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The West
Exploiting an Empire
1850-1900
- many settlers headed across the Mississippi River to seek their fortunes
- they didn't care about what they did to the American Indians
- they ignored the contributions to the country of other races like the Mexicans or Chinese
- the West's raw materials were sent east helping to fuel the factories
- western economies depended on federal assistance to subsidize the railroads, distribute their land and support the military and Indians
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BEYOND THE FRONTIER
- Prairie Plains--eastern part west of the Missouri--had rich soil and good rainfall
- -----Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma & Texas
- High Plain--to the west--rough, semiarid, foothills of the Rocky Mountains
- -----Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico & Arizona
- Rockies---ran from Alaska to central New Mexico--natural barrier--beaver and gold
- Great Basin--harsh environment, the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range held back the rainfall---Idaho & Utah
- Pacific Coast--lands without extreme weather conditions
- THE PLAINS
- ----------the few rivers that ran through trickled in the summer and raged in the winter
- ---------less than 15 inches of rain a year (not enough to support a lot of agriculture)
- ---------not a lot of timber
- ---------familiar tools were useless on the tough treeless land
- ---------hot winds in the summer and blizzards in the winter
- +++ millions of buffalo lived on the land
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CRUSHING THE NATIVE AMERICANS
- at the end of the Civil War Native Americans inhabited almost half of the country
- by 1870's most tribes had been destroyed of beaten into submission
- by 1880 the Native Americans were no longer independent and they lived on smaller reservations
- by 1890 their culture was nearly destroyed
- Eastern Indians were forced west (Winnebago, Menominee, Cherokee, Chippewa)
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Pueblos groups
- in Southwest (western New Mexico & eastern Arizona)
- lived the Pueblo groups (Hopi, Zuni, Rio Grande Pueblos)
- ---peaceful farmers (corn) and herders who lived in communities
- because they were bothered by other tribes they built their homes on high mesas or in the cracks in the cliffs
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Nomadic groups
- Camp Dwellers, Jicarilla Apache and Navajo
- roamed eastern New Mexico & western Texas
- lived in tepees or mud huts
- grew corn to supplement their hunting
- ---Navajo herded sheep and made ornamental silver, baskets and blankets
- ---Apache were fierce fighters and great horsemen--feared by the whites and fellow Indians alike
- 1865-1873 confined to reservations
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Small bands
- Pacific Northwest--Klamath,Chinook, Yurok and Shasta tribes lived in small bands
- survived on fish, grubs, berries, acorns, and small game
- plank houses and canoes
- complex social and political organization
- a large number of California Indians died from diseases brought by the whites during the Gold Rush of 1849 or had their villages burned by miners
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Life of the Plains Indians
- Sioux-Minnesota & Dakotas
- Blackfoot-Idaho & Montana
- Cheyenne, Crow & Arapaho-central plains
- Pawnee-western Nebraska
- Kiowa, Apache & Comanche-Texas & New Mexico
- ----nomads, migratory & warlike
- dependent on the buffalo & horse
- by 1700's they gave up farming and hunted buffalo
- superior warriors and horsemen--best cavalry in the world
- large tribes (thousands) -- lived in smaller bands (300-500)
- Comanche 7000 in 13 tribes
- governed by a chief and council of elder men
- ==different tribes could communicate with highly developed sign language
- tasks/chores were divided among men and women
- women played a role in politics, economics and religion
- Kiowa and Comanche were forced out of the land they were given "forever" around1862
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"As Long as Waters Run": Searching for an Indian Policy
- before the Civil War---land west of the Mississippi-->one big reservation-->"Indian Country"
- eastern Indians were moved and held here by treaties
- 1834---"Indian Intercourse Act"--prohibited any white person from entering 'Indian Country' without a license
- 1851 'one big reservation' was abandoned because of the push west by the railroads and gold rushes
- specific boundaries were given to individual tribes for "as long as waters run and the grass shall grow"
- --->lasted only a few years because they refused to stay in their assigned areas and the whites moved in
- Indians were pushed out of Kansas and Nebraska in the 1850's
- 1859 gold miners setting off a war with the Cheyenne and Arapaho
