1. Humanities Department
Student Expectations:
Before we begin learning, please ensure that you:
Are standing behind your desk in silence;
Have your learning diary and pencil case on your desk;
Have a smart uniform.
Please be seated in SILENCE.
Copy and underline today’s date and title.
Thursday, 29 August 2019
Recap content and skills in preparation for KT1 assessment

2. The American West 1835-1895 Learning Journey:
KT1 – The Early settlement of the West
KT2 – Development of the Plains 1862 – 1876
KT3 – Conflicts and Conquest

3. The American West
KT1 – The Early settlement of the West
Chapter 1:
The Plains Indians: Their Beliefs and Way of Life
Chapter 2:
Migration and Early Settlement
Chapter 3:
Conflict and Tension
Manifest Destiny
The Oregon Trail from 1836, including experiences of the Donner Party and the Knight family, and the Mormon migration 1846/7
The California Gold Rush of 1849
The development of problems of white settlement farming: early settlers in Kansas, the problems of living and farming on the Great Plains, and the Mormon success in the valley of Great Salt Lake
The reasons for tensions between settlers and the Plains Indians
The significance of the Fort Laramie Treaty 1851
The problems of lawlessness in early towns and settlements
Attempts by government and local communities to tackle lawlessness
Social and tribal structures, ways of life and means of survival on the Plains
Beliefs about land and nature and attitudes to war and property
US Government policy: support for US westward expansion and the significance of the Permanent Indian Frontier. The Indians Appropriations Act 1851

4. Social and Tribal Structures
Plains Indians:
Social and Tribal Structures
Organisation:
Plains Indians lived in tribes. Moved tribes were then divided into bands, each with a chief and a council.
Examples of tribes include: Sioux, Cheyenne and Blackfoot.
Bands:
Related to each other
Led by chiefs and had councils of advisors
Council members agreed everything bands did
Survival and protection of bad = more important than individuals
Chiefs:
Chosen due to wisdom, skills as hunter/ warrior
Rarely chiefs for life
With councils, decided where bands should go/ suitable punishments
Did not have to be obeyed
Tribes:
Bands within same tribe supported each other
Tribal meetings of all bands held yearly to discuss marriage, trade
Chiefs/ elders formed tribal councils#
Some tribes (Sioux) part of larger groups called nations
Warrior Societies:
Made up of best warriors from each band
Supervised hunting/ protected bands from attack
Short raids/ wars led by warrior societies
Council would consult warrior society before making important decisions

5. Social and Tribal Structures
Plains Indians:
Social and Tribal Structures
Consequences:
The US Government believed that if a chief signed a treaty, all his tribe should obey the terms of the treaty, but this was not how Plains Indian Society worked.
Chiefs and Leadership:
Did not view leadership in same way as Americans
No decision could be made until all agreed to it
Rest of tribe/ band did not have to obey the decision
Chiefs and elders were often guided by the spirit world through visions
Band Roles:
Every member was equally important to survival
Men (braves) hunted and fought enemies
Women (squaws) made clothing, fed the family and looked after the tipi
Everyone looked after the children, who were taught skills of parents
Elders were respected for their wisdom but were left behind to die if their weakness threatened survival of a band

6. Plains Indians: Survival on the Plains Importance of Buffalo/ Horse:
Wealth and status was measured by how many horses an Indian or tribe had
Indians needed horses and buffalo to survive. Buffalo lived on the Plains and horses had been introduced by Spanish invaders
Horses were used in war
Wealth and status was measured by how many horses an Indian or tribe had
Catching buffalo was quicker and easier on horseback
Horses carried the Indians and their belongings on their journey to find buffalo
Indians believed a buffalos heart gave life to a new herd
Some Plains Indians were nomads. They ate wild fruits and plants but did not settle long enough to grow crops
Women and children cut up the buffalo meat. It was eaten raw or cooked. Some was stored for winter (known as jerky)

8. Plains Indians: Survival on the Plains Consequences:
Tipi:
Consequences:
Nomadic tribes would find it hard to live permanently on reservations because they were used to travelling and hunting freely!
Made of wooden poles and covered in buffalo hide
Ideal for life on the Plains
Cone shape protected them against strong winds
Flaps provided ventilation in the summer heat
Could be taken down and packed away in minutes – ideal for nomadic lifestyle

9. Plains Indians: Beliefs Nature: Medicine:
Belief in a supreme being or God known as the ‘Great Spirit’
Believed that everything in nature had a spirit and that these spirits could help or harm humans
Humans were a part of nature and should work with the spirits of nature, rather than tame or control it
They could contact the spirit world through visions and special ritual dances
Medicine men could interpret visions and made contact with spirit world.
They were also called on to heal the sick
Nature’s Great Circle:
The circle described the cycle of life from birth to death, also the seasons, the world
They made their villages and homes (tipi) round to show the significance

