Westward Expansion

1. Westward Expansion

2. Federal Legislation Encourages Western Settlement • Lots of people had moved west of the Mississippi River before the Civil War seeking adventure or gold • During and after the war the federal government instituted laws to convince more people to settle the West • The Homestead Act allowed for 160 acres to be given to a settler who: • Was an American citizen (or in the process of becoming one) • Was 21 and the head of the family • Had to build a house on the property and live there at least 6 years • Pay $10 • By 1900 610,000 families had taken advantage of this opportunity, meaning the government gave away ~85 million acres

3. Federal Legislation Encourages Western Settlement • Another bill, the Morrill Land Grant Act, gave states land to sell and then use the profit to build colleges • Land speculators and families alike to advantage of the cheap acres • Many agricultural and mechanical (A&M) schools were built from the Morrill Land Grant Texas A&M University 2002 graduation ceremony (pictured-Dr. Bristo and former Sec. of Defense and former Pres. Of TAMU Robert Gates.) Texas A&M was established in 1876 under the Morrill Land Grant Act

4. Federal Legislation Encourages Western Settlement • Railroads also played a large role in westward settlement • The obvious reason is because with more access to transportation more people could move out there • However, there is a secondary reason that railroads were important • Union Pacific and Central Pacific RRs were given land to develop plus 10 miles on either side of the track • The RRs often sold (for a high price) these lands to settlers or businesses

5. Farming on the Great Plains • Farming was central to the early American identity • Many immigrants with families moved west to the Plains • Lured by recruitment posters in Eastern cities • Settling in the Mid-West was extremely challenging • Scorching summers and bitter winters • Contaminated water caused “prairie fever” (typhoid fever) • Blizzards, dust storms, and crop-eating insects were common • By 1900, 2/3rds of all homestead farms had failed • Those who survived did so through cooperation and interdependence • Men help each other with construction, while women lent support in daily chores

6. The Transformation of Agriculture on the Plains • The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was established in 1862 • By 1863, the USDA was teaching Plains farmers about new farming technology and methods that could help them be successful • Large bonanza farms rose as professional business models, using new technology to grow cash crops that could be sold back East and overseas • New technology and increased efficiency in the rise of bonanza farms pushed down the number of Americans participating in agriculture (60% in 1860 to 37% in 1900)

7. The Transformation of Agriculture on the Plains • Despite short-term success, the bonanza farms faced long-term trouble • Their high efficiency often led to over-production of grain, driving prices down drastically • To compensate, farmers would plant more grain, which made the prices even lower • Many farms failed and were foreclosed; farmers soon began to organize to lobby for federal assistance and to protect their interests

8. Women and Minorities on the Plains • Life for Plains women was lonely and dreary • During non-harvest seasons, men would go out to search for other work, leaving women alone on the farm for long periods of time • O Pioneers! (Willa Cather, 1913) and Giants of the Earth (O.E. Rolvaag, 1927) novelized and portrayed the struggles of farm women • Women were first given the right to vote in the West • In 1887, two towns in Kansas were the first to give women the vote (one quickly had a woman mayor) • Wyoming became the first state to grant women the right to vote • Wyoming calls itself “The Equality State”

9. Women and Minorities on the Plains • Many blacks moved west following the Civil War • Many lacked the finances and farming knowledge to be successful • Much of the same racial prejudice they experienced in the South was also present in the West • The Exodusters were the most prominent group of blacks to settle the Plains, moving west in 1879 • Still, less than 20% were successful

10. Mining and Lumbering in the West • After the Gold Rush in 1849 fell flat, rumors of other areas full of gold arose • Pike’s Peak and Comstock (NV) were two places that saw huge population booms due to the rumors • Even Californians moved East to strike it rich • Very little success was found in gold, but there was some success in silver • Lumber companies also moved to the Northwest • The Timber and Stone Act sold lands that were unsuitable for farming to “settlers” (a.k.a. lumber companies) • These companies quickly hired labor to cut down trees

11. Ranching in the West • Texas already had a profitable industry—ranching • Many of ideas about THE “West” comes from the long drives that cowboys took to move cattle from Texas to KA or MO • The long drive was not efficient (took too long and lost a lot of cows) • Farmers did not like the cowboys driving cattle through their farms • Barbed wire was invented in 1873 and farmers immediately started putting it up to keep cows out of their crops • This was the end of the open range system and cowboys

