1. The Frontier West

2. Background The frontier: Definition Reasons for migration
Furthermost settlement
Divides civilization and wilderness
Reasons for migration
Adventure
Economic improvement
Greater social and political democracy
The symbol of the West

3. Republicans, a National Economy and the West
Republicans endeavor to build a national economy
Internal improvements
Protective tariffs
Public/private partnership
Currency
Gold vs. Silver
The use of the courts

4. Railroads and the establishment of the West
Railroad development soared after the war
Developed the corporation
Railroads established towns, sold land after huge land grants from the government
Transcontinental Railroad—1869
4 more by 1890

5. Republican Global Vision
Expansionists expect to add territory
Increased trade with the outside world
Japan
Latin America
Purchase strategic land
Naval bases
Refueling stations
Seward’s folly

6. Mining, Ranching, and Farming in the West
Tight money policy and industrialization spurs western migration
Demand for western metals
Miners move to seek their fortunes

7. Gold and Silver Fever By the late 1850s gold fever in CA had faded
Strikes brought thousands of settlers
Gold discovered in Colorado in 1858
Black Hills in 1875
Silver discovered in Virginia City, Nevada (Comstock Lode)
Between 1860 and 1890, $2 billion in gold and silver mined in the west

8. Other Mining Enterprises
Eastern industries demanded other materials
Copper
Lead
Zinc
Created economic growth in many remote western regions

9. Mining Western mining was not profitable for the individual
Prospectors disappeared
Big business took over claims
Other elements proved more profitable
Mining towns became melting pots

10. Racial Diversity and the West
Mining and Cowboy communities were diverse
Mexicans, Chinese and Black
Exodusters
Women’s roles expand

11. The Homestead Act Sod houses susceptible to harsh weather
160 acres
Included women
Had to live on the land for 5 years
1879—Department of Interior
After 1886 many settlers fled due to dry weather
Sod houses susceptible to harsh weather

12. Farmers and Frontier Restless veterans sought new homes
People respond to advertising
Steamship companies
Railroads
New technology helped overcome obstacles
Steel plows
Barbed wire
Women and the frontier

13. Cattle and Cowboys Buffalo hunters made room for cattle
Western lands and open range proved ideal for cattle ranching
Railroads opened up Eastern markets for beef
Texas longhorns brought in herds of 3000 cattle from Texas to railhead towns such as Abilene and Dodge City
Stockyards--Chicago

14. Cattle and Cowboys Open range ended in 1880s
Harsh winters of 1885 and 1886 wiped out herds
Barbed wire (invented by Joseph Glidden) allowed farmers to fence range land to keep cattle from grazing

15. Closing of the Frontier
1890 census declared that the frontier was closed.
Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis ("The Frontier in American History") stated
Frontier was critical development of American democracy
Self-reliance and independent nature of American culture were fostered by the frontier

16. Struggle of the Plains Indians
Ethnocentrism is the root of the problem for the Native Americans
Pre-Civil War conflict resulted in the removal policy
Trans-Mississippi west, most in Oklahoma territory--Reservations
Over 200,000 Indians lived in the Plains following the Civil War
US gave them the Plains

17. Struggle of the Plains Indians
Some resistance to reservations
Peace Commissions (army and Indian agents) sent to meet with Plains Indians in 1867 and 1868 promised aid and non-interference
Attempts to assimilate

18. Clash between Plains Indians and American Society
Plains Indian Culture:
Nomadic
Communal
In Harmony With Nature
American Culture:
- Values land ownership
- Values individual achievement
- Values “taming” nature

19. The Dawes Act--1887
Reservations divided among families in 160 acre segments
Tribal loyalties had to be renounced to gain American citizenship
Between 1887 and 1934, Indians lost over half of their reservation lands to whites
Sought to Americanize Indians

20. Conflicts between Indians and US Army
Chivington's Raid Arapaho and Cheyenne men, women, and children killed in Colorado Territory AKA: Sand Creek Massacre
Little Big Horn General Custer and 264 troops killed by Sioux Indians in Montana Territory.
Chief Joseph and Nez Perce captured by army after 1300 mile chase
Wounded Knee unarmed Sioux killed after Sitting Bull was killed.

21. Assimilation Policies
Ethnocentrism
Office of Indian Affairs
Indian Rights Association
Helen Hunt Jackson
A Century of Dishonor