10. Plains Indians: Beliefs Consequences:
Land and Property:
Sacred Areas:
Each tribe had ‘sacred areas’ E.g. the Lakota Sioux had the Black Hills
These areas were sacred to the tribes because they believed that is where they had come from
Ownership of Land:
Indian families sometimes had their own garden plots but generally no-one owned land
For Plains Indians, land was not anyone’s property, and not something that one person could buy and keep for themselves
Consequences:
White settlers had very different views about property from Plains Indians, which led to tension and conflict

11. Plains Indians: Beliefs Attitudes to War: Consequences:
Plains Indians society was full of conflict, but Indians had developed ways to avoid too much killing because young men were essential to each tribe’s survival.
The highest respect and prestige was given to warriors, usually young men, for counting coup (which was landing a blow on an enemy and getting away without being injured
Indian war parties would also run away if a fight turned against them
Consequences:
The US Army found it difficult to fight an enemy that ran away rather than fought to the last man. They had to develop new techniques against Indian warfare.

12. Plains Indians: US Government Policy Consequences:
Timeline:
1830 – Indian Removal Act – Forces 46,000 Indians living in Eastern states to move west of the Mississippi River
1834 – Indian Trade and Intercourse Act – sets out a frontier between USA and Indian territory
1848 – US victory in the Mexican-American War – meant that USA gained more territory which meant that Indian territory was now sandwiched in the middle of USA
1851 – Indian Appropriation Act – money allocated for setting up Indian reservations to remove them from the land on which white Americans wanted to settle
Government Support for Western Expansion:
US Govt. needed US citizens to go and live in new territories in the West
This meant that people needed to travel (on trails) across Indian lands
The US Army forced Indians to move away from trails in case Indians attacked travellers
Consequences:
It is not long before the US Govt. appear to change the ‘permanent Indian frontier’. Although the boundary was still marked, whites were now allowed to cross the frontier

13. The American West
KT1 – The Early settlement of the West
Chapter 1:
The Plains Indians: Their Beliefs and Way of Life
Chapter 2:
Migration and Early Settlement
Chapter 3:
Conflict and Tension
Manifest Destiny
The Oregon Trail from 1836, including experiences of the Donner Party and the Knight family, and the Mormon migration 1846/7
The California Gold Rush of 1849
The development of problems of white settlement farming: early settlers in Kansas, the problems of living and farming on the Great Plains, and the Mormon success in the valley of Great Salt Lake
The reasons for tensions between settlers and the Plains Indians
The significance of the Fort Laramie Treaty 1851
The problems of lawlessness in early towns and settlements
Attempts by government and local communities to tackle lawlessness
Social and tribal structures, ways of life and means of survival on the Plains
Beliefs about land and nature and attitudes to war and property
US Government policy: support for US westward expansion and the significance of the Permanent Indian Frontier. The Indians Appropriations Act 1851

14. (the appeal of the West)
Westward Migration
Why Move West?
Pull Factors
(the appeal of the West)
Freedom and independence
Fertile land
Space
Oregon Trail
Gold
Push Factors
(problems at home)
Collapse of wheat prices
Overpopulation
Persecution
Unemployment
Manifest Destiny:
The belief that it was God’s will that white Americans should settle over all of America. It was their duty to ‘civilise’ the rest of the world. White Americans at the time simply accepted that Manifest Destiny was right and natural.

15. The Oregon Trail was 3200km long
Westward Migration
The Oregon Trail
Migrants needed to complete the journey before winter or risk getting stuck in the mountains
Crossing the Great Plains was made dangerous by sandstorms, quicksand, extreme heat, storms, disease, stampeding buffalo, hostile Indians and lack of supplies
The Oregon Trail was 3200km long
Migrants would begin the trail in April when there would be enough grass to feed their animals
Each trail crossed two mountain ranges. They were steep, there was little to hunt, and the weather could be bad. Wagons were hauled across using chains and ropes. Injuries were common
Migrants needed to take enough food for the entire journey: a lot of salt pork!
Early migrants used explorers or Indians as guides; later ones relied on pamphlets

16. Westward Migration The Donner Party
Led by the Donner brothers, the Donner party left Missouri for California in May 1846 with 60 wagons and 300 people.
They were well equipped but did have more women/ children with them than was normal.
At Fort Bridger, a smaller group of around 80 people tried to take a shortcut, using a pamphlet to guide them.
Four wagons broke, 300 cattle died and one man killed another.
They arrived late in the Sierra Nevada and were trapped by heavy snow.
A group, sent for help, took 32 days to reach them.
To survive, they ate their dead.

