Unit 2: Factors That Led to Expansion Lesson 1: Westward Expansion & Native Americans

Unit Overview The purpose of this unit is to understand the factors that led to exploration, settlement, movement, and expansion and their impact on United States development over time.

Essential Question How has post Civil War expansion impacted farmers, ranchers, and Native Americans?

Activating What do you already know about American Westward expansion and its impact on Native Americans? Can you come up with specific examples?

What do you think “assimilate” means? Key Vocabulary What do you think “assimilate” means? Definition. Examples/Impact. Create a test question. Assimilate

Setting the Stage Mining and ranching attracted settlers to western territories that soon had populations large enough to qualify for statehood. People mined for gold, silver, and lead, or shipped longhorn cattle to the east.

Farming the Plains The Homestead Act encourage settlers to move to the Great Plains. Although life was difficult, settlers discovered that wheat could be grown on the Great Plains using new technology. By 1890, there was no longer a true frontier in the United States.

Plows and Reapers In 1837, John Deere engineered a plow that would cut labor in half. Cyrus McCormick’s reaper (1834) allowed farmers to harvest far more grain.

The Homestead Act Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pieHG0Zaz3Y

Assessment Prompt 1

Native Americans

As settlers entered the Native American lands on the Great Plains, clashes grew more common. Conflicts continued as the government tried to force Native Americans on to reservations and encouraged them to assimilate in to the culture of the United States.

Native Americans Encounters between early travelers and natives were actually rare. As traffic increased over time tensions rose over concern regarding the buffalo. The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) was meant to ensure peace by allowing settlers to pass through lands for payments.

A Doomed Plan For Peace In 1867 Congress formed the Indian Peace Commission. They proposed the creation of two large reservations. The plan failed because many Native Americans refused to move. Those who did faced miserable conditions.

The Last Native American Wars By the 1870’s, Natives began leaving the reservations in disgust. They joined others to hunt buffalo on the open plans, which was against the law. However, buffalo began to disappear. Migrants, hunters, and railroad companies killed off the buffalo.

Battle of Little Bighorn The government sent Lt. Col. George A. Custer to oppose the Sioux who hunted in Montana. On June 25, 1876, Custer attacked Lakota and Cheyenne warriors along the Little Bighorn River. All but one of 210 soldiers were killed by the warriors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60yLVrhks Wk

Tragedy At Wounded Knee Native American resistance came to a final and tragic end on a Lakota-Sioux reservation. Against orders, some Lakota continued to perform the Ghost Dance, which celebrated the hope for settlers to leave. Federal authorities blamed Chief Sitting Bull for his defiance and went to arrest him. He died in gunfire and the Lakota pursued authorities to Wounded Knee Creek. Around 25 soldiers and 200 Lakota died.

The Dawes Act Some opposed the treatment of Native Americans. Helen Hunt Jackson’s book “A Century of Dishonor” described injustices against the Native Americans. Some believed the Natives should assimilate. In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act. The Dawes Act: Gave each Native American family 160 acres to farm. Granted citizenship after 25 years of farming. The act failed due to the land not always being suitable for farming or ranching. The Natives were doomed due to their reliance on the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter.

Assessment Prompt 3: Decline of Native American Culture

America: The Story of Us - Heartland Worksheet

Journal Answer the EQ: How has post Civil War expansion impacted farmers, ranchers, and Native Americans? Consider the following questions: How did the Homestead Act impact western expansion? What led to the decline of Native American culture? What is the historical significance of the Dawes Act? How did the RR impact expansion? How did expansion impact the Chinese? How did the Cowboy impact our modern culture?