Settling the West 1859 Boomtown Silver in Nevada 30,000 people Quick growth Silver in Nevada 30,000 people Almost overnight in Virginia City, Nevada 1864 Nevada - State $230 million

Gold Rush 1848 Gold discovered in California Population under 1,000 Treaty with Mexico gives U.S. California & Oregon Manifest Destiny Complete 1849 over 100,000 in California Peaks in 1852

Ranching/Cattle Drives & the Cowboy Texas long-horns Roaming the plains Civil War Increased demand for beef Drive cattle to rail lines in the North Cowboys…Myth?

Vaqueros, Spanish word for “cowboys,” taught American cowboys their trade and enriched the English language with words of Spanish origin- “lariat,” “lasso,” and “stampede.”

Clash of Cultures Native Americans – Savages??? Settlers – Greedy Conquers???                            

Native American Culture Spiritual Revered the Land sacred Common use No private property Lived off the land Buffalo Basic Needs Central to life Rivers - mobile Horse - mobile

Native American Culture Pride in Culture Meaning in items created Decorated Stories in Pictures Tools Language highly developed Civil Tribal Laws Leaders ruled by Counsel/Council

Settlers Culture Opportunity Access Private ownership of land Land plowed and fenced (improved) 1862 Homestead Act Tract of public land available for settlement 21 years old Free land - plowed Manifest Destiny Access Railroads Quick and efficient 1869 Transcontinental

Wheat Belt Steel Tools/Machinery 1880’s U.S. largest wheat exporter Mortgages Droughts $$$$$$

Oklahoma Land Rush 1889 U.S Government 10,000 people Open land for settlement in Oklahoma Stake claim Free land 10,000 people Within hours

Oklahoma Map – open land “The Last Frontier”

Disruption of Native American Culture and way of life Decrease in hunting grounds Forced to relocate Reservations Rebelled Attacked wagon trains/settlements Refused to move

U.S. Gov’t v. Native Americans 1864 Sand Creek Colorado 1876 Black Hills Lakota Sioux Cheyenne 1876 Battle of Little Big Horn Custer’s Last Stand 210 U.S. Calvary killed

“Our chiefs are killed…. The little children are freezing to death “Our chiefs are killed….The little children are freezing to death. My people….have no blankets, no food…. Hear me, my chiefs; I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.” --Chief Joseph surrendering to General Oliver Howard at Bear Paw Mountain, MT in 1877 Chief Joseph

Ghost Dance Out of desperation, many Native Americans found hope in the Ghost Dance. They believed the dance would make settlers disappear, buffalo return, and that Native Americans would reunite with their dead ancestors. Fearing violence, federal authorities banned the ceremonial dance in the 1880’s.

Tragedy at Wounded Knee Burial Party 7th Cavalry Hotchiss Gun Chief Big Foot Frozen to Death Slaughtered Lakota Sioux When a group of Lakota Ghost Dancers fled the reservation to dance in Dec. 1890, the U.S. Government sent troops to Wounded Knee Creek (South Dakota) to round them up. A deadly “battle” ensued where approximately 200 Lakota men, women and children were killed.

The Dawes Act 1887 Dawes Act or General Allotment Act,1887, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for the granting of landholdings (allotments, usually 160 acres/65 hectares) to individual Native Americans, replacing communal tribal holdings. …Allotments could be sold after a statutory period (25 years), and “surplus” land not allotted was opened to settlers. The Dawes Act was an attempt to assimilate, or absorb, Native Americans into American society by offering them a chance to be landowners. This meant dividing reservations into individual allotments where families could be self-supporting.

Failure of the Dawes Act Navaho Tom Torlino Before After In the end, the assimilation policy proved a dismal failure. The Native Americans were doomed because they were dependent on buffalo for food, clothing, fuel, and shelter. When the herds were wiped out, Native Americans on the Plains had no way to sustain their way of life, and few adopted American settler’s lifestyles in place of their traditional cultures.