Chapter 16: The Conquest of the Far West

1865-1896

Growth of the WestIndian Removal Act – 1830

a.Removal of Natives by force if needed/Pres. AJ

b.Trail of Tears after Cherokee Nation v. Ga. 1831

7.“No Mans Land”

8.Leads to “Land Rush” and “Sooners”

“Land Rush” & “Sooners”

Growth of the West1. Gold rush (1848)

2. Homestead Act (1862)

3. Alaska Terr. (1867)

4. TRR (1869)

5. Trouble w/Natives

Importance of the Buffalo

Settlers and the Buffalo

1. Killed a. by hunters for heads,

hides, bones, and fur

b. for sport

c. by RR co.

2. Helped gov’t push Natives onto reservations

Massacre at Sand Creek, Co 1864 1. Natives told to make camp at

Sand Creek to make peace deal.

2. Col. Chivingtona. >400 Cheyenne killed while

sleeping; bodies mutilatedb. Body parts kept as souvenirs

3. Later discredited by Congress

“Fetterman Massacre” (1866)

American Horse &

Red Cloud

Treaty of Laramie (1868)

1. Ended Great Sioux War of 1865-1867

2. Lands in the Black Hills, SD, Wy, and Mt.

3. Deposits of gold discovered, which leads to …

Battle at Little Bighorn, Mt.(aka Greasy Grass ) (1876)

1. 7th Calvary sent to take lands of Black Hills – found gold

2. Custer and men overtaken and killed by Crazy Horse

3. Public outcry = forcing more onto reservations

4. Same situation with the Nez Perce in the NW Pacific

“Custer’s Last Stand”

Sitting Bull

Geronimo

Apache Native American

The Demise of the Native American The Railroads Diseases Depletion of the buffalo Firewater aka liquor

http://invasionofamerica.ehistory.org/

Helen Hunt Jackson (1881)

1. Exposes injustices of the NA by the US gov’t

2. Supporter of assimilationa. Indian Rights Association

b. Women’s National Indian Association

Dawes Severalty Act (1887)

1. To “Americanize” NA by teaching them that owning land and farming was “right”

2. Reservation lands distributed to head of household; 160 acres; individuality not communal

3. Lands left over sold to settlers; funds for the benefit of the Native Americans

4. NA lost >2/3rd of their lands

5. Later reversed with the Indian Reorganization Act aka Indian New Deal; which returned NA their sovereignty

Assimilation of the Native American

1. Farming

2. Christianity

3. English

4. Education

“Friends of the Indians”

Carlisle Indian School, Pa.

Ghost Dance: prohibited by government1. Return of the buffalo

2. Restorations of their lands

3. Make the white man disappear

Battle of Wounded Knee @ Pine Ridge Reservation (1890)

1. Started with the arrest and killing of Sitting Bull

2. A few days later, 7th Calvary rounded up ghost dancers and took them to Wounded Knee Camp

3. >200 unarmed NA killed and left to freeze

4. Payback for Battle of Little Bighorn

5. Brought Indian wars to an end

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

Miners “Striking it Rich!”Mining for Gold and Silver

Pike’s Peakers/’59ers

Pros and Cons of Mining

a. Pros

i.Railroads increased

ii.Statehood increased

iii.Cities developed and “Boomed”- economy grew rapidly

b. Cons

i. Increased crime

ii. Destruction of land

iii. “ghost towns”

Real Winners?a. Mine owners - able to invest capital in industries that supported the miners

i. Equip and technology

ii. RR

iii. Timber

iv. Hydroelectricity

b. The Union/Civil War

http://cprr.org/Museum/Hydraulic_Mining/

Hazards of Mining

The Western Federation of Miners on parade, passing the Southern Hotel in Rhyolite, February 17, 1907.

(Nevada Historical Society)

Miners & Workers

From Boom Towns to Ghost Towns

•

                                                                                                                                                                                       

http://cprr.org/Museum/Hydraulic_Mining/

Realities of “Helldorados”

  

                                                                                                                                    

 

Beef Bonanzas and the Long Drive

Let’s play “Life as a Farmer!”

Cowboys & Cattle

Life as a Cowboy

1. Hard: Saloons, violence, guns, and prostitutes

2. Range wars = fences; problematic for grazing

Long Drives & the RR

B. Collapse of Cattle Industry

barb wire overgrazing

overstocking

extreme weather

Homestead Act of 1862

1. 160 acres/$30 fee2. 5 yrs cultivation (grow crops)3. Option of purchasing it at $1.25 acre after 6 months

(residency requirement)

4. Land for farming was bad5. Only 10% of farmers received their lands from the

act. Why so little?- Better lands closer to transportation and town/mkts- Plenty of room for corruption

Farming and Technology

McCormick’s reaper

Farming and Technology

1. Efficiency = increase trade

2. Dependent on:a. Technology

b. Nature

c. Shipping and RR

d. Global markets

3. Dry Farming techniques

Bonanza Farms

Swift’s Refrigerated RR Carts

Competed on a global market not just domestic = huge debts!

Manufactured goods vs. agricultureProblems?

Other problems for farmers?

The Great Plains

Why move to the Great Plains?

(future home of the Dust Bowl!)

a. Homestead Act

b. Advertising

c. RR/towns

d. Farming technology

Dugouts

Soddies

Fredrick Jackson Turner

American historian

Frontier Thesis: American democracy is shaped by each new frontier in the U.S.

The Grange Aka patrons of Husbandry Social, educational,

fraternal activities By 1875, 800,000

members

Oliver Kelly

The Grange (1867)

1. Corporations such as RR and banks to blame for their hard times

2. Foreign competition = decrease prices of US crops

3. Banned together to dev. own grain elevators, stores, equip to control prices = Cooperatives

Coxey’s Army (1894)

1. Unemployed march to Washington, D.C.

2. Wanted federal gov’t to create jobs via public works projects

Pullman Strike (1894)

1. Wages cut but not rent

2. Il National Guard sent in, then federal troops

3. Led by Eugene Debs ARU-American Railway Union

4. Nationwide strike

5. End result: 25 dead

Election of 1896 McKinley (Rep)

WJ Bryan (Dem)

“Cross of Gold”