American History II - Unit 1 THe Great West American History II - Unit 1

Manifest Destiny "...The American claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and...self-government entrusted to us.” ~John O’Sullivan (1845) Manifest Destiny: The belief that it is the God-given right of the United States to expand across the continent.

Reasons For It Reasons Against It Because it’s there – meant to be (God) Costly (money, war) Trade and Resources (Land, Gold) Oppressive Spread Democracy and Christianity Arguments over slavery More powerful nation (nationalism)

1.1 – Settling the Great Plains

The Great Plains Grassland extending through the west-central portion of the US

The Great Plains Cheyenne and Sioux – largest and most resistant tribes on the plains Buffalo = survival Food, clothes, shelter, tools, weapons No sense of land ownership Nomadic, followed buffalo herds Land cannot be owned

The Great Plains New economic opportunities in the west Land ownership (“improving upon the land”) Cattle industry Gold Rush, mining Increasing clashes with American settlers and government in the mid-late 1800s

Clashes with Native Americans 1834 – Fed gov’t designated the Great Plains as one large reservation for NA tribes 1850s – Fed gov’t created boundaries for each tribe Allowed for railroad expansion westward Massacre at Sand Creek (1864) Cheyenne tribe returned to Sand Creek to camp for the winter Col. Chivington and US troops attacked Cheyenne  killed 150, mostly women/children

Clashes with Native Americans Treaty of Ft. Laramie (1868) Temporary peace between US gov’t and NA tribes Sioux forced to live along the Missouri River Sitting Bull (Sioux leader) never signed it Battle of Little Bighorn(1876) Miners entered Sioux territory, broke Treaty of Ft. Laramie Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse attacked Col. George Custer and killed Custer and troops (aka Custer’s Last Stand) Sioux eventually lost and Sitting Bull fled to Canada until 1880s

Clashes with Native Americans 1890 – Sioux tribe starving  performed large scale “Ghost Dances” in hopes to bring prosperity Activity caught attention of police who go to arrest Sitting Bull  one police officer killed  Sitting Bull killed Battle of Wounded Knee (1890) Starving Sioux taken to Wounded Knee, SD by US troops US troops demanded Sioux give up weapons Shot fired from unknown source  300 deaths Marked the end of large scale conflicts with NA tribes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PN8_8MGulc Ghost Dance

Native American Assimilation Not all Americans supported the killing of NAs 1881 – Helen Hunt Jackson published A Century of Dishonor that exposed NA treatment by fed gov’t Some Americans encourage assimilation – a minority group’s adoption of the cultural beliefs of the dominant culture Dawes Act (1887) – aimed to “Americanize” NAs, provided 160 acres of reservation land to each NA family Rest of land would be sold to settlers  $ to help NAs start farms Promote ideas of “land ownership” By 1930s, 2/3 land bought by white settlers, NAs got no $

Growing Cattle Business Settlers learned Mexican techniques for managing large cattle herds Round up, rope, brand, maintain/care Mostly longhorns taken from Texas to ranges via cattle trails (Chisholm Trail) Ranching industry and demand for beef grew quickly with new inventions Barbed wire – 1874, easily divided up land and secured animals, reduced cost of enclosing land Refrigerated train car – 1875, could ship beef long distances without spoiling

Cowboys Herded cattle along cattle trails 1865-1866 – 55,000 cowboys 25% black 12% Mexican As young as 15 NOT like Hollywood portrayals 10-14+ hour days 3 months = 1 “long drive” (trip on cattle trail) 1 cowboy to every 250-300 cattle Always on alert for dangers to cattle Gun to protect herd, not to hurt/chase outlaws Expert rider and roper, but horse usually belonged to trail boss/supervisor

End of the Open Range By the late 1880s, the land on the Great Plains was no longer profitable. Wiped out by overgrazing Series of cold and dry weather Most ranchers scaled down ranches and focused on high-grade cattle = more meat per animal = more $ Barbed wire was used to divide up land (“tamed” the west)

Settlers Move West: Railroad Expansion 1850-71 – Fed gov’t gave large land grants to railroad companies Land grant = piece of land in exchange using the land how the gov’t wanted Railroad companies sold some land to farmers Central Pacific and Union Pacific raced to lay track to the Pacific Used immigrant workers – Mexicans, Chinese, and Irish (+ Civil War vets and blacks) 8 miles of track/day Very dangerous – explosives to blow through mountains By 1890s – east and west coasts linked by many tracks

Settlers Move West: Government Supported Settlement Homestead Act (1862) – gave 160 acres of land to any citizen over 21 who headed a household By 1900, 600,000 families accepted land Included exodusters – blacks who moved westward from the post-Reconstruction south Not all families were successful – dry land, hard to enforce the 160 acre allotment against railroad companies and miners

Settlers Move West: Government Supported Settlement Oklahoma Land Rush – (April 2, 1889) - Fed gov’t gave away land in Oklahoma to settlers First come, first serve Gun went off, land was claimed with flag in the ground Some settlers claimed land the night before. “too soon” = the Sooners

Closing the Frontier 1872 – Yellowstone National Park established by the fed gov’t As western lands were claimed and settled so quickly, some believed that land should be protected and designated as wilderness. By 1880, more than 19 million acres of land had been bought and settled. By 1890, the frontier line no longer existed.

Challenges Settling the Great Plains Terrible weather  hard to farm Drought, floods, fire, blizzards, locust plagues, etc Native American attacks and raids by outlaws Few trees  hard to built homes Built homes in the sides of hills Soddy-home – prairie home built from blocks of hard dirt

Challenges Settling the Great Plains Women experienced very difficult conditions and had to be completely self-sufficient. Plowed land, planted seed, and harvested wheat Sheared sheep and cattle to make clothes for family Helped dig wells and carry water to home Cooked, cleaned, and raised children Sponsored schools and churches to create communities

Challenges Settling the Great Plains Morrill Act (1862) – federal land given to states to establish universities with agriculture programs NCSU in Raleigh established in 1887 due to Morrill Act Led to better agricultural practices and improved equipment and technology Farmers quickly in DEBT by late 1800s! Bad weather Expensive machinery Falling wheat prices Increasing railroad shipping costs High interest rates on loans