United States History Chapter 7 Looking to the West ( )

Section 1 Moving West

Identify some of the factors that pushed settlers westward in the later 19 th century.  The Civil War displaced thousands of farmers, slaves, and others  Many moved west where the farmland was cheaper  Many moved west seeking a second chance  Many moved west to avoid ethnic and religious repression

Government Expansion Programs: Pacific Railways Act  (1862 & 1864) gave large land grants to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads  The railroad expansion provided new avenues of migration, the railroads sold portions of their land to arriving settlers [at a large profit]

Government Expansion Programs: Morrill Land-Grant Act  (1862) Distributed millions of acres of western lands to state governments in order to fund state agricultural colleges

Government Expansion Programs: Homestead Act  (1862) Gave 120 acres of land to citizens who met specific conditions At least 21 years old or the heads of families American citizen or immigrant filing for citizenship They built a certain size house on their claim and lived in it for 6 months a year Had to farm the land for 5 consecutive years

Section 2 Conflict with Native Americans

Explain the life of the Native Americans living on the Great Plains in the 19 th century.  Many were nomadic  Relied on both the horse and buffalo for survival

What was typically the chief cause of conflict between the United States and the Native Americans?  The conflicting views between settlers and natives in regards to the lands of the Great Plains The settlers believed they were justified in taking the land because they would make it more productive Natives viewed settlers as invaders

Define reservation.  Federal land set aside for Native Americans

Explain the treaty process with Native Americans. Were these treaties successful?  The treaties often involved land rights or passage agreements  Many of the treaties clouded in controversy  Treaties were hard to enforce  Native American frustration and anger led to the end of many treaties and violence

Native American Conflicts: Battle of Little Bighorn  (June 1876) American troops, under the command of Colonel Custer, were met by a massive assembly of force of Native Americans under Sioux chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse  Custer and his forces were slaughtered within the hour [Custer’s Last Stand]

Custer’s Last Stand

Native American Conflicts: Battle of Wounded Knee  During these tense times many Native Americans began to revert to old traditions in search for hope [Ghost Dance]; these actions made the American people nervous  Hoping to calm the people, Sitting Bull was taken into custody, but he hesitated and was shot and killed  Sitting Bull’s followers [350 people] were rounded up and disarmed, but somebody fired, more than 200 unarmed natives were killed  This was the last major episode of violence in the Indian Wars

Define assimilation.  Process by which people of one culture merge into and become part of another culture  Numerous Native American children were taken from the reservation and sent to schools to be educated “as Americans,” integrating them into white society

What did many whites hope to accomplish with the assimilation of Native Americans?  The remove Native American culture from the people and to make them “American”

What was the Dawes Act?  (1187) divided the reservation lands into private family plots; each Native American family received a plot (usually 160 acres)  Granted U.S. citizenship

Who were the boomers? Sooners?  Boomers – settlers who ran in land races to claim upon the 1889 opening of Indian Territory for settlement  Sooners – in 1889, people who illegally claimed land by sneaking past government officials before the land races began

Section 3 Mining, Ranching, and Farming

What became of the buffalo by the end of the 19 th century?  Of the nearly 25 million buffalo that existed in 1840, as few as 1,100 remained at the end of the 19 th century  Factors: Popularity of buffalo fur for clothing and apparel Buffalo hunting became a popular sport They were wiped out by cattle ranchers and the railroads  Impact: Led to the destruction of the lifestyle of the Plains Indians

Explain the cattle industry.  The cattle industry emerged as a huge industry as wealthy ranchers took control of millions of acres of grazing lands for their thousands of heads of cattle  The cattle industry would put an end to smaller ranchers

Identify the life of a homesteader.  Homesteader – those who farmed claims under the Homestead Act  Life was hard, the ground was hard, wood was rare, houses were constructed from sod  Hardships: Floods Prairie fires Dust storms Drought Insect infestation Native American violence

Why did the Census Bureau announce an end to the frontier?  The country’s “unsettled area had been so broken into by isolated bodies of settlement that there can hardly be said to be a frontier line”  The days of free western land were now over

Section 4 Populism

What economic problems plagued the livelihood of the American farmer?  Crop failures  Bank failures, which led to banks calling in the loans of farmers  High prices for goods [American goods cost more and European goods cost more because of the tariff]

Explain the desires of the free silver movement.  the unlimited coining of silver dollars would increase the money supply

What was the Bland-Allison Act?  (1878) Required the federal government to purchase and coin more silver, increasing the money supply  The act had minimal success because the Treasury Department refused to buy more than the minimum amount of silver required, and they refused to circulate the silver dollars

What was the Sherman Silver Purchase Act?  (1890) increased the amount of silver the government was required to purchase very month  (1809s) Government’s gold reserves dwindled and the government nearly went bankrupt; President Cleveland blamed the Silver Purchase Act for the loss of gold and the panic (repealed in 1893)

What was the Grange?  Established in 1867, this organization helped farmers form cooperatives and pressured state legislatures to regulate businesses on which farmers depended

What was the Farmers’ Alliance?  Politically oriented group of farmers  These alliances launched attacks fought for: The end of monopolies [especially those that impacted farmers, such as railroads] Federal regulation of the railroads More money in circulation Creation of a stae department of agriculture Antitrust laws Farm credit

What was the Interstate Commerce Act?  (1887) Passed to regulate the railroad and other interstate businesses Regulated the prices that railroads charged to move freight between states Requiring of rates to be set in proportion to the distance traveled Made illegal to give special rates to some customers

Explain the goals of the Populists.  A new national party established in 1892, they demanded radical changes in federal economic and social policies An increased circulation of the money supply Unlimited mining of silver Progressive income tax Government ownership of communication and transportation systems Endorsed the 8-hour workday [in hopes of gaining the support of the industrial worker]

Explain William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech.  His 1896 address at the Democratic Convention [one of the most famous speeches in American history]  This speech, heavily influenced in biblical text, was an emotional plea for free silver in the United States  Despite his efforts, Bryan lost the presidential election

“Cross of Gold”

What would become of the goals of populism after the turn of the 20 th century?  As the silver movement died, so did populism  The ideas of the populists did not die, many of these ideas were adopted by the Progressives, as well as the Democrats and Republicans