- Cheyenne and Arapaho wanted peace--Chief Black Kettle brought his 700 followers to Sand Creek in SE Colorado where they were attacked and killed by Colonel Chivington's militia even after the Chief raised the American and white flag
- the Comanche and Arapaho had to surrender their Sand Creek reservation for other land
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Great Sioux war 1865-1867
- Gold miners invaded Sioux hunting grounds setting off the war
- government planned to connect mining towns with the Bozeman Trail ---> right through Sioux hunting grounds in Montana
- Red Cloud-Sioux chief -lured Captain William Fetterman and his men into the wilderness and killed them
- 1867 the Bozeman Trail construction was stopped & Congress created a 'Peace Commission to end the Sioux War and eliminate the causes of Indian Wars
- ----"small reservations"-isolate the Indians, teaching them to farm and civilizing them was their solution
- ------54,000 northern Plains Indians would be moved north of the Black Hills in Dakota
- ------86,000 southern Plains Indians would be moved Oklahoma***both areas were difficult to farm
- ---they were to be in specific reservations supervised by the government
- 1867-Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho agreed
- 1868-Sioux agreed
- the Ute (Utah), Shoshone, Bannock, Navajo and Apache also accepted small reservations
- One army commander said "all who cling to their old hunting grounds are hostile and will remain so till killed off"
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Final Battles on the Plains
- few Native Americans settled peacefully on the reservations
- changed their old customs
- lived in poverty and isolation
- 1868 wars broke out again
- Red River War (1874-1875) Kiowa & Comanche went on a rampage through Texas until they were stopped by the US Army -- buffalo soldiers (black soldiers)
- Northern Plains 1875-the Sioux tried to stop prospectors during the Black Hills Gold Rush from tramping through their hunting grounds---->led by chief Crazy Horse & Sitting Bull the main band of Sioux were surrounded in their village (at Little Bighorn River in Montana) when Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer attacked
- -------all soldiers were dead and the papers called it "Custer's Last Stand"-->resulting in a quest for revenge
- ----------October 1876 the Sioux were surrounded, beaten and finally surrender--->this ended major Indian warfare
- ----------1877-Nez Perce tribe in Oregon under Chief Joseph tried to rebel and escape to Canada but they were hunted down and defeated ending up in a barren reservation in Oklahoma--most of whom died of disease
- ----------1890-the starving Teton Sioux (SD) turned to native Ghost Dances (dances & rites that were said to bring back the Indian lands, cause the whites to disappear, the lands would renew and the buffalo would return)---the army intervened killing Sitting Bull and most of Big Foots band at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota
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The End of Tribal Life
- "assimilationists" wanted to use education, land policy and federal law to wipe out tribal life
- 1871-Congress stop making treaties with the Native Americans
- 1882-Congress created a 'Court of Indian Offenses' to try Native Americans that broke government rules
- 1879-50 Pawnee,Kiowa & Cheyenne youths were the first in the "Carlisle Indian School" in Carlisle, PA---the school taught them machinery, they cut their hair, made them speak English and they weren't allowed to wear Indian clothing
- the founder - Richard Pratt - said "Kill the Indian and save the man"
- Dawes Severalty Act-1887-Congress passed giving each Native American family head 160 acres, a single adult 80 acres, and a child 40 acres of tribal land-----------the remaining was sold to whites with the profits going to Indian schools
- -----------American citizenship was given to Native Americans who accepted the land, lived apart from the tribes and became 'civilized'
- 47 million acres were given to Native Americans--90 million acres of the most fertile land was sold to whites
- the final blow was the mass killings of buffalo--Buffalo Bill Cody killed millions of buffalo for their hides
- -----1872-1874 some 3 million buffalo a year were killed -- very little of the animal was used(unlike the Indians)
- 1883 the buffalo was almost extinct
- 1492----5 million Indians
- 1800---600,000 Indians
- 1900---250,000 Indians
- only example of mass government-enforced migration in America
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SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST
- 1870-1900--->took over more land (430 million acres) than was occupied in the years before 1870
- moved for many reasons--some for health, some because of religious persecution (Mormons-Utah)
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Men and Women on the Overland Trail
- move towards California and Oregon began during the 1849 California Gold Rush
- men then families walked, rode horses or traveled in caravans