17. Westward Migration The Gold Rush, 1849 Gold Rush consequences
Forty-Niners:
Gold was discovered in California, 1848.
1849 onwards hundreds of thousands of travelled there hoping to find gold.
Only a few struck it rich.
Migration to California – 300,000 people by California becomes a state.
Tension with Plains Indians due to huge increase in migration along Oregon Trail
Problems of lawlessness in the mining camps
Gold Rush consequences
Manifest Destiny – White Americans see their ‘destiny’ coming true
Racial tension due to immigration
Gold from California boosts US economy – helps fund railroads
Farming boom in California
Genocide of Californian Indians by migrants

18. Westward Migration Mormon Migration Reasons for Persecution:
They were resented for their success
Their desire to free slaves and be friends with Plains Indians
Their practice of polygamy
Their police force, the Danites
Their so-called blasphemy
Great Salt Lake:
They were forced out of New York State, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois
Brigham Young became leader after the death of Joseph Smith
They were forced to find land that no-one else wanted – near the Great Salt Lake
Reasons for Mormon Success in Utah:
Brigham Young was in control and made good decisions
Religious faith encouraged them to work hard and stopped them from giving up
The Mormon Church owned all of the land, water and timber with was allocated fairly
Dug irrigation ditches which meant farm land had enough water
A Perpetual Emigration Fund provided the resources to help thousands of Mormons emigrate to Utah
Young organised settlers so that each new town had the right mix of skills to survive and prosper

19. Westward Migration Farming on the Plains
Problems of farming the Plains:
Climate – very hot, dry summers and very cold winters
Lack of water – very little surface water and very low rainfall
Prairie fires – dry grass burned easily
Thick sod – the soil was a tangled mass of grass roots
Lack of trees – very little timber for fencing or building
Weather – thunderstorms and violent winds
Grasshopper – plagues of insects and pests
Different environment – crops that did well in East shrivelled up in the West, ploughs that worked in the East broke when used on thick sod in the West
Sod Houses:
Lack of trees to build with meant that settlers lived in caves and sod houses made from earth
Thick walls and roof were good insulation in winter
Earth walls and roof were fireproof, giving protection from prairie fires
But, they were impossible to keep clean and were full of insects

20. The American West
KT1 – The Early settlement of the West
Chapter 1:
The Plains Indians: Their Beliefs and Way of Life
Chapter 2:
Migration and Early Settlement
Chapter 3:
Conflict and Tension
Manifest Destiny
The Oregon Trail from 1836, including experiences of the Donner Party and the Knight family, and the Mormon migration 1846/7
The California Gold Rush of 1849
The development of problems of white settlement farming: early settlers in Kansas, the problems of living and farming on the Great Plains, and the Mormon success in the valley of Great Salt Lake
The reasons for tensions between settlers and the Plains Indians
The significance of the Fort Laramie Treaty 1851
The problems of lawlessness in early towns and settlements
Attempts by government and local communities to tackle lawlessness
Social and tribal structures, ways of life and means of survival on the Plains
Beliefs about land and nature and attitudes to war and property
US Government policy: support for US westward expansion and the significance of the Permanent Indian Frontier. The Indians Appropriations Act 1851

21. Conflict and Tension Fort Laramie Treaty, 1851
Reasons for Tension between settlers and Plains Indians
Rapid increase in white migration after the discovery of gold put pressure on food supplies
Indians became concerned about the impact on resources and this increased conflict between tribes
White settlers feared attack from Indians
They made demands to US Government to provide Army protection
Significance of Treaty:
Territories were set out for the Plains Indians tribes – this would eventually lead to reservations
White settlers (as well as railroad surveyors and military bases) were now allowed into Indian territories – this would lead to increased white settlement of the Great Plains
Tribes would receive resources from US Government – this reduced Indian independence
It showed that the US Government prioritised the needs of white settlers over the Indians – and went back on commitments made in the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act

22. Conflict and Tension Lawlessness Reasons for Lawlessness in the West:
Isolated communities made it difficult to enforce US Federal Law
Racism tensions due to increased immigration (prejudice against Chinese, Black American, Indian)
Mining camps became a target for criminals
Mining camps were male dominated – lack of religious influence
US Government did not provide enough law enforcement
Mass settlement meant rapid population increases
Social factors – alcohol, gambling, prostitution
New crimes such as claim jumping and salting a claim increased
Federal Government Action:
US Marshals appointed to be responsible for a state/ territory.
Deputy Marshals, town marshals and sheriffs also appointed.

23. Conflict and Tension Lawlessness Failure:
Territories were huge areas, making it difficult for marshals to enforce laws quickly
Lack of money, low wages made the law enforcement officials corrupt
Decisions often not fair/ unjust
Settlers disliked federal government and took law into their own hands
Local Communities Tackle Lawlessness:
Vigilance committees were established – groups of ordinary citizens that punished law breakers instead of relying on the official justice system
Lynching became common
Miners’ courts were established – miners could settle disputes over land claims, each camp selected an older miner to be the judge