Post on 04-Jan-2016
Westward Expansion
Push Factors-The civil war displaced thousands of farmers, former slaves, and other workers
- eastern land was getting more expensive, especially to African Americans and immigrants
-Failed entrepreneurs saw the west as a second chance
-Ethnic and religious intolerance looked to the west for freedom
Pull Factors
Giving away public lands or selling them cheap
-Pacific Railway Acts
-Morrill Land-Grant Act
-Homestead Act-private
property ownership
Settlers From Far and Wide
-Cheap land and new jobs attract foreigners and people of different religious backgrounds
-Immigrants from Mexico, European nations such as Germany, Ireland, Italy as wells as many European Jews and Chinese settled in the west.
-ranching, mining, farm labor railroad construction, and other trades drew Americans and foreigners alike
Black Exodusters
Homesteaders-African Americans come to the west for a new chance at freedom
-Inspired by the biblical account of the Israelites flee from Egypt to a prophesized homeland in the book of Exodus, The African Americans called themselves EXODUSters.
“The Indian Problem”
-What could be done about the western Indians so there land could be used productively
-Native Americans believe the “problem” was a threat to their way of life
Native Americans
Settlers
US Government
railroads
Treaties and Reservations
-produced misunderstandings and fraud
-the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs was responsible for providing critical supplies but did not react
-As a result, acts of violence on both sides began war on the western front.
Sand Creek Massacre
1864-US military killed many innocent Cheyenne Indians after promise of protection.
“Kill and scalp all, big and little!Colonel John Chivington
Battle of Little Bighorn 1876- government wanted control of Black Hills as a result the Sioux fought back and slaughtered Custer's soldiers
Sitting Bull
General Custer
The Battle of Wounded Knee
1890
-misinterpreted the Native American Ghost Dance as a violent act. Government took over reservation and shots were soon fired.
Changing Native Americans- give up their traditions- Dawes Act allowed Native Americans to become self-sufficient in their new society.
-This idea known as assimilation
Opening of Indian Territory
April 22, 1889-Government allowed settlers to stake claims on previously owned Indian land.
-Boomers had claimed 2 million acres by sun down
-Sooners sneaked past government officials before boomers and staked their claims early
Mining-Mining of precious metals such as gold and silver became goal of many settlers
-Towns sprung up around prosperous mining and eventually became ghost towns
-Technology advanced as mining became more popular, such as the use of dynamite, drills and hydraulics
Cattle Ranching-Began due to increase in demand for beef.
-Removal of Native Americans and Buffalo allowed for more land to be used for ranching
-Cow towns sprung along rail lines which became known as the Chisholm Trail
-More than 100,000 cattle that grazed over 1 million acres for one Cattle Baron
Farming-Majority of farmers were those who profited from the Homestead act-Suffered many nature related hardships -boom in technology such as new machines that eased labor
-Poor farmers build soddies-homes made out of sod.
Populism-People’s Party, a political party that grew from economic interest of farmers
Followers were called populists1.Increase circulation of money2.Unlimited mining of silver3.A progressive income tax4.Government ownership of communication and transportation systems
-This allowed prices of crops to increase