Goal 4: Western Expansion

Goal 4: Western Expansion

Plains Indians • Great Plains or Great American Desert • Thought to be uninhabitable • Americans generalized all “Indians” into one group without recognizing the significant differences between tribes • Nomadic lifestyle • Moved with the herds and the land • Importance of the horses and buffalo • Apart of the land and not things to own • Communal living • Shared land as it wasn’t seen as a possession or what was produced/hunted from the land • Common use of the tribe’s land • Common good over individual • Sioux, Lakota, Cheyenne, Apache, Nez Pierce, Blackfeet

American Interests • Lands given by treaty to Indian groups • Taken back after gold and silver are found on them • California Gold Rush, 1849 • Drive to acquire and become wealthy • Drastic population increase • Homestead Act, 1862 • 160 Acres given free in exchange for: a road being built, a well dug and a 5 year promise • Transcontinental Railroad building • Massacre of the buffalo herds • Killed 100s and let meat spoil, problematic for railroad so eliminated • Central and Pacific Railroads • Need to connect coast to coast • Central began in California • Pacific began in Nebraska • Promontory Point, Utah, 1869 • Meeting of the Central and the Pacific Railroads

Indian Restrictions • Treatise were broken • Indians forced into reservations • Government limited contact with settlers in order to prevent issues • Government payment and supplies were not delivered as promised • Treatise were agreed to by both sides and both sides did not follow the treatise • Indians uprisings • Dakota Uprising, 1862 • Massacre at Sandy Creek, 1864 • Caused increased violence as Indians were attacked while on reservation • John Chivington leads Army unit in massacre of Cheyenne • Fetterman’s Massacre, 1866 • Fetterman’s small army band crushed by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud’s warriors • Attack by Indians to prevent a road that was planned for gold mines

Indian Wars – Defeat of Plains Indians • Gold found in the Black Hills of the Dakotas • Sioux try to defend area promised to them • By treatise • Army sends George Custer • Ahead with 250 men • Little Bighorn, 1876 (Montana) • Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull lead warriors as Custer and all his men were killed • Crazy Horse surrenders and Sitting Bull flees to Canada but is captured • Custer is anxious to begin battle and starts before rest of calvary arrives • Nez Perce Indians, 1877 • Led by Chief Joseph, they refused to go to reservation • Had assimilated and “christianized” • Chased by the Army for over 1000 miles until captured • “I will fight no more forever” • Captured and banished to Oklahoma – lobbies Washington for Indian rights

Assimilation • “Century of Dishonor” • Helen Hunt Jackson • Shattered treatise and mistreatment • Recognition of Indians in Court • Some people supported assimilation of Indians • Indian children are educated like white settlers • Civilize and Christianize • Dawes Act passed, 1887 • Attempt to speed up assimilation • Indians treated as individuals and not as nations/tribes • 160 Acres to each family – based on calculation of what was needed in the east to support a family; calculation was too low and was not enough land • Most of land was eventually taken by speculators • Was supposed to stay in the family for 25 years to allow children to learn how to farm

End of Indian Lifestyle • Assimilation – to make apart of the established culture • Destruction of the buffalo • Forcing Indians to become farmers and settle in one spot • Ghost Dance Movement • Believed it would return the land to the Indians and the Buffalo would return as well • Sioux spiritual dance • Dance was outlawed • Sitting Bull was believed to be responsible to they attempt to arrest him and the result is Wounded Knee • Wounded Knee, 1890 • Massacre of several hundred Sioux • Ground was covered in the blood of the dead who had attempted to flee • Indian Era Comes to an End

Goal 4 Ranching and Mining

Open Range • Great Plains area – “Great American Desert” • No boundaries to man or cattle • Texas Longhorn, cattle was branded to tell owner but all cattle roamed freely and was collected for cattle drives in the spring • Low population • No need for fences • No need for law enforcement

Cattle Kingdom • Greater urban populations demanded more food • Immigration increase across the country as well as people getting back to normal after the war • Cattle drives to meet railroads • Access to eastern markets • Developed the legend of the cowboy • Legend of the cowboy • Mexican influence • Trained horses to collect cattle that roamed freely (Texas Longhorn) • Very lonely and lawless lifestyle

