NATIVE AMERICANSCHAPTER 2 LESSON 3Coach Crews

U.S. History

In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act. For a $10 registration fee, an individual could file to claim a tract of public land. A homesteader could claim up to 160 acres of land and would receive a title to the land after living there for five years. Later government legislation increased the size of the tracts available. The purpose of the Homestead Act was to encourage settlement on the Great Plains. With their property rights assured, more settlers than ever began moving to the Plains.

The Homestead Act assured the property rights of Plains settlers, but it did not ensure economic success. Free land provided farmers with a head start, but they needed to purchase supplies and equipment. Most farmers had to take out mortgages in order to pay for the needed supplies and equipment. Owing money to a bank meant that farmers had to make regular payments. Their ability to make money over and above what they owed depended on the price of the commodities that they grew, mainly wheat.

Since homestead farmers generally had little or no savings to lean on when times were tough, they had to sell their crops as soon as they were harvested in order to meet their monthly mortgage payments. Because wheat prices fluctuated with the season, the necessity to immediately sell crops made it difficult for farmers to earn a lot of money. Prices are generally determined by supply and demand. Wheat prices changed with the seasons, because while demand—the amount people wanted to eat—would stay relatively constant, the supply of wheat changed throughout the year. Prices were higher in the winter, when supply was lower, but most farmers could not afford to hold on to their wheat that long. They had to sell when the price was low.

How did owing money to a bank prevent farmers from getting the highest price possible for their crops?

Why do you think wheat prices were higher in the winter?

Why do you think farmers chose to settle on the Great Plains even though it was difficult to make money as a homestead farmer?

BEFORE

Define the following terms:

Annuity

Assimilate

Allotment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q16OZkgSXfM

OUTLINE THE TEXT

I. The Struggles of the Plains Indians

a. What are nomads?

b. What was a main source of food for the Plains Indians?

c. Why did the Sioux agree to live on reservations?

d. Who were the Lakota?

e. When and how was the U.S. Army defeated in Red Cloud’s War?

f. Where was Sand Creek and what occurred there?

g. Why was the Indian Peace Commission a failure?

h. What was the purpose of reservations?

CLASS NOTES

Cultural Differences

Native American Way of Life Many Native American groups were nomadic. Traveling in groups of extended families, they were dependent largely on the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelters. They believed in the spiritual power of the natural world. While certain groups claimed lands as hunting grounds, the concept of land ownership did not align with their spiritual beliefs.

Threats by Settlement Farmers and ranchers threatened the Native American way of life with permanent settlements, planted acreage, and livestock drives. Miners threatened Native Americans when they sought lands occupied by Native Americans where valuable minerals had been discovered.

CLASS NOTES

Struggles of the Plains Indians

Westward Migration Miners, ranchers, and farmers moved westward in the mid-1800s, settling in areas that had long been home to Native Americans and to the enormous buffalo herds that sustained them.

Nomadic Culture Many Plains Indians lived as nomads, following the buffalo. As the buffalo population was decimated by settlement, Native American culture was threatened. Violence broke out in the 1860s.

Early Battles Major early battles include the Dakota Sioux Uprising, Red Cloud’s War and the Sand Creek Massacre.

CLASS NOTES

The Reservation System

Separation The Indian Peace Commission established a reservation system with the goal of separating the Native American population from settlers.

Compensation The commission promised the Native Americans compensation for the disruption of their way of life.

Broken Promises Government payments to Native Americans rarely arrived. Starvation led to violence.

OUTLINE THE TEXT

II. The Last Native American Wars

A. When did the Battle of the Little Bighorn occur and what was the result?

B. Who was George A. Custer?

C. What Nez Perce chief spoke these fateful words, “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever”?

D. Where did the Lakota Ghost Dancers and their families lose their lives in a final battle with the U.S. government?

E. What law gave Native Americans lots of land on the reservations and citizenship if they lived on them for 25 years?

CLASS NOTES

Final Clashes

Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876 Custer’s attack on a large combined force of Cheyenne and Lakota Sioux resulted in one of the worst U.S. defeats of the Native American Wars. All but one of Custer’s 210-man cavalry unit were killed.

Flight of the Nez Perce, 1877 Planned relocation to a smaller reservation forced Chief Joseph to lead his people on a 1,400-mile flight toward Canada to escape pursuing cavalry. After the eventual surrender, the Nez Perce were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma far from their homeland.

Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890 Native American’s final battle took place on the Lakota Sioux reservation in 1890. Lakota refusal to Ghost Dance brought U.S. forces to the reservation. Sitting Bull was killed. In the ensuing clash, 25 U.S. soldiers and about 200 Lakota were massacred.

CLASS NOTES

Policies of Assimilation

Dawes Act The Dawes Act tried to encourage Native American assimilation by allotting plots of reservation land to Native Americans for farming. Failed as a policy due to cultural differences.

Citizenship Act The Citizenship Act passed in 1924, granted citizenship to all Native Americans. Arizona, Maine, and New Mexico did not grant Native Americans suffrage until after World War II.

New Deal Policies of assimilation and allotments finally ended in 1934 during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt.

SUMMARY

The Dakota Sioux rebelled out of frustration from being starved and impoverished, while the Lakota Sioux were overrun by settlers looking for gold. The Sand Creek Massacre involved failed negotiations. Most of the uprisings boiled down to Native Americans and settlers competing for the same land and resources.