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Settlement of the West

Explore the impact of Manifest Destiny on American expansion to the Pacific, the treatment of Native Americans, and the closure of the frontier. Learn about the lure of precious metals, the Indian Wars, the influence of railroads, availability of farmland, and the cattle industry.

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Settlement of the West

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  1. Settlement of the West

  2. Directions: • Following Mrs. Mercer, fold your paper in half • On the back – draw a line down the middle of the top half • Label the top 2 boxes - Manifest Destiny Indian Treatment • Label the bottom box - Frontier Closed

  3. Manifest Destiny – proclaimed by John L. Sullivan • Used to justify American desire to expand the US to the Pacific Ocean • Assumed that white Americans were a special people • Advocates believed that expansion would be a peaceful process

  4. The Great Plains • Less than 20 inches of rainfall per year • Called “The Great American Desert” by Stephen Long

  5. Lure of Precious Metals • Fortune seekers are encouraged to move West Boomtowns sprang up near mining sites then abandoned & left ghost towns when minerals ran out – “boom to bust” Towns were full of men who were often lawless & rowdy • 1849 Gold Rush (“49ers”) & other strikes Sutter’s Mill, California - gold Comstock Lode, Nevada - silver Leadville, Colorado - silver Tombstone, Arizona - silver • Klondike Gold Rush, Alaska (1896 – 99) 100,000 set out for Yukon - harsh conditions • Effects Population growth led to new states Mining led to railroads & physical changes to land

  6. Types of Mining • Placer Mining • By hand (individual) • Used picks, shovels, & pans • Used sluices • Quartz Mining • By corporations • Dug deep below the surface

  7. The Indian Wars • Sand Creek Massacre (1864) • 150 peaceful Cheyenne women & children killed • Fetterman’s Massacre (1866) • Sitting Bull, Red Cloud & Crazy Horse lured, ambushed & killedwhole regiment • Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876) • Lt. Col. Custer attacked camp & all troops were killed • Tragedy at Wounded Knee (1890) • US Cavalry opened fire on 300 unarmed Native Americans • Brought an end to the Indian wars, and an entire era General George Armstrong Custer

  8. Indian Treatment • INDIAN PEACE COMMISSION & BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS-created & ran reservations • RESERVATIONS-unfertile land natives were driven to by the Homestead Act (settlers), the disappearance of the buffalo & the railroad • THE DAWES ACT- divided the reservations into individual allotments to farm, intended to encourage Indians to give up tribal cultures but was a failure • GOVERNMENT POLICY: ASSIMILATION- forcing Native Americans to absorb into the culture of US • AMERICANIZATION- adopting culture of mainstream Americans, wanted tribal bonds destroyed • AMERICAN INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT 1924- passed by Congress, granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born in US

  9. Map 13 of 45

  10. Impact of Railroads • Made travel easier • Reduced travel time from (6 mos to 6 days) • Attracted settlers to the West • Created a national economy – could ship goods over distances • Stimulated industry & economic development • Sharpshooters on trains destroyed buffalo, which was vital to survival of the Plains Indians (used for food, clothing, shelter) • Resulted in disappearance of the frontier - Great Plains

  11. Promontory, Utah

  12. 1871 to 1875, the US supported the extermination of 11 million buffalo.

  13. Availability of Farmland • Federal Land Grants = Homestead Act 1862- granted 160 acres of free land to encourage settlement of the Great Plains • Requirements: • Head of a family & 21 years • Must build a house & plant crops • 1,400,000 homesteads granted • Eventually led to the disappearance of the frontier - Great Plains

  14. Homesteaders

  15. The Cattle Industry • Cowboys would drive cattle North to RR in Kansas  Chicago slaughterhouses • “Long Drive” cattle would graze (eat) on grass on the OPEN RANGE- unfenced lands not belonging to anyone • Tales of the cowboys daring adventures became dime novels • Overgrazing destroyed much of Great Plains • Farmers closed the range using BARBED WIRE – ends cattle drives

  16. Ranching and Cattle Drives Chisolm Trail is the most famous cattle trail

  17. Texas Longhorn Cattle • Their existence allowed for the cattle industry on the plains • Lean and rangy • By 1865 - 6 million roamed Texas

  18. Farming on the Great Plains Sodbusters (Great Plains farmers) adapted to harsh environment! Obstacles  Solutions (new inventions) • Little rainfall/drought  Dug deep wells, planted wheat, windmills • Few trees/timber  SOD HOUSES “soddies” • Tough soil  Steel plow, seed drills, threshing machines • Extreme temps Dry farming (planting seeds deep in the ground where there was moisture) • Snowed in winter months/Loneliness/Isolation • Locusts/grasshoppers • Cattle & other animals  Barbed wire

  19. Frontier Closed • 1889 – Oklahoma Land Rush • 1890 – Census Bureau reports that there is no longer a true frontier left in America – end of an era • Frontier had provided a “safety-valve of social discontent” – a place to make a fresh start

  20. Assignment • Complete your vocabulary for the unit • Define terms for Westward Expansion in your binder • Fill in boxes for ACTS/DOCUMENTS • BE AWESOME!!!

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