Goal 4: Western Expansion

Plains Indians Great Plains or Great American Desert ◦ Thought to be uninhabitable ◦ Americans generalized all “Indians” into one group without recognizing the significant differences between tribes Nomadic lifestyle ◦ Moved with the herds and the land Importance of the horses and buffalo ◦ Apart of the land and not things to own Communal living ◦ Shared land as it wasn’t seen as a possession or what was produced/hunted from the land Common use of the tribe’s land ◦ Common good over individual Sioux, Lakota, Cheyenne, Apache, Nez Pierce, Blackfeet

American Interests Lands given by treaty to Indian groups ◦ Taken back after gold and silver are found on them California Gold Rush, 1849 ◦ Drive to acquire and become wealthy ◦ Drastic population increase Homestead Act, 1862 ◦ 160 Acres given free in exchange for: a road being built, a well dug and a 5 year promise Transcontinental Railroad building ◦ Massacre of the buffalo herds  Killed 100s and let meat spoil, problematic for railroad so eliminated ◦ Central and Pacific Railroads  Need to connect coast to coast  Central began in California  Pacific began in Nebraska ◦ Promontory Point, Utah, 1869  Meeting of the Central and the Pacific Railroads

Indian Restrictions Treatise were broken ◦ Indians forced into reservations  Government limited contact with settlers in order to prevent issues ◦ Government payment and supplies were not delivered as promised ◦ Treatise were agreed to by both sides and both sides did not follow the treatise Indians uprisings ◦ Dakota Uprising, 1862 Massacre at Sandy Creek, 1864 ◦ Caused increased violence as Indians were attacked while on reservation ◦ John Chivington leads Army unit in massacre of Cheyenne Fetterman’s Massacre, 1866 ◦ Fetterman’s small army band crushed by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud’s warriors ◦ Attack by Indians to prevent a road that was planned for gold mines

Indian Wars – Defeat of Plains Indians Gold found in the Black Hills of the Dakotas ◦ Sioux try to defend area promised to them  By treatise ◦ Army sends George Custer  Ahead with 250 men Little Bighorn, 1876 (Montana) ◦ Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull lead warriors as Custer and all his men were killed  Crazy Horse surrenders and Sitting Bull flees to Canada but is captured  Custer is anxious to begin battle and starts before rest of calvary arrives Nez Perce Indians, 1877 ◦ Led by Chief Joseph, they refused to go to reservation  Had assimilated and “christianized” ◦ Chased by the Army for over 1000 miles until captured ◦ “I will fight no more forever” ◦ Captured and banished to Oklahoma – lobbies Washington for Indian rights

Assimilation “Century of Dishonor” ◦ Helen Hunt Jackson ◦ Shattered treatise and mistreatment ◦ Recognition of Indians in Court Some people supported assimilation of Indians ◦ Indian children are educated like white settlers ◦ Civilize and Christianize Dawes Act passed, 1887 ◦ Attempt to speed up assimilation ◦ Indians treated as individuals and not as nations/tribes ◦ 160 Acres to each family – based on calculation of what was needed in the east to support a family; calculation was too low and was not enough land ◦ Most of land was eventually taken by speculators  Was supposed to stay in the family for 25 years to allow children to learn how to farm

End of Indian Lifestyle Assimilation – to make apart of the established culture Destruction of the buffalo ◦ Forcing Indians to become farmers and settle in one spot Ghost Dance Movement ◦ Believed it would return the land to the Indians and the Buffalo would return as well ◦ Sioux spiritual dance ◦ Dance was outlawed ◦ Sitting Bull was believed to be responsible to they attempt to arrest him and the result is Wounded Knee Wounded Knee, 1890 ◦ Massacre of several hundred Sioux ◦ Ground was covered in the blood of the dead who had attempted to flee Indian Era Comes to an End

RANCHING AND MINING Goal 4

Open Range Great Plains area – “Great American Desert” No boundaries to man or cattle ◦ Texas Longhorn, cattle was branded to tell owner but all cattle roamed freely and was collected for cattle drives in the spring Low population ◦ No need for fences ◦ No need for law enforcement

Cattle Kingdom Greater urban populations demanded more food ◦ Immigration increase across the country as well as people getting back to normal after the war Cattle drives to meet railroads ◦ Access to eastern markets ◦ Developed the legend of the cowboy Legend of the cowboy ◦ Mexican influence ◦ Trained horses to collect cattle that roamed freely (Texas Longhorn) ◦ Very lonely and lawless lifestyle

