1. What is the American Dream?

3. 1. Farming Moving west in search of fertile land

4. Homestead Act – 160 acres to anyone who agreed to work the land for 5 years Exodusters – Black former slaves migrating to the west

5. Challenges – building homes – Climate – Grasshoppers – Money – oversupply of crops “In God we trusted, in Kansas we busted”

6. 2. Mining California Gold Rush – 1848 John Sutter – 80,000 “forty-niners” arrived in California – By 1860- 380,000

7. 3. Cowboys/Ranchers Vaqueros – 1 st cowboys – Mexican cowboys – Cities demand beef (increased population of cities)

8. What was a cowboy’s life like? Hard life… lots of threats -Stolen cattle -Conflict with Natives

9. 4. Railroads Connect the east and west – Union Pacific » Starts in Nebraska and goes west – Central Pacific » Starts in Sacramento and goes east

10. Challenges: rough terrain, fund raising, Native American attacks Chinese Exploitation – Along with the Irish and ex-slaves – Chinese = paid less, discriminated against, and given most dangerous jobs

11. This Land was made for you and me…

13. Why did Native Americans and settlers come into conflict? “The Indian, not needed – indeed, an obstacle, could be dealt with by sheer force… And so, Indian Removal, as it has been so politely called, cleared the land for white occupancy…”

14. “In 1820, 120,000 Indians lived east of the Mississippi. By 1844, fewer than 30,000 were left. Most of them had been forced to migrate westward. But the word “force” cannot convey what happened.” - Zinn, Howard, A People’s History of the United States, p. 124

15. “If the Indian would only move to new lands across the Mississippi,’ Cass promised in 1825 at a treaty council with Shawnees an Cherokees, ‘The United States will never ask for your land there. This I promise you in the name of your great father, the President. That country he assigns to his red people, to be held by them and their children‘s children forever.” - Cass was U.S. Secretary of War

18. “You cannot have an idea of the deterioration which these Indians have undergone during the last two or three years, from a general state of comparative plenty to that of unqualified wretchedness and want… They are brow beat, cowed, and imposed upon, and depressed with the feeling that they have no adequate protection in the United States, and no capacity of self-protection in themselves.” -An army colonel -Excerpt taken from A People’s History of the United States, p. 141

19. Methods of Dealing with the Indian “Problem” Indian Removal Act – Moved Native Americans to Oklahoma, then Americans wanted to settle Oklahoma – Etc… etc… etc… Assimilation – Educate American Indians in the “white mans ways”

20. Methods of dealing with the Indian “problem” Food shortages Whiskey Military attacks Put tribes against tribe Secret bribes “at the mercy of the state” – Tax but no right to vote, bring suit, testify in court, etc. Assimilation: – “Kill the Indian, save the man.”

21. Dawes Act -Tribes could not own reservation land -Individually owned land- destroy culture

23. Residential Schools: Reflection – What are your reactions to the film/readings? What surprised you or shocked you? – Should people who immigrate to America be pressured to assimilate to American culture, or is it OK for them to keep their own language, culture, customs, etc? – What, if anything, should be done to make things right with the Native American population?

25. Frustrated Farmers Farmers experienced greater costs  anger Populism – Political philosophy favoring common persons interest over the rich/business – Represented farmers and industrial workers

26. William Jennings Bryan -Democratic nominee for president - “Cross of Gold Speech” condemning the gold standard - Bryan lost, populists faded out, but platform would soon inspire a new generation of reformers

27. Populism Today Huey Long: Tea Party Movement: Occupy Wall Street: