Unit 6 Westward Expansion and the Industrial Age

Unit 6: Westward Expansion and the Industrial Age (1865 – 1900) Westward Expansion and the American Indians (1865 -1900)

U. S. Government Breaks Many Promises with Native Americans 1830’s – President Andrew Jackson’s First Great Removal (The Trail of Tears) forced Indians in East to land west of the Mississippi. v By the end of the Civil War, all surviving Native Americans, about 250, 000 total, were living on the Plains and in the West. v They were promised this land forever? Manifest Destiny (1840 s) and white expansion in the 1850 s-60 s weakened this promise as gold and silver were discovered on their lands. v

Native American Life & Culture Threatened v In the 1860 s, the US adopted a policy of reservations – poor tracts of federal lands – scattered throughout the West. By 1900, virtually all were forced onto these tracts. v Many would only go there after they were convinced they could not win the war against the U. S. v Moreover, disease and destruction of the buffalo add to Indian poverty and misery.

The “Indian Wars” Begin v v 1862 – Sioux in E. MN attacked white settlements & tribe pushed into Dakotas. Other Plains tribes stepped up attacks on stage lines & white settlements. Fall 1864 – Col. John Chivington murdered an unarmed band of Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado. After the Civil War, U. S. sends 1000 s of soldiers West to protect white interests.

Attempts at Peace Fail v v 1866 – U. S. government announced plan to build road through Sioux lands in MN. Captain William Fetterman and 100+ U. S. soldiers murdered by Red Cloud and Sioux in Fetterman Massacre. 1868 – Ft. Laramie, WY Treaty said US would not build road & would leave 3 forts if Sioux would live on reservation with support from federal government. Both sides violated the treaty.

Sitting Bull and the Fall of the Sioux v v Black Hills Gold Rush of 1875 drew more whites into Dakotas. U. S. troops sent to help as Sioux chiefs Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse organized to drive them out. June 25 -26, 1876 – General George Armstrong Custer went ahead of the main force to the Little Bighorn River in MT. 2000 Sioux killed Custer and 267 troops at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Custer's Last Stand (12 min) This would be the last victory vs. US forces for Indians on the Plains.

Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce v v v Pacific N. W. tribe of Wallowa Valley, OR; land wanted by white farmers 1876 -77 Joseph was forced to retreat on a 1100 mile march for Canada He was stopped Sept. 1877 only 40 miles from Canada at Big Hole Basin, MT Joseph surrendered Oct. 5 th, 1877 & tribe was banished to reservation in Indian Territory in OK Sioux Chief Crazy Horse was murdered 1 month earlier to the day by US soldier while in captivity.

The Indian Wars Come to an End v v Ghost Dance Movement – Sioux ritual preached that whites would disappear & buffalo would return to the Plains. Dec. 1890 –Sitting Bull arrested & murdered as he was held responsible. 100+ Sioux killed at Massacre of Wounded Knee (Dec. 1890) and ended the Ghost Dance War This was the last major sad event in the Indian Wars as their fate was sealed.

Native American Culture Destroyed v v v 1860 – 13 million buffalo to 1000 est. in 1900! Surviving Native Americans force onto reservations 1881 – Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor spawned the “Indian Rights” movement Criminal Code of 1884 – Indians prohibited from practicing tribal religions (Ghost Dance Movement led to Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) Dawes Severalty Act (1887) gave plots of land to Native American families headed by a male, but Indians did not want to farm. The goal was assimilation. Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879) – PA boarding school for Native Americans that required them to learn English and abandon their culture and religion. Its goal too was assimilation.

Exit Slip – The Indian Wars 1. 2. 3. 4. Poor tracts of land set aside for Native Americans are called _____. a. Reservations b. Bad Lands c. Plantations The last major victory for the Plains Indians against U. S. military forces was won at _____, Montana in June 1876. a. Butte b. Little Round Top c. Little Big Horn The goal of the Dawes Act of 1887 regarding Native Americans was _____. a. Assessment b. Accommodation c. Assimilation The last major conflict between Native Americans and U. S. forces occurred at _____, South Dakota in 1890. a. Lake Oahe b. Wounded Knee c. Sand Creek

Railroads Open the West! v v v v Pacific Railway Act (1862) The Transcontinental Railroad (1869) Omaha, NE to Sacramento, CA Gov’t made loans and gave land grants for miles of track laid 2 -5 miles of track per day Eur. Immigrants, Chinese, Af. Americans helped May 10, 1869 – Promontory Point, UT By 1900 – 5 Transcontinental RRs across the West!

The Mining Industry v v v CA Gold Rush of 1849, Black Hills, SD 1864, & Comstock , NV 1859 Lone miners or prospectors panning for Gold 1870 s – commercial mining = big business “Boomtowns” like Helena, MT, Denver, CO, & Tombstone, AZ while others became “Ghost Towns” Vigilante Justice often prevailed! Gunfight at the O. K. Corral October 26, 1881

Cowboys and Ranching v v Frederic Remington “Stampede” - 1908 v Texas Longhorns multiplied under the open range system. Indian removal and killing of buffalo opened land for cattle. Cowboys were hired in the spring to round up the cattle in TX, MT, and CO and drive them to railheads in the North. 1865 – Cattle in TX $3 -$5 each could bring $30+ in the East. Long Drives covered 100 s of miles and was dirty and dangerous work. Sometimes 18 hours a day.

Cow Towns and Railheads Railroads ran East to West and Cattle Trails typically ran North to South. v “Cow Towns” sprang up where the two converged or at stopping points. v Ft. Worth, TX, Abilene & Dodge City, KN v

The Homestead Act of 1862 v 1. 2. 3. 4. v Offered 160 acres of public land if: 21 years-old and head of family Any U. S. citizen or immigrant that filed & paid a $10. 00 fee Build house/ 6 Mo. /Yr. a resident Farm plot for 5 years By 1900, 600 K claims for 80 M acres of land

The Exodusters 50, 000 -plus African Americans went West v Led by Benjamin “Pap” Singleton v Life was hard, but many adapted and escaped the racial hatred and violence of the South v

Life on the Plains Was Difficult v v v v Open water supplies carried typhoid or “prairie fever” – helped by well-digging technology after 1880 s Hard labor for men & women High infant mortality rate Extreme heat (drought), cold, weather Plagues of grasshoppers & locusts Loneliness No money until crops came in Cooperation among families was common

Farming on the Plains v v Not a farmers paradise due to the elements 1 New farm machinery (John Deere’s steel plows, steam tractors, reapers, and combines) Dry weather crops = Dry farming (wheat, oats, etc. ) Small farmers faced debt

The Closing of the Frontier v v v v 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush 1890 Census = Frontier Settled and Closed Joseph Glidden (1874) invented “barbed wire” , oversupply of beef, harsh winters & droughts killed cattle, hay crops produced ended era of the cowboy and long drive. How wild was the West? ? ? Were settlers and cowboys were only white males? Outlaw Myths? Who is this? ? ?

Exit Slip – Railroads, Miners, Ranchers, and Farmers 1. 2. 3. 4. T or F: Successful mining towns were often called ghost towns. T or F: Prior to the 1860 s, longhorn cattle roamed wild on the Western plains. T or F: Homesteaders often built homes of sod because wood was scarce and too expensive to transport. T or F: Since fewer than 1, 000 African-Americans migrated west after the Civil War it is safe to say that the settlers who did were predominantly white.