12. The Plight of Native Americans • Natives yet again found themselves losing land to Americans despite treaties that had been signed • Expansion also changed the migratory patterns of buffalo herds that the Natives depended on • We created a Bureau of Indian Affairs and created the policy that all Natives would be moved to SD or OK and they would be transformed from savages to civilized people • The Sioux resisted the most violently • They eventually agreed (after killing 88 Americans) to move to the Black Hills of SD • Shortly after, gold miners rushed to the area to lay claim • Sitting Bull led many of the tribe off of the reservation that was supposed to be theirs

13. The Plight of Native Americans • General George Custer was sent to get Sitting Bull and the tribe • Custer and his 200 men were killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn • This was the last major victory Natives have had against the American military • Reinforcements soon showed up and forced the Sioux back on the reservation • When the Sioux attempted to leave the reservation again the federal government killed 200 of the Sioux in the Massacre at Wounded Knee

14. The Plight of Native Americans • Other tribes also faced issues • The Nez Perce had been practicing a ritual called the Ghost Dance which was a chant about how wonderful it will be when the white devil is gone • White soldiers were terrified of the Ghost Dances and brought in troops to prevent them from behaving like that • Soldiers also made it a habit to slaughter the buffalo herds to force the Natives to depend on the White man for food, etc. • The Dawes Act stating that their reservations would be broken down into private property (remember that Natives were a communal society) • This would destroy their identity as tribes • Natives didn’t want to farm so they ended up selling “their” land to speculators

15. The Plight of Native Americans • Oklahoma, a.k.a. Indian Territory, was opened for settlement • Whites ran out to stake claims (the “boomers” claimed land that day while the “sooners” had come in a day or two early to lay claim) • Today, University of Oklahoma are the Boomer Sooners (better known by Aggies as “land thieves”) • By the end of the century almost all Natives were on reservations or being assimilated

16. The American Farmer and Populism • Farmers were suffering due to policies made in Washington • Congress favored high tariffs which hurt the farmers • Also, due to unstable currency, the farmers were becoming really nervous about their fates • During the Civil War we practiced “tight money” (less money in the system) • Farmers were convinced that this was causing their financial woes (not really though) • They also grew concerned when the federal government enacted the gold standard meaning every dollar had to be backed by gold

17. The Grange and Farmers’ Alliances • The Grange organization was found by the Western farmers • They worked together to develop discount systems for each other • They were convinced that the Railroads were taking advantage of them • The Grangers were able to get members of the Greenback Party elected; they supported their causes and the idea of printing more money • They could not get candidates elected in non-farm states though • The Farmers’ Alliances took the place of the Grange movement (there was a “colored” version too)

18. The Grange and Farmers’ Alliances • Their demands were laid out in the Ocala Platform, named after…you guessed it…Ocala, FL. • The included: • Federal regulation of railroads • Putting more money in circulation • Create a state level department of agriculture in each state • The federal government maintain warehouse were surpluses could be stores (the government would also pay the farmers for stuff that didn’t sell)

19. The Populist Campaign • The Farmers’ Alliance created the People’s Party (which then became the Populists • The Populist Party was intended to appeal to workers • They adopted some of the Ocala Demands but they also added: • Progressive income tax (which is what we have today) • Government ownership of transportation and communication (yes for communication, no for some transportation today) • Direct methods of democracy including recalls, referendums, etc.) • Called for the 8 hour work day • Called for the direct election of Senators (becomes the 17th Amendment)

20. Populism in the 1890s • Grover Cleveland was reelected in 1890 which angered the Populists because he supported the gold standard • When the 1894 election came around William McKinley was the Republican presidential candidate (a “gold bug”) • The Democrats put up William Jennings Bryan (a “silverite”) • His campaign speech included a comment saying “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!” • He could not win the northern states and thus lost the election

21. The Impact of the West on American Society • Dime store novels like Deadwood Dick: The Prince of the Road romanticized the West as a place full of gamblers, hard drinkers, and stagecoach robbers • Wild West Shows promoted by Buffalo Bill Cody and featuring Annie Oakley contributed to these myths as the showed mock battles with Indians, rodeos, and sharp shooting • Others wrote more realistic about the west • Frederick Jackson Turner wrote the Turner Thesis which explains that the frontier men and women were committed to self-improvement and democracy • Helen Hunt Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor which displayed the atrocities that the Natives were forced to endure • These three authors show the different perspectives that people had about the “Wild West”