospectors together. § Life in the mining camps was crude, and comforts were few.

Instability § Western mining camps were some of the most violent places in the US during the late 1800 s. § The absence of law enforcement sometimes led people in mining camps to form vigilante committees to combat theft and violence. § Stability came to mining camps as they grew into towns and families arrived.

Mining towns in the American West

How were Native American affected by the settling of the West? § By 1850 most American Indians lived west of the Mississippi river. Some were nomadic hunters and others established more permanent villages. § The 1851 Treaty of fort Laramie had guaranteed American Indian land rights on the Great Plains. § However, as non Indians moved west, the government tried to acquire additional Indian lands.

Indian Policy § In 1850 the Bureau of Indian Affairs was created to manage American Indian issues. § The government negotiated treaties whereby the Indians who agreed to move to reservations were promised money and supplies for 30 years. Those treaties were often broken.

The Plains Indians § Many Plains Indians including Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche and Sioux refused to live on the reservations. They were nomads and refused to settle and become farmers.

Years of Struggle § Sand Creek Massacre – 1867 - 200 mostly women and children of the Cheyenne tribe were massacred by colonel Chivington’s forces. - This led to increased pressure to put Indians in reservations. - Some Southern Plain Indians agreed to give up much of their land move to a reservation in the Black Hills of South Dakota ( Second Treaty of Laramie 1867 )

Reservation in the Black Hills

Years of Struggle § Little Bighorn – 1874 § - in 1874 the government violated the terms of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie by sending an army expedition into the Black Hills to search for gold. Gold was discovered and the government treid to negotiate a new treaty with the Sioux. The Sioux refused.

The Little Big. Horn § Indians won the battle. § This battle is also known as Custer’s last stand because General George Armstrong Custer was killed in the battle.

Last victory for the Indians § Little Bighorn proved to be the last victory for the Sioux. The shock of Custer’s defeat prompted the army to increase its efforts to move the American Indians to reservations. Over the next several months most of the Indians surrendered and were placed in reservations.

The Battle of the Wounded Knee § The final chapter of the Plains Indian – US Army wars took place on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. § Many Indians joined a religious movement known as the Ghost Dance. Some government officials feared that the “dance” would inspire rebellion.

The Ghost Dance § The Ghost Dance dress

The Battle of the Wounded Knee - 1890 § They ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull. When reservation police surrounded Sitting Bull’s cabin a skirmish broke out and 14 Indians including Sitting Bull were killed. § Many Sioux joined the Ghost Dancers farther west. They were tracked down by the US army and a search for weapons began. The Sioux and soldiers began shooting. By the end of the day, 150 Sioux and 30 US soldiers lay dead.

The significance of the Wounded Knee § The Wounded Knee massacre marked the end of the bloody conflict between soldiers and American Indians on the Great Plains.

Assimilating American Indians § Many government officials and most reformers viewed assimilation or the cultural absorption of American Indians into “white America” as the only long term way to ensure Indian survival. § In 1887 the government passed DAWES GENERAL ALLOTMENT ACT, which broke up reservation lands into individually owned pieces of land. The remainder of the land was sold to the settlers.

Assimilation of American Indians § The Dawes Act proved to be a failure because many Indians refused to become farmers. Sometimes, Indians were given seeds unsuitable for farming. Many Indians died of malnutrition.

Assimilation of American Indians

Key Concepts 1. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad speeded up the settlement of the West. § The settlement of the west led to the extermination of the buffalo, which was a major food source of the Plains Indians. This allowed the US government to place Indians in reservations.

Key concepts § Differences in the concept of private property. American Indians believed the land belonged to everyone and therefore couldn’t be bought and sold. The settlers believed they could buy land. This is the reason why more often than not, Indians were cheated out of their land.

Key Concepts § The philosophy most Americans accepted was that God intended them to own the continent from the east coast to the west coast. ( Manifest Destiny ). This in the minds of many justified the injustices that were done to the American Indians. § Indians did not get citizenship rights until 1924.

The Closing of the Western Frontier § The Significance of the Frontier in American Society – 1893 § By 1890, the Western Frontier had been closed.