U. S. History Since 1877

1. U. S. History Since 1877 Chapter 13 Settling the West

2. Settling the West • 13.1 Miners and Ranchers • 13.2 Farming • 13.3 Plains Indians

3. 13.1 Settling the West • Mining Industry • Railroads • Ranching • Farming

4. Chapter 13 Objectives • AHSGE: • 5.1Identify and evaluate the events that led to the settlement of the West. • ACOS: • 1.) Explain the transition of the United States from an agrarian society to an industrial nation prior to World War I.

5. Mining Industry • Prospectors traveled west to find gold and silver. • At first, they used a process called placer mining. • This required tools like picks, shovels, and pans. • They searched for mineral deposits near the surface.

6. Technology and History 1 Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

8. Mining Industry • Many settlers were unsuccessful because they did not search deep enough. • Next, they began quartz mining, which mined deep below the surface. • Frontier towns would quickly boom.

9. Mining Industry • Henry Comstock discovered the Comstock Lode, a rich deposit of silver. • Virginia City, Nevada instantly became a boomtown when people heard about the Comstock Lode. • Settlers would leave when the gold and silver ran out, creating a boom and bust cycle for frontier towns.

10. Ghost Town

11. Railroads • Railroads were soon extended to the West to connect the boom towns. • Farmers and ranchers settled the West after railroads were built. • In 1889, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana became states as a result of the population increase.

12. Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies • Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. • Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks. • Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such. • Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. • 'Cos they'll never stay home and they're always alone. • Even with someone they love.

13. Ranching • Eastern cattle could not survive on the sparse prairie land in the West. • The Texas longhorn was a breed of cattle that descended from Mexican cattle. • Longhorns had adapted to the area. • They roamed free on the open range.

14. Ranching • The Civil War and the expansion of the railroad system contributed to the growth of the ranching industry. • Ranchers rounded up cattle and herded them to the railroads in a journey called the long drive. • Most cowboys were former Confederates escaping Reconstruction in the South.

15. Circa 1890

16. Ranching • Some cowboys were Hispanic or African American. • Nat Love was a black cowboy. • He was born a slave in Tennessee. • He was freed at the end of the Civil War and traveled west.

17. Ranching • Cowboys lived dangerous lives but often exaggerated their tales. • These stories became “dime novels” and created the “Wild West.”

19. Farming • Farmers and ranchers often fought over territory. • Farms blocked the routes of cattle drives. • Barbed wire helped settle the disputes. • The range was mostly fenced off. • Barbed wire helped “tame” the “Wild West.” • Herds were then kept on fenced-in ranches.

20. 13.2 Farming • The Great Plains • The Wheat Belt • The Frontier • Turner Thesis Frederick Jackson Turner

21. Chapter 13 Objectives • AHSGE: • 5.1Identify and evaluate the events that led to the settlement of the West. • ACOS: • 1.) Explain the transition of the United States from an agrarian society to an industrial nation prior to World War I.

22. The Great Plains • This area consists mostly of sparse grasslands. • Railroads opened the Great Plains up for settlement. • Railroad companies sold land along the railroads at low prices.

23. The Great Plains • In 1862, the government tried to encourage settlement by passing the Homestead Act. • After paying a $10 registration fee, an individual could apply for a homestead. • A homestead was a tract of public land available for settlement. • After living on the land for three to five years, a homesteader would own the land. • Homesteaders could claim up to 160 acres of land. • This law provided a legal framework for settling the land with clear property deeds.

24. The Wheat Belt • Wheat became as important to the Great Plains as cottons was to the South. • It could survive drought better than other crops. • New methods and tools helped cultivate the area.

25. The Wheat Belt • Dry farming is a way of planting seeds deep into the ground where there is moisture. • Loose soil was easily blown away in the area.

26. The Wheat Belt • People who farmed the plains became known as sodbusters. • Commercial farms used new machinery to cover thousands of acres. • These farms became known as bonanza farms because of the huge profits they made. • The increased production of wheat in the Great Plains earned the area a new nickname: the Wheat Belt.

27. The Frontier • In 1889, the government opened the Oklahoma area for settlement. • Within hours, over 10,000 people rushed to Oklahoma to settle the area. • This created the Oklahoma Land Rush and closed the frontier.

28. Turner Thesis • Frederick Jackson Turner, an American historian, published a thesis claiming the frontier had helped develop the character of America. • Frontier life presented opportunities for social advancement, the spread of democracy, and adventure. • The Turner thesis emphasized individual effort in the American success story.

29. Discussion Question: • Why did some people feel that the closing the frontier was the end of an era?

30. 13.3 Plains Indians • Culture • Encroachment • Dakota Sioux • Lakota Sioux_________________ • Sand Creek Massacre • Battle of Little Big Horn • Battle of Wounded Knee • Assimilation General Custer

31. Chapter 13 Objectives • AHSGE: • 5.1Identify and evaluate the events that led to the settlement of the West. • ACOS: • 1.) Explain the transition of the United States from an agrarian society to an industrial nation prior to World War I.

32. Culture • Numerous tribes of Native Americans lived in the Plains. • They depended largely on the buffalo population for food. • Thus, they were nomads roaming the Plains in search for buffalos.

33. Culture • The army encouraged white hunters to kill buffalo. • This would force the Native Americans onto the reservations.

34. Culture • Gender determined daily tasks for individuals. • Men hunted for food, traded goods, and fought against their enemies. • Women cared for children, cooked, and prepared hides. Dakota Sioux

35. Encroachment • As railroads brought settlers, Native Americans began competing with the settlers for land. • Indians were deprived of hunting grounds. • The U.S. Army often forced various Indian tribes to sign treaties forfeiting their claims to the land.

36. Encroachment • These treaties also often required the tribes to relocate to Indian reservations. • Some Native American tribes resisted with violence.

37. Dakota Sioux • The Dakota Sioux were mistreated by Congress and the army. • Chief Little Crow tried to intervene for his people. • Congress failed to pay annuities on time as agreed. • Little Crow asked traders to provide food on credit. Dakota Sioux

38. Dakota Sioux • Andrew Myrick said, “If they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung.” • The Dakota Sioux soon rebelled. • Myrick was found shot to death with grass stuffed in his mouth.

39. Red Cloud Lakota Sioux • The army sent troops to prevent more trouble among settlers and the Indians. • It actually created more resistance. • Chiefs Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull led successful attacks against the U.S. army. • Crazy Horse lured Captain William Fetterman and his troops into an ambush. • They destroyed the American regiment in Fetterman’s Massacre in Wyoming. Crazy Horse Sitting Bull

40. Sand Creek Massacre • The Cheyenne and Arapaho met conflict with miners at Sand Creek. • Chief Black Kettle tried to negotiate peace with the settlers. • Several hundred Cheyenne Indians were attacked while waiting to negotiate a peace treaty at Camp Lyon.

41. Sand Creek Massacre • Most of the details remain a mystery. • 14 soldiers died. • 69-600 Indians could have died in the battle. • Congress responded by forming the Indian Peace Commission to create two reservations. • It was a failed attempt at peace.

42. Battle of Little Big Horn • Americans settlers continued to move into the reservations. • Many of the Lakota decided to abandon the reservation to hunt near the Bighorn Mountains. • Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer led the Seventh Cavalry.

43. Battle of Little Big Horn • They attacked the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne Indians on June 25, 1876 by the Little Bighorn River. • About 2,500 Indian warriors repelled Custer’s charge. • Custer and his men were all killed in “Custer’s Last Stand.” • Newspapers reported the event as a vicious Indian massacre. • This intensified Indian persecution.

44. Battle of Wounded Knee • Lakota Sioux Indians who remained on the reservations continued to perform a forbidden Ghost Dance. • The government blamed Sitting Bull for the resistance. • Sitting Bull was killed in an exchange of gunfire.

45. Battle of Wounded Knee • Other Ghost Dance participants fled the reservation. • The army pursued the Indians to Wounded Knee Creek where a battle erupted. • 25 soldiers were killed and about 200 Lakota men, women, and children were killed.

46. Assimilation • Some Americans protested the mistreatment of the Native Americans. • They hoped the Indians would assimilate into American culture. • The Dawes Act divided the reservations into individual allotments. • Families received 160 acres. • Single adults received 80 acres. • Children received 40 acres. • Excess land was sold at low prices. • Proceeds were supposed to help the Indians.

47. Assimilation • The Indians received no training or tools to cultivate the land. • They soon plunged further into poverty. • This attempt at assimilation ultimately failed.

48. Chapter 13 Test Tomorrow!