Cattle’s Decline Too many cattle – supply was higher than demand (surplus) causing prices to drop but expenses to rise to ship cattle and feed cattle Disease Drought – brutal winters and hot summers killed grass and cattle Barbed wire fences blocked open range ◦ Cattle were not able to roam and the food supply disappeared

Mining Towns Gold Rushes – mass chaos to find gold ◦ Population problems, law enforcement issues, food issues ◦ California, 1849 – 49ers, admittance to the Union as free or slave ◦ Black Hills – Sioux Indian land ◦ Comstock Lade ◦ Alaska Ghost Towns ◦ Miners leave and follow the legends of the next strike somewhere else ◦ Mines polluted water supply and many people poisoned

Mining Life Large mix of people ◦ Various backgrounds and expertise ◦ Ethnicities varied Many opportunities for everyone ◦ Building towns and filling them with businesses ◦ Traveling salesmen to profit off of settlers and Miners Saloons, gambling ◦ Profiteers from mining rush ◦ Added to the “Wild West” Hard luck ◦ Very little surface gold for the influx of miners to find ◦ Mining was dangerous

“ Wild West” Legend of Adventure ◦ Wild Bill Hickok ◦ Calamity Jane ◦ Wyatt Earp ◦ Jesse James ◦ Billy the Kid Dime novels that told western tales ◦ Glamerized the experience as the “Wild West” ◦ Traveling shows – similar to the circus Only last about 30 years ◦ By 1890 it was declare there was no frontier – every mile had been settled according the census

FARMERS AND THE POPULISTS Goal 4

Farmer’s Problems Weather problems – droughts; tornadoes; harsh winters; flooding Failing prices – costs to ship and harvest were higher than the price they could sell the produce for; led to surplus which led to decreased prices and high debt Increasing debt – many became tenant farmers as they were so deep in debt Dependant upon railroads – only way to transport to the markets back East and West Need for cheaper money ◦ Deflation and inflation

Railroad Abuses Construction graft – passed the cost of building the railroad on to the people who used it to transport their goods Bribes Stock watering Unfair pricing ◦ Long haul ◦ Short haul All of these things lead to the farmer/rancher/settler not trusting the railroad, going further into debt; raising the price of food; the call for Free Silver; the Grange Movement; Populism

The Grange Also called the “Patrons of Husbandry” Began as a social group – organized by Oliver Kelley; educated members on new technology and techniques of farming Evolved into a political group Called for regulation of railroads ◦ “Granger Laws” – mid-western state laws that regulated railroad abuses ◦ Called for a set price for shipping freight ICC – Interstate Commerce Act ◦ Federal law that regulates commerce Currency reform – farmers organize into co-ops to sell produce as a group and therefore reduce the cost to the individual to ship the produce

Populism - Took the place of the Grange – based on Grange Movement Ideals; grassroots political party Strong mid-west support – spread East and West quickly Reform based party – grew quickly as it was not a 3 rd party with a single issue Omaha Platform, 1892 ◦ Increase $ supply – free silver idea ◦ Income tax – introduced as a means to pay for infastructure improvements ◦ Secret ballots – prevent election ballot box corruption (Tammeny Ring) ◦ 8 hour work day – appeal to the Eastern (urban) vote ◦ Immigration control – stealing American jobs

Bryan and End of Populists 1896 election – modern tactics of traveling the country and appealing to the common person William McKinley Rep – support base was urban and upper class ◦ Gold Standard William Jennings Bryan-Dem/Pop ◦ Free Silver – Populist ideal not initially supported by the democrats ◦ “Cross of Gold Speech” – oppression of the American farmer and worker should end McKinley wins election – beats Bryan again in the next election Populism dies – Democrats; Bryan looses both elections

Goal 4 Socratic Discussion Why did people move out West after the Civil War and what problems did they face? (Motivations, Consequences, Success/Failure) What impact did American settlement in the West have on the Native Americans? What factors are related to Populist Movement? What inventions/technology were used in dealing with the American West? What are some of the people, events, and terms that are associated with a rise in nationalism in America in the1800s?

Free Silver Crusade Panic of 1893 – Overseas panic spreads to America and the psychological effects created a panic ◦ Nation enters a recession – 4 years Many people promote silver and gold standard for $ - solutions to the problem of not enough cash flowing Would create a larger money supply – Silver widely available so high inflation Gold standard only would decrease money supply – gold was less available and therefore the scarcity would make cash be more scarce as well; stability or deflation