Settling the Western Frontier

1. Settling the Western Frontier 1862-1890

2. The Great Plains • A vast stretch of land between the Missouri River and the Rocky mountains • Few early settlers stayed • Most just passed through on their way to the West Coast

3. The Stagecoach • Horse-drawn coaches • Carried people and the mail Westward • It took 3 weeks to get from St. Louis, Mo. to Sacramento, Ca. • Often attacked by robbers and American Indians

4. Wagon Trains • Ox-drawn wagons were heavy and slow • Large numbers traveled together for safety • Most people actually walked next to their wagons

5. The Transcontinental Railroad • Linked East and West • Central Pacific Railroad • Union Pacific Railroad • Built by Irish and Chinese immigrants • May 1869: Met in Promontory Point, Utah • The final link is a Golden Spike • News of its completion goes by telegraph

6. Mining • Gold discovered near Pikes Peak, Co. at the start of the Civil War • Prospectors mined for gold • Gold and silver are discovered in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming • Similar to the California gold rush of 1849 • Lack of “law & order”

7. Cattle Country • Longhorn cattle • Raised in Texas • Every calf is branded • Cowhands drive herds over the Chisholm Trail • New railroads helped grow the industry • Stampedes & rustlers • Saloons and gambling houses

8. The Law • Outlaws disrupted towns and commerce • People needed protection • U.S. Marshalls like Wild Bill Hickok enforced the law

9. The Homestead Act • In 1862, Congress passed a law making it easy for pioneers to own land • Settlers got 160 acres of land • You had to promise to live on it for 5 years

10. Homesteaders • Ground hard to plow • Little rain • Few trees for fuel • Sod houses • Windmills pumped water above ground

11. The Plains Indians • Hunters and nomads • Depended on the buffalo for sustenance • Cheyenne, Comanche, Blackfeet, Sioux

12. Buffalo Bill Cody • Famous buffalohunter • Slaughtered more than 4,000 buffalo in 18 months • His Wild West Shows glorify settlement of the Great Plains

13. Indian Wars • Indians are forced onto reservations • Many battles kill thousands by 1870 • The government promised their way of life would be protected • Most treaties were fraudulent

14. Gold Causes More Trouble • In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills, S.D. • The land was sacred to the Sioux • Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defended their land • Gen. George Custer and his men are killed

15. Chief Joseph • The Nez Perez flee to Canada from Idaho • They travel 1,500 miles from their reservation pursed by the U.S. Army • Chief Joseph surrenders 30 miles from the Canadian border

16. Chief Red Cloud • Chief of the Oglala Sioux • In 1870, Red Cloud traveled to Washington D.C. and pleads for peace • He spoke of broken treaties, dishonest government agents, fear, and misunderstanding

17. A Voice for Justice • Helen Hunt Jackson • Writer and activist • A Century of Dishonor • Details mistreatment of Native Americans

18. The Dawes Act • Congress forces Native Americans to assimilate • Lands divided into family sized farms • Those who accepted land became citizens • This destroyed Native American culture and traditional living styles

19. Burry My Heart at Wounded Knee • Ghost Dance-religious movement • 7th Cavalry massacres 290 men, women, and children • Marked end of fighting between the U.S. government and American Indians

20. New States • Many people settled on the western frontier lands • 13 states were created from 1864-1912 • The frontier was finally “conquered” • 1864 Nevada • 1867 Nebraska • 1876 Colorado • 1889 North Dakota • 1889 South Dakota • 1889 Montana • 1889 Washington • 1890 Idaho • 1890 Wyoming • 1896 Utah • 1907 Oklahoma • 1912 New Mexico • 1912 Arizona