- left point west of the Missouri in the spring
- -----1st leg--->300 miles along the Platte River to Fort Kearney in central Nebraska Territory--arriving in late May
- --------------the travel was flat with plenty of grass, wood and water
- there was also a great deal of trash thrown along the wagon trails
- -----2nd leg--->300 miles up the Platte River to Fort Laramie at the edge of Wyoming--arriving mid July
- -----3rd leg---> 280 miles to the South Pass - best way through the Rockies--------------the grass was dry, there was no wood, the land was barren and the mountain nights were cold
- -----next leg was either 340 miles north to Fort Hall, Idaho on the Snake River --or--south to the Great Salt Lake
- ------next 800 miles was along the Humboldt River in the heat of a Nevada summer
- ------last legs--->55 miles of desert--->70 miles up the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada--->100 miles down the western slopes
- arriving in California's Central Valley in October
- the trip took at least 6 months--16hr/day
- everyone worked from sunrise to sunset
- it was very difficult
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Land for the Taking
- US owned ~ 1 billion acres of land in 1860 mostly mountain/desert
- --->1862-Homestead Act gave away 48 million acres
- --->sold ~100 million to citizens and businesses
- --->granted 128 million to railroad companies
- --->sold large pieces to states
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**Homestead Act
- ---1862
- ---160 acres to anyone would could: pay $10 fee and pledge to live on it and cultivate it for 5 yrs
- ---1862-1900 600,000 families claimed free homesteads
- ---didn't work as well as hoped
- ---it costs a lot of money to move to the frontier, buy equipment
- ---the land wasn't ideal for planting
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**Timber Culture Act
- 1873
- allowed homesteaders to claim another 160 acres if they planted trees on a quarter of the land within 4 yrs
- successful: gave out 10 million acres
- increased forestation
- expanded farms to workable sizes
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**Desert Land Act
- 1877
- wanted by the cattle ranchers
- allowed people to buy up to 640 acres in dry states for $1.25 an acre provided they irrigate part of it within 3 yrs
- ranchers purchased much land fraudulently
- 2.6 million acres were sold
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**Timber and Stone Act
- 1878
- lands unfit for cultivation
- lands valuable for timber or stone
- 160 acres: anyone in CA, NV, OR & WA could buy up to 160 acres for $2.50 an acre
- ranchers and lumber companies purchased land fraudulently
- 3.6 million acres were sold
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**National Reclamation Act (Newlands Act)
- 1902
- proceeds from public land sales in 16 western states was used to finance irrigation projects in the drier states
- dam, canals, irrigation systems created successful cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix
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Railroad grants
- the railroad companies were the west's largest landowners
- the railroad companies set up land departments that sold the land they owned along the railways, arranged credit and even taught immigrants how to farm
- ------------------2/3 of all homestead claims failed
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Territorial Government
- Northwest Ordinance 1787:
- established the rules for territories to become states
- the president appointed the governor and judges in each territory
- Congress gave them their duties, set budgets, and oversaw all activities
- ***Territories depended on the federal government for everything
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The Spanish-Speaking Southwest
- 1800's most Spanish speaking people in the country lived in CA, AZ, NM, TX, CO
- southwest frontier was more Spanish-American than Anglo-American
- Spanish and Mexican created ways of distributing land and water
- ----------land grants to communities for grazing, people as rewards for service, and Native American pueblos
- Southern California descendants of the original colonizers lost their land to drought and mortgages--->a lot became bandidos-criminals
- 1880 1/4 of Los Angeles were Spanish speaking
- until--->1940s majority of NM was Spanish speaking
- 1888--Las Gorras Blancs (white caps) a secret Spanish American group tried to stop white from coming into Las Vegas
- Spanish Mexican heritage---men headed the family, women had economic rights, Roman Catholic
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THE BONANZA WEST
- mining, cattle and land bonanzas shaped the west
- Instant cities rose up quickly around gold strikes, railroads and the like (San Francisco, Salt Lake City & Denver for example)
- looking to get rich quick
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The Mining Bonanza
