1、The West,1860-1900,Native Americans,Plains Indians Culture,Semi-nomadic hunting culture, centered around buffalo Adaptations: horse & gun By the 1840s, only 30,000 Native Americans remain east of the Mississippi Major groups: Sioux Cheyenne Blackfoot Pawnee Nez Perce Apache,Indian Policy, 1831-1887,
2、1850s, white movement into the Great Plains leads to conflicts with western tribes Discovery of gold and silver in CA, CO, NV, MT Homestead Act 1863 160 acres free land per settler RRs Pacific Railway Act 1862 Transcontinental RR built 1863-1869 Treaty of Ft. Laramie (1851): tribes accept “boundarie
3、s”, promised to leave emigrants alone on westward trails Problem: no central tribal authority; many subgroups dont accept terms,Indian Policy, 1831-1887 (2),By 1860s, whites encroaching on Indian lands 1850-1860: 150,000 Minnesotans illegally move onto Sioux lands,Peace commisisoners gather at Ft La
4、ramie,The Indian Wars,Sporadic warfare and raiding from 1860s to 1870s, tribes forced to relocate on reservations,Major Indian Conflicts,Sioux Uprising, 1862 Sioux Indians attempt to move back onto land in Minnesota.,Major Indian Conflicts (2),Sand Creek Massacre, 1864 Col. John Chivington attacks a
5、 Cheyenne settlement (under a flag of truce) at Sand Creek. Fetterman Massacre, 1866 US building a road through Sioux hunting grounds. Sioux warrior Crazy Horse attacks the construction party and mutilates the bodies. Sioux call off attacks and sign the Treaty of 1868, promising their land in the Bl
6、ack Hills will be protected.,Major Indian Conflicts (2),Red River War, 1874-75 US wages war on Comanche and Kiowa Indians who refuse to settle on a reservation. Gen. Philip Sheridan: “destroy their villages, kill their warriors, bring back all women and children.”Second Sioux War, 1876 Gen. George A
7、. Custer investigates claims of gold in the Black Hills. Settlers encroaching on Sioux land; US wont protect Sioux, but offers to buy land. War with Sioux resultsends tragically for George Custer athte Battle of Little Big Horn and for the Sioux who lose the war.,Wounded Knee, 1890 Wovoka: Sioux med
8、icine man who promotes the “Ghost Dance” religion. Apocalyptic: dance will bring about the return of buffalo and death of whites. 25,000 Sioux At Pine Ridge Reservation, US troops attempt to disarm 350 Sioux indians at Wounded Knee Creeka massacre results.,A Sioux “Ghost Shirt” worn by Indians perfo
9、rming the Ghost Dance. Some Sioux believed that those wearing these special garments would be impervious to bulletsa fact proven false at Wounded Knee.,Destruction of Indian Life,Extermination of the Buffalo In 1865, over 15 million buffalo on the prairies: source of food, fuel, shelter, clothing, e
10、tc. Railroads speed the extermination of the herds buffalo seen as a nuisance: herds block tracks labor gangs consume buffalo meat William “Buffalo Bill” Cody shoots 4,000 in 18 months working for the Kansas Pacific RR sportsmen pay to shoot buffalo out of train windows By 1885 less than 3,000 buffa
11、lo remaining,Destruction of Indian Life (2),Dawes Act 1887 a misguided attempt at reform dissolves tribes, established private land ownership (160 acres per household) funds from remaining reservation land used for education and “assimilation” by 1900, Indians had lost 50% of the 156 million acres a
12、llotted under the act,Destruction of Indian Life (3),A Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson Carlisle Schools (PA),Three “Frontiers”,Cattle Farming Mining,The Cattle Frontier,Cattle Industry,Longhorn Cattle First brought to America by the Spaniards, along with horses Those that escaped thrived o
13、n the southern plains,Prior to the Civil War, cattle ranching was limited Ranchers sold hide and meat to local markets 1849 some ranchers drive cattle to market in California to collect $25-$125/head 1854 cattle driven to Muncie, Indiana and then shipped by rail to NYC. Stampede on 3rd Avenue! Post
14、Civil War demand for beef grows, esp in cities How to get cattle to market?,Joseph McCoy Creates first stockyards in Abilene, KS 1866-1888: 4 million steer driven north by hired hands (1/4 black; 1/10 Mexican) Beef Barons: Swift, Armour industrializemeat packing.,Demise of the Cattle Drive Populatio
