THE SIOUX WARS GCSE HISTORY OCR A – AMERICAN WEST

THE INDIAN QUESTION The White Americans were taking over the West and now the Great Plains. The question was – how should the government deal with the Indians? The idea of Manifest Destiny meant that the White Americans thought that the Plains Indians were just in their way of creating a great America.

THE NEGOTIATORS These were mainly people who were living in the East and people that had travelled or lives with the Indians before (like Indian Agents who were government officials, or mountain men) These people knew how the Indians lived, and believed that the government should negotiate with them and not just get rid of them. They knew how the Indians were not savage and just had a different way of life – they understood.

THE EXTERMINATORS These people mainly lived in the West like settles, ranchers, miners and soldiers. These people had the most to gain from the Indians, most importantly the land. They had suffered from Indian hostility before, so their idea was that the Indians were savage and a threat to them. Unlike the negotiators, they did not understand the Indian way of life and just saw what they could gain if the Indians were not around.

THE VICIOUS CYCLE Indians sign a peace treaty Settlers, miners, railroad etc break the treaty Indians attack Army is called in to protect settlers Army defeats the Indians

LITTLE CROW’S WAR ,000 people in the Santee Sioux were gradually running out of money and food, the threat of violence grew. The army, sent in from the Civil War battlefields, were called in to protect the white settlers during the war. Who won? The settlers. Over 700 settlers were killed. The Sioux returned to the land but it was unfit and food was scarce. 303 Sioux warriors were sentenced to death. NO ALLIES

RED CLOUD’S WAR A new trail for mining towns (the Bozeman) crossed the land which a peace treaty had declared as the Sioux’s. As this broke the peace treaty, the Sioux attacked. The army were called in to block off parts of the trail so that the Sioux could not get to the white settlers. WHO WON? The Sioux. The Indian’s gained this land again, no non-Indian settlers were allowed in this area again. Red Cloud's power decreased. ALLIES: Arapaho, Cheyenne.

THE GREAT SIOUX WAR The Black Hills, a very sacred area to the Sioux, suffered a surge of thousands of people rushing to find gold. The government offered the Sioux $6million for the Black Hills but the Sioux declined as they believe you cannot own land. Relations became strained. 2,500 Army reinforcements were sent West to protect the settlers/miners. WHO WON? The army, the Sioux surrendered. The Sioux gained the Black Hills, Powder River County and the Bighorn Mountains. ALLIES: Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crazy Horse.

PROBLEMS THE US ARMY FACED IN THE WARS Indians fought in small raids and not in close combat, like the US were used to, so it was like the two sides were fighting different kinds of war. Everyday problems the US Army faced included: poor food, bad living conditions, low pay, harsh discipline, danger of death and hard winters.

FACTORS THAT MADE THE ARMY WELL EQUIPPED FOR WAR WITH THE PLAINS INDIANS

NETWORK OF FORTS Forts in the West were built to protect the overland routes and keep watch over reservations. They served as a base where soldiers could patrol the routes and attack the Indians. These were successful because the combination of men and artillery (protected by walls) was too strong for the Indians to overcome. These forts meant that the US army always had a base on the Plains and they helped them launch the offensives which meant they had military defeat over the Indians.

INDIANS SCOUTS In all of the major campaigns, the army were helped by Indian scouts. These were usually from other Indian nations, like the Crow and the Shoshore, who were enemies of the Sioux. They were especially helpful because of their knowledge on Indian battle tactics and the navigation of the country. This tactic was proven useful at the Battle of Rosebud when they saved General Custer from having more causalities than they actually did.

NEW TACTICS Two new strategies were introduced to ensure the US army were successful. TOTAL WAR: Meant waging a war on a whole enemy population, not just the fighting troops (excluding women and children). It mean destroying all the food, shelter, possessions and animals of the Plains Indians. This left victims with a choice of starvation or surrendering. WINTER CAMPAIGNS: In the winter the Indians were very vulnerable to attack due to the fact that they stayed in the same place for a long period of time, they had to conserve food and supplies, and battle harsh weather.

END OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR At the end of the civil war in 1865, the regular army replaced the volunteers. These soldiers were able to police the West more effectively. They were also better armed with modern rifles, revolvers and artillery. This superior power meant that they could win against the Indians, even though the Indians had much greater numbers.