American Studies

 Consider the following changes that occurred in the United States in the late 19 th century:  Overcrowding of cities  Increases in immigration from Europe  Opportunity for farming and mining in rural areas  These changes led to:  A. rapid growth of urban areas  B. acquisition of overseas territories  C. elimination of large suburbs around many cities  D. movement of people to the western frontier

 Our superior/dominant race is destined to conquer the West and spread our culture  Many thought it was God’s plan  Our nationalistic/ethnocentric ideas  0Westward%20Expansion%20Manifest%20Destiny. htm 0Westward%20Expansion%20Manifest%20Destiny. htm

 After the Civil War:  The Great Plains: Flat grassy land between the Missouri River and Rocky Mountains  The Great Basin: Dry desert lowland between the Rocky Mtns and the Sierra Nevada Mtns

 Native Americans see Plains as sacred land that supports their way of life  Millions of buffalo used for:  Meat for food  Pelt for clothes  Skin for shelter  Bones for tools  Manure for fuel/fertilizer

 In the 19 th century, many Americans considered Native Americans to be inferior to people of the European ancestry. This resulted in discrimination and conflict between European settlers and Native Americans. One consequence of this discrimination was that many Native Americans were:  A. removed from their former homeland  B. prevented from trading with European settlers  C. forced to maintain their cultural heritage  D. persecuted for killing buffalo on the Great Plains

 Three groups that settled the final western frontier:  Miners: Get rich quick off gold and silver  Cattle Ranchers: Make money off raising cows  Homesteaders: Farming families

 California Gold Rush: 1849  Rocky Mountain Gold Rush: 1859  Silver in Nevada  Copper in Montana  Gold in Black Hills of the Dakotas  100s of remote mining towns pop up all over the west

 1860/70s: Best way to make money in Texas  Hire cowboys to drive cattle to market in the east  Cattle can graze anywhere on open range  Load onto train in Kansas for slaughterhouse in Chicago meatpacking industry

 The Homestead Act (1862): Govt invites people to claim 160 acres of land just by settling on it  Farmers of wheat and corn mostly  Many acres taken by spectators: buy land only to sell it for a higher price later

 Industrialization leads to new technology to make farming easier  Windmills to power pumps for underground water  Combines, silos, grain elevators  US Govt needs frontier settled in order to form new states  Railroads need laborers to build, goods to ship, workers for the trains, and towns to go to  Q Q

 Ranchers vs. Farmers: Barbed Wire Wars  Barbed wire invented in 1874 to fence in farmland  Ranchers/Cowboys want open range for grazing cows but farmers want their land protected  Cowboys cut wires; get in gun fights with farmers

 Outlaws: Criminals/con artists who steal others gold or livestock to get rich quick  Small towns have little govt: Citizens carry guns and take the law into their own hands  Vigilantes: Self-appointed police force  Results in shoot-outs and death without trial  g4 g4

 Drought, disease, far from stores and neighbors, hard physical labor  Few trees: First homes made of sod/dirt  Women: Never-ending chores, make everything by hand, have 10+ children  Women civilize mining/cow towns: Schools, libraries, doctors, theaters

 Removal from homeland since 1830s  US breaks many treaties with Natives  Wars between Natives and Pioneers  Sioux victory at Little Bighorn  US Army revenge at Wounded Knee: massacre of Native American men, women, and children  Natives lose and surrender because:  They fight as tribes not united nation  They were outnumbered; lost many to disease  They had primitive weapons

 During the 19 th century, white settlers moved west searching for a new life. However, they moved into lands that were already claimed by the Native Americans. After many broken treaties and battles the Native Americans were forced to move to:  A. cities such as New York and Boston  B. reservations which were lands settlers did not want  C. mining towns of the west  D. other countries like Mexico and Canada

 Reservation: Designated undesirable land set aside for Native Americans  Often barren, Natives don’t farm they hunt  Dawes Act: Offers 160 acre plots on reservation  Natives don’t believe in private land  1924: Granted full citizenship  1960s-Present: Red Power  Gain more control over laws and land with more aid and compensation