- -Half of the new mining settlers planned on providing the other half (the miners) with goods and services
- -the builders of the Central Pacific RR (Stanford & Huntington)-originally had a general store in Sacramento selling shovels to miners
- -Stephen Field a justice of the Supreme Court originally set up a law practice in CA
- -The California God Rush of 1842 began the mining boom
- -individual miners mined until they could mine no more------>large corporations moved in with large equipment and mined some more
- -1859 gold -- Pikes Peak (CO) Carson River Valley (NV) on Davidson Mt-Virginia City arose 1872
- -Comstock Lode (NV) 1859-1879 $306 million in gold and silver
- -1873 Big Bonanza
- -Black Hills gold rush (1874) Sioux hunting grounds, military tried to keep them out, Custer confirmed the find --- -Deadwood=lawless mining camp
- -Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok
- -Town such as Deadwood became rural urbanized towns requiring a government, sanitation and law enforcement
- -solitary and competitive miners set up mining "districts", & made rules-size and boundaries of claims,settling disputes and dealing with crime
- -1/4-1/2 of the population of mining camps were foreign-1860's 1/3 were Chinese
- the Chinese worked mines other had deserted finding gold
- -1850 California passed a Foreign Miners' Tax charging them a $20 monthly license fee
- -1882-Congress pass the Chinese Exclusion Act suspending immigration of Chinese for 10 yrs
- -1890's the mining rush was over---it helped pay for the Civil War & provided money for industrialization
- -NV,ID,Montana became state early because of mining
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Gold from the Roots Up:The Cattle Bonanza
- Cattle ranching dominated the open range from 1865-1885
- Mexican cowboys- vaqueros-developed way of branding, roundups and roping
- Joseph McCoy (IL) began shipping longhorn cattle from Kansas east on the railroads
- association were formed by ranchers to enforce rules for owning, branding, roundups and drives
- 1880 - 6 million cattle had been driven north
- barbed wire was invented and used to separate land
- 1885-president ordered cattle ranchers out of Indian Territory in OK into the crowded northern ranges
- the winters 1885-1887 were very hard-many cattle died
- 1905-the last northern roundup
- --->the southwest and plains began raising sheep
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Sodbusters on the Plains: The Farming Bonanza
- millions of farmers moved into the west after 1870--1st in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and South Dakota
- 1870-1900--more land than every was cultivated
- the Indians were pushed out of OK
- 1900-west had nearly 30% of the countries population
- 1870-1900 Plains'(Dakotas, western Nebraska, Kansas & eastern Colorado) population tripled
- 1879--6 thousand blacks-"Exodusters" settled 20,000 acres of land
- problems--->little water, and lumber for houses and fences
- winters were very cold with bad storms
- summers were very hot +100 and severe rainstorm destroyed crops--as did locust (grasshoppers)
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New Farming Methods
- 1874-Joseph Glidden (IL)-barbed wire--a cheap and effective fencing
- dry farming--furrow 12-14 inches deep & filled with a dust mulch slowed evaporation
- wheat that could take the weather on the Plains was imported form Europe and planted
- Farm technology improved farming:
- 1877--chilled iron plow
- 1869-- spring tooth harro
- 1874--grain drill
- 1880--lister
- 1866--baling press
- 1876--hay loader
- 1878--harvester with cord binder
- 1890--more than 900 corporations made farm equipment
- 1868-Samuel Johnson (Yale) published "How Crops Grow
- 1870-"How Crops Feed was published
- 1887--the Hatch Act--supported agricultural experiment station to share discoveries
- late 1870s--large bonanza farms
- 1885-1890--severe droughts crippled the large farms
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Discontent on the Farm
- 1867--National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry-"Grange"-provided social, cultural and educational activities
- --->set up co-ops, grain elevators, warehouses,insurance companies and farm equipment factories
- Granges failed but led the way for the Farmers' Alliance
- 1887 farming boom ends
- by 1890 American farmers were growing more than they could consume
- --->exported large amounts of wheat and other crops
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The Final Fling
- March 1889--Congress forced the Creek & Seminole tribe out of their land
- April 22, 1889---President Harrison opened the Oklahoma District to settlement
- 20,000 homesteads were claimed
- 1.92 million acres of Oklahoma were settle
- 'The west was settled by a set of waves-Anglo, Mexican American, African American, Asian American and others moving in many directions, crossing paths and interacting with each other and Native Americans'
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