Westward Expansion

Manifest Destiny The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the U.S. throughout the American continent was both justified and inevitable.

Manifest Destiny The country was ours. Controlling it was our destiny!

California When gold was first discovered in California in 1848, tens of thousands of men left their old lives & rushed west.

California In 1840, the population of California had ben around 14,000 people By 1849, the population of California had grown to more than 250,000. 

Transcontinental Railroad Unemployed Civil War veterans and Irish immigrants worked westward building the railroad that would bring people west. Chinese immigrants made up much of the workforce going east.

Pacific Railway Act Lots and lots of land! The government had to pay for all this, but after the Civil War, the money just wasn’t there. So federal government gave the Railroads land! Lots and lots of land!

Pacific Railway Act

Pacific Railway Act

Transcontinental Railroad As people wanted to move westward, they bought land near the tracks from the Railroad.

Selling this land was how the Railroads made their profit Selling this land was how the Railroads made their profit. The closer land was to the tracks, the more valuable it was and the Railroad owned ½ of that.

QUESTION #1 Describe a Land Grant and how exactly it helped increase the westward expansion of settlers.

So everything should be good… Right?

Problem This rush of settlers further strained the situation with Native Americans.

Solution Lets just make a simple agreement that both sides could agree to and respect.

Treaties Treaties are legally binding contracts between sovereign nations that establish those nations’ political and property relations. Article Six of the United States Constitution holds that treaties “are the supreme law of the land.” Many treaties between Indian tribes and the United States confirmed each nation’s rights and privileges. In most of these treaties, the tribes gave vast amounts of land to the United States in exchange for protection, services, and in some cases cash payments, but reserved certain lands (reservations) and rights for themselves and their future generations.

Treaties Most commonly, treaties in the American West between native peoples and the U.S. government had to do with control of, and access to, land. Essentially, borders.

Treaties But these treaties were regularly broken, re-written and ignored whenever it was convenient for the settlers, government or pretty much anyone who wasn’t a Native American.

Buffalo Buffalo herds had once numbered around 15 million animals on the American Plains. They made up a large part of the Native Americans diet, shelter and clothing. Bones became knives Tendons became bowstrings Horns & hooves boiled into glue Manure was burned as fuel

Buffalo Travelers going westward used to shoot Buffalo from railroad cars to pass the time.

Building stress… This stress of settlers, declining food supplies and railroad tracks that would only lead to more settlers and problems eventually led to trouble…

Building stress… On top of these problems, they kept finding gold & silver deposits throughout the west.

Indian Wars Often, these pressures led to armed conflict Sand Creek Little Bighorn Wounded Knee Camp Grant Massacre

This map of the American west shows the location of key gold & silver mines. We will be comparing these locations to the sites of key battles between the US military and Native American tribes.

Sand Creek

Little Bighorn

Wounded Knee

Camp Grant Massacre

QUESTION #2 Explain the connection between the sites of gold & silver mines and outbreaks of violence.

Solution Native Americans were placed on Reservations. The idea was to separate tribes & settlers / miners to avoid conflict.

Solution But this meant the tribes would have to give up their culture & way of life and adapt a more American style of life: Farming Property ownership Formal Education Become Assimilated

Assimilation According to Merriam Webster: To adopt the ways of another culture: to fully become part of a different society, country, etc.

Carlisle Indian School Pennsylvania school for Indians funded by the government; children were separated from their tribe and sent east to be taught the English language and American values / customs. Motto of founder: "Kill the Indian and save the man."

Carlisle Indian School The following images are all from the Carlisle Indian School…

Sitting Bull "If the Great Spirit had desired me  to be a white man he would have made me so  in the first place. He put in your heart  certain wishes and plans; in my heart he put  other and different desires. Each man is good  in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary,  that eagles should be crows."

QUESTION #3 What was assimilation and how did it directly impact the culture of native people?

QUESTION #4 The U. S. government repeatedly violated treaties with the tribes. How did this result in increased native resistance and U.S. military involvement? Why did this eventually result in the reservation system?

QUESTION #5 Explain how the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, the discovery of mineral resources promote economic growth and new town and cities in the west?

QUESTION #6 As migrant population increased and the buffalo population was decimated how did competition for land and resources in the American west lead to increased violence?