Cattle’s Decline • Too many cattle – supply was higher than demand (surplus) causing prices to drop but expenses to rise to ship cattle and feed cattle • Disease • Drought – brutal winters and hot summers killed grass and cattle • Barbed wire fences blocked open range • Cattle were not able to roam and the food supply disappeared

Mining Towns • Gold Rushes – mass chaos to find gold • Population problems, law enforcement issues, food issues • California, 1849 – 49ers, admittance to the Union as free or slave • Black Hills – Sioux Indian land • Comstock Lade • Alaska • Ghost Towns • Miners leave and follow the legends of the next strike somewhere else • Mines polluted water supply and many people poisoned

Mining Life • Large mix of people • Various backgrounds and expertise • Ethnicities varied • Many opportunities for everyone • Building towns and filling them with businesses • Traveling salesmen to profit off of settlers and Miners • Saloons, gambling • Profiteers from mining rush • Added to the “Wild West” • Hard luck • Very little surface gold for the influx of miners to find • Mining was dangerous

“ Wild West” • Legend of Adventure • Wild Bill Hickok • Calamity Jane • Wyatt Earp • Jesse James • Billy the Kid • Dime novels that told western tales • Glamerized the experience as the “Wild West” • Traveling shows – similar to the circus • Only last about 30 years • By 1890 it was declare there was no frontier – every mile had been settled according the census

Goal 4 Farmers and the Populists

Farmer’s Problems • Weather problems – droughts; tornadoes; harsh winters; flooding • Failing prices – costs to ship and harvest were higher than the price they could sell the produce for; led to surplus which led to decreased prices and high debt • Increasing debt – many became tenant farmers as they were so deep in debt • Dependant upon railroads – only way to transport to the markets back East and West • Need for cheaper money • Deflation and inflation

Railroad Abuses • Construction graft – passed the cost of building the railroad on to the people who used it to transport their goods • Bribes • Stock watering • Unfair pricing • Long haul • Short haul • All of these things lead to the farmer/rancher/settler not trusting the railroad, going further into debt; raising the price of food; the call for Free Silver; the Grange Movement; Populism

The Grange • Also called the “Patrons of Husbandry” • Began as a social group – organized by Oliver Kelley; educated members on new technology and techniques of farming • Evolved into a political group • Called for regulation of railroads • “Granger Laws” – mid-western state laws that regulated railroad abuses • Called for a set price for shipping freight • ICC – Interstate Commerce Act • Federal law that regulates commerce • Currency reform – farmers organize into co-ops to sell produce as a group and therefore reduce the cost to the individual to ship the produce

Populism - • Took the place of the Grange – based on Grange Movement Ideals; grassroots political party • Strong mid-west support – spread East and West quickly • Reform based party – grew quickly as it was not a 3rd party with a single issue • Omaha Platform, 1892 • Increase $ supply – free silver idea • Income tax – introduced as a means to pay for infastructure improvements • Secret ballots – prevent election ballot box corruption (Tammeny Ring) • 8 hour work day – appeal to the Eastern (urban) vote • Immigration control – stealing American jobs

Bryan and End of Populists • 1896 election – modern tactics of traveling the country and appealing to the common person • William McKinley Rep – support base was urban and upper class • Gold Standard • William Jennings Bryan-Dem/Pop • Free Silver – Populist ideal not initially supported by the democrats • “Cross of Gold Speech” – oppression of the American farmer and worker should end • McKinley wins election – beats Bryan again in the next election • Populism dies – Democrats; Bryan looses both elections

Goal 4 Socratic Discussion • Why did people move out West after the Civil War and what problems did they face? (Motivations, Consequences, Success/Failure) • What impact did American settlement in the West have on the Native Americans? • What factors are related to Populist Movement? • What inventions/technology were used in dealing with the American West? • What are some of the people, events, and terms that are associated with a rise in nationalism in America in the1800s?

Free Silver Crusade • Panic of 1893 – Overseas panic spreads to America and the psychological effects created a panic • Nation enters a recession – 4 years • Many people promote silver and gold standard for $ - solutions to the problem of not enough cash flowing • Would create a larger money supply – Silver widely available so high inflation • Gold standard only would decrease money supply – gold was less available and therefore the scarcity would make cash be more scarce as well; stability or deflation

Goal 4: Western Expansion