15、n of west grows; farmers and ranchers dont want herds trampling over their land. Barbed wire Joseph Glidden. Invented in 1874 10,000 lbs sold. By 1878 27 million lbs sold Great Freeze Up of 1887 Temps below -68 F Overgrazing and drought Cattle breeding/ranching,The Farming Frontier,Farming Expands W
16、est,Homestead Act 1862 160 acres per settler free IF A settler can live on and improve land for 5 years Pays $30 Also authorizes the immediate sale of land a low cost ($1.25/acre) Purpose: rapid settlement; not $ is the goal. 500,000 families move west under the HA Railroads Railroad boom 1850-1871
17、Railroads given land grants to pay cost. Land then sold to settlers, many are immigrants. Transcontinental RR completed in 1869 Union Pacific and Central Pacific. Oklahoma Land Rush 1889 2 million acres given away in 24 hrs. “boomers” and “sooners”,Factors encouraging settlement Cheap, accessible la
18、nd Railroads New railroads help bring settlers out and send crops to eastern markets RRs given land by govt as payment; sell land to immigrants Technologies Steel plow Dry farming techniques west of 100th meridian, rainfall drops from 20-30in/yr to 10-20in/yr Drought resistant crops (Russian wheat,
19、etc) used Windmills pump water up from wells Barbed wire McCormicks Harvester-Thresher Can cut and thresh wheat in one pass 1830: takes 180 minutes to produce a bushel of grain; by 1900: 10 min Seed drill High prices. Wheat and corn prices up due to crop failures in Europe in the 1860s and Civil War
20、 in America,Life in the West Hardships Lonely existence Difficult conditions: heat, wind, dust, insects, rattlesnakes, drought, and harsh winters. Locusts Lack of water and trees Adaptations Dugouts and Soddies Locusts used as a food source Buffalo chips (dung) used as fuel,A dugout (above) and a so
21、ddy (below),The Cycle of Debt High prices for crops encourage investment. Farmers get loans to purchase machinery to produce more. Drops in the prices in the 1870s make it difficult for farmers to repay loans. Bonanza Farms High prices encourage massive investment Huge farms run by corporations and
22、investors Some had 10,000+ acres in cultivation Many fold because of droughts in the 1880s/90s.Railroads Farmers grow upset at railroad rates that charge western farmers more then eastern farmers, and sometimes charge more for hauling items short distances than they do long distances.,The Farmers Mo
23、vement,In response to hardships, debt, and discontent, and anger at railroad monopolies, farm organizations emerge.,The Grange (1860s-70s) Originally a communal organization Cooperative efforts: grain elevators, negotiated rates with RRs Political efforts: Granger LawsFarmers Alliance (1880s) Politi
24、cal organization (a modern day P.A.C.) Endorses candidates: Alliance Yardstick Southern Alliance; Colored Farmers Alliance. Populist Party (1892) Significant 3rd party that challenges the Dems and Republicans in 1892 & 1896,A grain elevator.,Schematic of a Grain Elevator,Farmers Alliance & the Popul
25、ist Party,Populist Party & the Election of 1896,Populist successes in 1892 and discontent over the Panic of 1893 pave way for a major campaign in 1896 Central issue: bi-metallism Gold bugs vs. silverites “Popocrats” a fusion ticket Populist Party nominates William Jennings Bryan (NE) and VP Tom Wats
26、on (GA) Democrats nominate WJB and VP Arthur Sewall (a Maine banker),Election of 1896,GOP nominates William McKinley (OH) Protectionist Marcus Hanna (Cleveland) runs the campaign Backed by wealthy industrialists Bryan campaigns vigorously, speaking in 27 states and traveling over 18K miles McKinleys
27、 campaign targets industrial workers, immigrants, and business interests.,The Mining Frontier,Mining,Gold Rush Gold discovered in California in 1848 Most surface gold is gone by the 1850s. Mining in the West 1858 Gold and silver discovered in Pikes Peak, Colorado. 1859 The Comstock Lode is discovere
28、d; $340 million dollars of gold and silver mined 1860-1890 Settlers pour into the western states of Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Montana, and Idaho. Industry becomes highly mechanized, with large businesses dominating. Mining towns “boom” then “bust” “Helldorados” 1 in 3 buildings is a saloon.,Map illustrating the location of mining and supply towns in the western US in the late 19th century,
