1. Chapter 7 Westward Expansions & Native Americans

2. Chapter 7 Section 1 – Moving West
Push – Pull factors
– events and conditions that either force (push) people to move elsewhere or strongly attract (pull) them to do so.
Push:
The civil War displaced many farmers
Displaced freemen
Cost of farmland in the East
Looking for a second chance  opportunity
Ethnic and religious repression  seeking freedom

3. Pull: Adventure Government Incentives Private property
Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 & 1864
From the railroads received 175 million acres
Railroad companies sold the land for profit
Provided transportation
Morril Land Grant of 1862
The law distributed millions of acres of western lands to state governments in order to fund state agricultural colleges
Homestead Act of 1862
Law that gave 160 acres of land to citizens who met the following conditions: at least 21 yrs old, head of household, American citizen (or in the process), built a home on the land, farm the land for 5 years.
Created 372,000 farms
Private property

4. Settlers came from far & wide
European immigrants  looking for land
Irish, Italians, European Jews, Chinese  worked on the Railroads and in the mines
Mexicans and Mexican Americans  contributed to Ranching
African Americans – over 50,000 migrated West for a new start and to escape the harsh South

5. Chapter 7: 2 & 3

6. So-called progress on the western frontier threatened 250,000 Native Americans.
belief that a particular race, especially one’s own, is superior to other races
Indians seen as barriers.
U.S. government divided the land between the Whites and Indians
3 problems:
Indians didn’t understand concept of private ownership of land.
Who gets the best land?
The land appointed to Indians was not protected
RACISM
Whites

7. U.S. government didn’t honor its commitments = problems and disputes
1864 – Sand Creek Massacre – tired of fighting with miners over land, the Cheyenne and Arapaho accepted an offer from the governor of the Colorado territory. They traveled in peace to Fort Lyon on Sand Creek. Col. J. M. Chivington’s militia attacked – to stop the battle Chief Black Kettle first raised an American flag then a white flag for surrender. Chivington’s troops killed 450 Indian men, women and children. The scalps were brought back for public display.
Indians angry
– Sioux fought back

8. 1865 – gold miners started moving in droves
U.S. government announced plans for a wagon trail to aid miners.
Bozeman Trail – ran between Colorado and Virginia City, Montana directly through Sioux hunting grounds.
The Sioux chief, Red Cloud, was being pursued by U.S. troops. He led them deep into the wilderness ambushed them and killed all 82 soldiers.
– Fetterman Massacre

9. These 2 incidents sparked a public debate over the nations Indian policy:
some wanted to “Civilize” the Indians.
Others thought they were savages and couldn’t be civilized
Westerners wanted firm control.
Construction was stopped on the Bozeman trail.
A Peace Commission was created by congress

10. 1874 – Gold was found in the Black Hills
Indians were asked to restrict their groups to the Black Hills of the Dakotas & Oklahoma reservations
1874 – Gold was found in the Black Hills
the Sioux had settled there and miners began pouring into the area.
Sitting Bull

11. Led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse the Sioux resisted the invasion
The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs was supposed to manage the delivery of critical supplies to the reservations.
BUT….. Widespread corruption resulted in supplies getting “lost” or stolen.
Protection outposts for the reservations were outmanned and no match for the waves of settlers coming in to the area.
Led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse the Sioux resisted the invasion

12. Battle of Little Big Horn
Known as “Custer’s Last stand.” Custer led 264 U.S. troops against 2,500 Sioux and Cheyenne. The Sioux won this battle, but eventually lost and surrendered in 1877.

13. 1877 – the once peaceful Nez Perce tribe decided to fight rather than be relocated.
From Oregon Idaho area they started north to Canada (1,600 miles) fighting the whole way. 30 miles before the border they were captured and relocated to Oklahoma
1890 – Sitting Bull killed
Band of Sioux arrested for leaving the reservation.
Fierce fighting broke out at Wounded Knee.
170 Sioux & 29 soldiers killed – many wounded

14. Indian way of life impossible
In the end
The Railroad destroyed the Indian way of life – not the army
it carried troops and settlers
separated herds of buffalo. Brought the hunters who destroyed the animal for sport & business. Led to the decline of the buffalo.
After civil war – 15 million buffalo
1889 – about buffalo
Indian way of life impossible
1887 – Congress passed the Dawes Act
– divided reservation land into individual plots
1890 – the U.S. government declared the frontier officially “closed.”