The TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST The LAST WEST Post Civil War
THE “Last” WEST or Trans-Mississippi West. Federal Government Legislation during the Civil War End of Reconstruction - 1877 All Federal troops withdrawn from the South Army sent WEST to protect miners, farmers, ranchers Clash with American Indians in the West Legendary Wild West
The West Push Factors Pull Factors Crowding back East Displaced farmers Former slaves Eastern farmland expensive Ethnic and religious repression in Europe Haven for outlaws Pull Factors Government incentives Pacific Railway Act Morrill Land-Grant Act Homestead Act Private Property Miners Ranchers Farmers
GO WEST, YOUNG MAN! The Myth of the Frontier “Manifest Destiny” Civil War over Adventure Resources Wealth (Gold, Cattle, Land)
The Natural Environment of the West, 1860s (p. 458 - Henretta 5th ed.)
page784-85.jpg Map: The New West
Settlement of the Trans-Mississippi West, 1860–1890
Settlement of the West: 1870-1890 (with boundaries of states added in that time period)
Railroads
Pacific Railway Acts 1862, 1864 Large land grants to Union Pacific RR and Central Pacific RR 175 million acres
Federal Land Grants to Railroads: 1850-1900
Union Pacific RR (Omaha, NE)
Union Pacific Railroads today
Central Pacific RR - Sacramento, CA
Leland Stanford - one of the founders of Central Pacific RR
Transcontinental RR Union Pacific (Omaha, NE) Central Pacific (Sacramento, CA) Started building in 1863 Connected East and West coasts via RR Connected at Promontory Point, UT May 1869 Golden Spike
Transcontinental RR - 1869
Railroad Companies Advertisements RR companies advertised to draw settlers to their “extra” lands given in the government grants RR companies = very wealthy in late 19th century
Western Trunk Lines, 1887 (p. 461 Henretta 5th ed.)
Conflict on the Great Plains: 1860-1900 American Indians Conflict on the Great Plains: 1860-1900
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show (p. 463)
Major Indian-White Clashes in the West
Map 16.4 The Indian Frontier, to 1890 (p. 470)
Indian Wars, 1860–1890
Indian Wars and Government Policy N.A. lived on traditional lands W. of Mississippi N. A. viewed settlers as invaders, Settlers took land from N. A. (Settlers vs. N.A. = invaders vs. owners) Gov’t treaties forced N. A. onto reservations Settlers ignored treaties Acts of violence led to cycles of revenge. Both sides guilty.
Brutality, Unfulfilled Promises, and Butchery Treaties: Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 Fort Laramie Treaty (1868) Most Indians angered by the treaties By 1868, war parties were raiding cities in Kansas and Colorado In response, army troops killed any Indians who refused to stay on reservations
Map 17.2: Western Indian Reservations, 1890
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe
Geronimo - Apache Geronimo, a chief of the Chiricahua Apaches
The Dead at Wounded Knee (p. 472)
Sand Creek (1864) •US army massacred Cheyenne, Arapahoe Older men, women, And children. •Eastern Colorado
Little Bighorn (1876) Army moved to assault roaming Sioux in 1876 600 troops marched on Little Bighorn River Custer separated his men and sent half of his forces straight into battle This group and the rest were wiped out by Cheyenne and Sioux Defeat angered the army who became even more ruthless Army moved to assault roaming Sioux: after negotiations to buy the Black Hills broke down
Tepee Liner (p. 459)
An Indian warriors view of the Little Bighorn
General George Armstrong Custer General in the Civil War Infamous Indian fighter during the Sioux Wars Sent to find gold in Black Hills Defeated in the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) Defeat angered the army who became even more ruthless Black Hills expedition: pushed by the Northern Pacific Railroad
Sitting Bull Leader of Sioux band around Little Bighorn River Allied with other Sioux bands and leaders (Crazy Horse, etc.) Refused to go onto government designated reservations Helped defeat Custer and US Army at Little Bighorn in 1876 Surrendered in 1880s Traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand)
The Little Bighorn today
Wounded Knee Creek (1890) Ghost Dance - Movement among Plains tribes (led by prophet Wovoka) -- hoped to restore Native tribes to traditional ways and power December 29, 1890 Seventh cavalry was sent to round up Indians at Wounded Knee in Dakota territory Indian fired a shot (accidental or excited?) Army massacred over 300 Indians Effectively ended Indian resistance on the Great Plains Show movie clip
Wounded Knee, SD (1890)
“Saving” the Indians: Assimilation Americans increasingly disagreed with Government Indian reservation policies The Women’s National Indian Rights Association Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson Breaking up reservations and assimilating the Indians into society was best Created Indian Boarding Schools for youth “Kill the Indian, Save the Man” Vocational Training (jobs) Religious Training (Christianity) Dawes Severalty Act (1887) Gave individuals acreages of land and made them citizens of the U.S. Assimilating: they wanted to get rid of Indian culture to get rid of the “Indian Problem” Picture: the phoenix indian school
East meets West
Genoa, NE Indian School
Indian Schools Genoa, NE Carlisle, PA Haskell, KS Many in Oklahoma and the Dakotas
Before and After
Jim Thorpe - Carlisle Indian School American Indian Born in Oklahoma Pottawattamie/Sauk - Fox Tribes Carlisle, PA Indian School Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century Football, Baseball, Track and Field, Basketball. Et.
Dawes Act Indian Homestead Act - 1887 Another attempt to assimilate Indians
Oklahoma Land Rush (1889) Oklahoma was “Indian Territory” given to the five civilized tribes Sided with the Confederacy -- Federal government took land as punishment 2 million acres free for settlement Free land was considered instant prosperity Boomers - Those seeking free land Sooners - Those “squatting” on the land before it was legal.
The Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889–1906
Map 16.5 The Sioux Reservations in South Dakota, 1868-1889 (p. 471)
By 1900… Most Indians driven onto reservations Reduced from 1/4 million to 1 hundred thousand Native American culture still survives and has made a comeback in 21st century
American Agriculture in 1900
Cattle Trails
Average Annual Precipitation
Homesteads from the Public Lands (acreage legally transferred to private ownership)
The Mining and Cattle Frontiers, 1860–1890
Map 16.6 The Mining Frontier, 1848-1890 (p. 474)
Map 16.7 The Settlement of the Pacific Slope, 1860-1890 (p. 477)
Figure 16.1 Freight Rates for Transporting Nebraska Crops (p. 469)
The Yo-Hamite Falls (1855) (p. 456)
Cowboys on the Open Range (p. 464)
Mexican Miners (p. 479)
19_4.jpg A Southern Cotton Press
19_5.jpg Sodhouse on American Prairie
19_7.jpg Native American Translation of the Holy Bible
19_8.jpg Pueblo Sky Village
19_9.jpg Issue Day: Native Americans Waiting for Government Supplies
19_10.jpg Roundup on Sherman Ranch
19_11.jpg Judge Roy Bean's Courthouse and Saloon
19_16.jpg An American family on their way west
19_19.jpg Scene of Custer's last stand
19_23.jpg Apache Indians
19_24.jpg Dodge City Peace Commissioners (Wyatt Earp third from left)
19_26.jpg Buffalo in Oklahoma
19_28.jpg Cradling for gold in Montana Territory
19_29.jpg Mining camp in Colorado Territory
19_30.jpg Street scene in Utah, 1869
19_31.jpg Oklahoma City, 1889
19_36.jpg Custer's scout Bloody Knife
19_38.jpg Return from Wounded Knee
page765.jpg Map: Sharecropping and Tenancy, 1880-1900
page787.jpg Map: Indian Wars, 1864-1890